Textbook row: Karnataka Min orders to drop Dalit writer’s poem

Bengaluru: Amid the controversy over revision of textbooks in Karnataka, the ruling BJP has ordered to drop a poem by a famous Dalit writer which says that the sun and moon are not gods. The move is likely to trigger a row.
Karnataka Education Minister B.C. Nagesh has ordered exclusion of the poem “Bhoomi” by late Siddalingaiah from 4th standard textbook, sources said on Saturday.
The decision has been made in the view of complaints received against the poem for hurting religious sentiments. The poem was incorporated in the syllabus by the Textbook Revision Committee headed by Baraguru Ramachandrappa during the Congress rule.
Also Read Textbook revision row: Karnataka Congeess rejects revised textbooks, stages protest The Textbook Revision Committee formed by the BJP government headed by Rohith Chakrathirtha did not revise this textbook. Allegations surfaced that the “Nali-Kali” section of the textbook, which is meant for compulsory co-curricular learning, is hurting religious beliefs with its controversial content.
Many Hindus consider the sun and moon as sacred.
The Committee also kept another controversial line that says religious mutts are cheating traps, sources in the Education Department stated.