Class 6 Kannada textbook row: NCERT says ‘Krishna’ named after river, rejects ‘saffronisation’ claim

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has responded to complaints about the newly released Class 6 Kannada textbook, Krishna, after an education rights group in Karnataka accused it of promoting religious themes and marginalizing state culture.In its statement, NCERT said that all its language textbooks were named after the rivers of India. It explained that the Kannada book is named Krishna after the Krishna River, which is one of the major rivers flowing through Karnataka.The organization revealed that its Hindi version is called Ganga, the English version is called Kaveri, and the Urdu version is called Jamuna (Yamuna). “Similarly, the Kannada book is named ‘Krishna’ because it is one of the major rivers flowing in Karnataka,” NCERT said.The explanation came when the People’s Alliance for Fundamental Rights to Education (PAFRE) said that the name shows that they wanted to introduce religious topics in school education and they want the book to be removed from the syllabus for this academic year.NCERT also responded to the criticism regarding the subject on nutrition. The group said that the chapter offers only vegetarian food as part of a healthy diet and excludes foods such as fish, eggs and meat, which are widely consumed in Karnataka.In rejecting the charge, NCERT said that the concept of healthy diet is explained in Chapter 6 of the book and is discussed separately under the heading “Balanced Diet” on page 63. It also said that the illustration on the page includes vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods.“Nowhere in the book is vegetarianism explained or justified, nor is non-vegetarian food condemned,” the organization said.PAFRE had earlier said that the book did not ignore the food traditions and customs of Karnataka. The board also questioned why the book was named after Krishna instead of being associated with popular Kannada figures and social change. It has requested that the book be removed, changed and edited.Recently, the famous “Dancing Girl” of Mohenjo-daro, one of the famous paintings of the Indus Valley Civilization, appeared in the new textbooks of Class 9 of NCERT, where her torso was bare in the eyes, which caused a controversy among the representatives.