Karnataka to remove controversial religious texts from school curriculum

Bengaluru: The government of Karnataka decided to form a high-level committee to remove controversial religious texts from school textbooks of Class 1 to Class 10, IANS reported. The move was made after objections came regarding a text in the Social Science subject Part 1, prescribed for the 6th standard students. The text blames Vaidhika Dharma, Vedic way of life or Hinduism, for the rise of other religions such as Jainism and Buddhism in India.

The lesson says that during the Vedic period - 1500 BC to 600 BC - the rituals of 'homa' and 'havana' led to food scarcity. These rituals involve offering large quantities of food items such as food grains, milk, ghee etc., into sacred fire to please gods. The lesson, including animal sacrifices, said that the rituals are only to find solutions, and the chants were in Sanskrit, which common people could not understand. Since Buddhism and Jainism taught simple ways of life, both grew to prominence among commoners, the lesson said.

On February 17, then Yediyurappa government had released a circular instructing not to teach the chapter nor use it to evaluate, after the Karnataka State Brahmin Development Board raised objections.

Government sources said that the chapters have already been decided to discontinue from the next academic year.

The committee will have members, including representatives from the Rashtrothana Parishat (RSS affiliated organisation), researchers from Mythic Society, folklore studies and reputed educational institutions.

It will review contents in textbooks of Social Science, Environmental Science and Language from Class 1 to 10.

The government had already directed the Department of Public Instruction to form a committee of experts and academicians to check if any content in school curriculum textbooks hurt sentiments of any religion.

The decision to exclude the controversial chapter was opposed earlier by experts stating that the students will lose critical thinking.