The special committee formed to deliberate on whether lessons pertaining to Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan should be dropped, retained, or modified in Karnataka school textbooks is learnt to have concluded that they should be retained.
The committee members, consisting of subject experts, are likely to submit a report to the Karnataka Textbook Society on December 6. But sources pointed out that there would be at least two reports — one pertaining to primary school textbooks and another related to high school textbooks — that would be submitted.
The draft states that “not a single word in the existing textbooks should be changed”. The lessons related to the Mysuru ruler are there in the sixth, seventh and tenth standard books.
The controversy over this was raked up by Madikeri MLA Appachu Ranjan who wrote to the Department of Primary and Secondary Education seeking removal of lessons on Tipu as he was a ‘fanatic’. The first meeting on this was held on November 7 which saw a protracted debate between subject experts and Mr. Ranjan who argued that Tipu was a cruel leader and demanded that all lessons be removed and he shouldn’t be glorified.
The subject experts, however, said only facts pertaining to him and his regime had been presented and no attempt had been made to glorify him.
