New Kannada Textbooks Feature Kambar & Karnad's Writings

Incorporating the writings of Jnanpith awardees Chandrashekhar Kambar and Girish Karnad, along with Padma Shri award winner Devanuru Mahadeva, the Textbook Revision Committee (TRC) of Karnataka Textbook Society has revised the Kannada language school textbooks following the National Curriculum Framework-2005 guidelines.

These revisions aim to enhance the content and diversity of the textbooks, aligning them more closely with educational standards and cultural significance.

Photo Credit: Unsplash/ Representational Image

New Kannada Textbooks - Here's what's new

It has been stated by the TRC that the entire chapter of 'Namma Hemmeya Rajya Karnataka' in the sixth standard Kannada book has been revised with additional details and pictures. Furthermore, details and photographs of Chandrashekhar Kambar, Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, H L Nage Gowda, Dr Siddalingaiah, Sri Siddeshwara Swami, Shantaveri Gopalagouda, and Gavimatha of Koppal have been included, reported as Hindustan Times.

In the same book, discussions on the ancient dynasties of South India and royal families of North India have been included. Additionally, a chapter on Vedic culture and the emergence of new religions has been incorporated into the 6th standard book. Within the same book, the rights of sexual minorities have been integrated into the chapter on equality.

The title of a chapter 'religion' in the 7th standard Kannada book has been altered to 'Dharmagalu', and 'Vishwaguru Basaveshwara' has been designated in the same book as 'Cultural Leader' (Samskrutika Nayaka). In the 8th standard Kannada textbook, the title of a chapter 'Jain and Buddhist sects' has been modified to 'Jain and Buddhist religions'.

Furthermore, in the 9th standard textbook, the 15th-16th Century AD saint-poet Kanaka Dasa and his contemporary Purandara Dasa, along with 19th Century AD saint-poet Santa Shishunala Sharifa, have been included in the chapter titled 'Bhakti Pantha' (Devotional Path), as per Hindustan Times report.

The textbooks for Class 8 to Class 10 now include Kambar's 'Seeme', Karnad's 'Adhikara', along with Devidasa's Chakragrahana, M Mariappa Bhat's 'Namma Bhashe', A N Murthy Rao's 'Vyaghra Geete', and Mahadeva's 'Edege Bidda Akshara' and 'Vachanas' of Akka Mahadevi.