HINDUTVA - Indian Social Institute

Hindu, present a few contestable historical facts, the bigger problem is one of omissions and
commissions that lend the texts a slant typical of the Hindutva nationalist construction of Indian history.
For example, the book states in its fifth standard lesson, titled ‘Veda Kalada Bharata', that cow slaughter
was forbidden in the early Vedic period. The historical record, however, suggests otherwise. Historians
such as D.N. Jha have shown how the Rigveda has references of beef being one of the most commonly
consumed foods at the time. So indeed does K.T. Achaya in his scholarly dictionary of Indian food. A
chapter titled ‘Hosa Dharmagala Udaya' (Birth of New Religions) in the Standard 8 textbook, has a
highlighted box (Page 43) that makes a distinction between ‘dharma' and ‘religion'. It makes the debatable
claim that even Buddhism and Jainism, like Hinduism, cannot be categorised as religions, and that only
Islam and Christianity in India fit into the category. While presentation of such “facts” is one aspect, the
overall tone of the textbooks, especially in the region-specific histories — introduced for the first time as
separate textbooks for Bangalore, Mysore, Gulbarga and Belgaum divisions — needs closer examination.
For example, the rich syncretic traditions of the northern districts of Karnataka have been either glossed
over or omitted altogether in the textbooks. Aspects of the pluralist culture of the region, like Bandenawaz
Dargah, and poets like Shishunala Sharief, are dispensed with in brief and de-contextualised
descriptions. The Standard 5 textbook (page 106 of the draft copy) says that Bidar was originally called
“Vidhura Nagara” and “Bidururu Pura”, a typical attempt to establish a Hindu past to cities and towns .
The other popular explanation that Bidar has its roots in the Persian word meaning “Awakening” does not
find a mention here. While the region is replete with evidence of the meeting of Sufi and Datta traditions
— the shrine of Manikprabhu in Humnabad or the Savalagi Shivalingeshwara shrine near Gokak for
example — these do not find a mention. The late Sham.Bha. Joshi and other scholars have established
that their unique religious mix have given the Bombay-Karnataka and Hyderabad-Karnataka region a
distinctly inclusive cultural character, simply not reflected in these textbooks, though they claim to present
a flavour of every region to the children. The delineation of the Hyderbad Liberation Movement in the
Gulbarga division's textbook is particularly striking for the manner in which it is constructed as a Hindu vs
Muslim struggle. The role of the Andhra Maha Sabha in the movement, and its nationalist and antilandlord
content finds no mention. The same chapter describes the Vijayanagar kings as rulers who
“protected, nurtured and upheld Hindu religion and culture” for over 200 years. In its earlier draft, the
Standard 5 textbook carried a map of “cultural India”, in the ‘Bharata, Namma Hemme' (India, Our Pride)
chapter, showing the country boundaries encompassing the Hindukush, parts of China, and large parts of
south-east Asia — representing the nationalist Hindu notion of “Akhand Bharat”. This, it is learnt, was
later dropped. C.S. Dwarakanath, former chairperson of the Karnataka State Backward Classes
Commission, described the draft copy as “a blatant attempt at filling children's minds with ideological,
religious and political biases at a tender age.” (The Hindu 5/2/12)
‘Textbooks with saffron slant will create communal discord' (26)
BANGALORE, February 6, 2012: Flaying the State Government for inducing a “saffron slant” in the fifth
and eighth standard social studies textbooks, which are going to be introduced in the next academic year,
activists of the Students Federation of India (SFI) staged a protest here on Sunday demanding that the
textbooks be withdrawn. Reading from sections of the books, SFI State president Ananth Naik pointed to
instances where the Vedic and Brahminical practices of the past have been glorified. “Some of the
passages clearly justify casteism and seem to suggest that there is nothing wrong with the Varna
system,” he said. Arguing that textbooks should imbibe the spirit of scientific enquiry and rational thinking
in children, the activists said that the BJP Government and the RSS want to reinforce and justify the
dogmas of the past. The textbooks, according to the agitators, have the potential to create communal
discord as they speak very disparagingly of minority communities and their faith. (The Hindu 6/2/12)
VHP plans protest against Bill (26)