Karnataka Education Minister dubs saffronisation of education as attempt to teach kids ‘real’ history

News Network
May 24, 2022

Bengaluru, May 24: Strongly defending the controversial revision of school textbooks, Primary and Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh has dubbed the saffronisation of education as  the state government’s attempt to teach students the “real” history. 

Addressing a news conference here on Monday, he suggested that “some so-called intellectuals and politicians are trying to play caste politics without seeing the revised textbooks.” 

He said the textbooks revised by the previous committee headed by Prof Baragur Ramachandrappa were “filled with lies and misinformation”. “We are trying to teach the truth. We don’t believe in teaching half-truths, so we have revised the textbooks,” he claimed. 

Justifying the removal of some content on Tipu Sultan, Nagesh said: “Why wasn’t there enough information about the Wadiyar dynasty? And what was the need to tell more about Tipu Sultan? Yes we cut down the content and retained what was necessary.” 

Nagesh confirmed that a speech by RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar has been included in the textbook but claimed that the lesson has “nothing about the writer, the RSS or any political party”. 

“We have included only the speech which talks about role models,” he added. 

On the removal of Bhagat Singh and Narayana Guru from textbooks, Nagesh said a lesson on Bhagat Singh written by G Ramakrishna was replaced with the one written by Chakravarty Sulibele. “Those creating a fuss about the writer should know that Ramakrishna was identified with the communist ideology. When you can include a chapter written by him, why not one by Sulibele?” 

On Narayana Guru, he said that the chapter on him was moved from history to Kannada because the history textbook was “overburdened”. “People making a controversy must wait for a hard copy of the textbook. If any correction is needed, we will definitely do it,” he added. 

Nagesh questioned the inclusion of Jawaharlal Nehru’s letters to Indira Gandhi in a textbook by the Baragur committee. “Why should our children study letters written by a father to his daughter? What were they trying to teach,” he said. 

On the removal of the word ‘Hindu’ from Hindu Maha Sagara, Nagesh said: “Even in Kannada, they tried to write it as ‘Indian Ocean’. Wherever there is Matrubhoomi (motherland), they removed the word Matru. They even removed a poem by Kayyar Kinhanna Rai which talks about the Indian flag.” 

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News Network
November 22,2025

Mangaluru: Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy C H has warned of strict action against individuals spreading rumours and attempting to create insecurity within the Muslim community and fuel hatred between Hindus and Muslims through social media.

Referring to a recent social media post alleging that police personnel had entered a masjid premises to check whether beef was being cooked, the commissioner said miscreants were attempting to push their communal agenda. 

“A group of people, both from Mangaluru and abroad, are trying hard to spread rumours. For the past 10 days, they have been attempting to rake up old issues, highlight routine matters as controversies, or fabricate news altogether,” he said.

He reiterated that any such attempts to disturb communal harmony would invite legal action. “Cases will be registered and the accused will be brought to book,” he stated.

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News Network
November 30,2025

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Mangaluru, Nov 30: A 22-year-old college student succumbed to her injuries at a private hospital in Mangaluru today, days after she was hit by a goods tempo while crossing a road in Padubidri.

The deceased has been identified as Preksha, a resident of Nadsalu Billitota in Padubidri. The fatal incident occurred as Preksha, who was returning home after completing her examination, attempted to cross the service road towards Mangaluru. She was struck by a goods tempo approaching from the Udupi side, causing her to fall and sustain a severe head injury.

Prompt action from local residents ensured she received immediate first aid before being rushed to a hospital in Mangaluru for specialised treatment. Despite medical efforts, she passed away while undergoing care.

Preksha was a student at Karavali College, Vamanjoor on the outskirts of Mangaluru city. The tragedy is compounded by the fact that she belonged to a financially vulnerable family, having previously lost her father. She is survived by her mother and brother.

A case related to the accident has been registered at the Padubidri police station, and an investigation is underway to determine the exact circumstances that led to the collision. The incident highlights the growing concerns over road safety, particularly on busy service roads, and serves as a tragic reminder of the human cost of traffic accidents.

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News Network
November 24,2025

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Israeli forces have pushed over the Syrian frontier, erecting a checkpoint and stopping vehicles in the southwestern city of Quneitra, in yet another breach of the Arab country’s sovereignty.

The violation took place on Sunday, when the troops made their way across the border, setting up the outpost near the Ain al-Bayda junction in northern Quneitra, Syrian outlets reported.

According to the al-Ikhbariya paper, an Israeli detachment positioned itself at the junction, halting cars and conducting searches.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that three Israeli military vehicles then moved further into the northern countryside, deploying between the town of Jubata al-Khashab and the villages of Ofaniya and Ain al-Bayda. The agency added that a separate Israeli unit mounted a new incursion in the central region, approaching the villages of Umm Batina and al-Ajraf.

Residents said such activities have surged in recent months, pointing to Israeli advances onto farmland, leveling of extensive forested areas, arrests, and spread of mobile checkpoints.

The Israeli regime began markedly increasing its military aggression against Syria last year.

The escalation coincided with increasingly ferocious onslaughts throughout the country by the so-called Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Takfiri terrorist group, which the government of President Bashar al-Assad had confined to northwestern Syria. The HTS, however, managed to overthrow the government as the Israeli attacks would pummel the country’s civilian and defensive infrastructure.

Various reports have shown that, during the escalation, the regime conducted more than 1,000 airstrikes on the Syrian territory and over 400 ground raids into the south.

Following the collapse of the Assad government, Tel Aviv also widened its grip over the occupied Golan Heights by taking control of a demilitarized buffer zone, in defiance of a 1974 Disengagement Agreement. Earlier this month, senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visited the buffer zone, prompting expressions of alarm on the part of the United Nations.

The United States, the regime’s biggest ally, has, meanwhile, been fraternizing the HTS head Abu Mohammed al-Jolani amid the widely reported prospect of rapprochement with Tel Aviv.

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