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

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has responded to concerns raised over its new Class 6 Kannada textbook, Krishna, after a Karnataka-based education rights group accused it of promoting religious themes and sidelining the state’s cultural identity.In a statement, NCERT said all its language textbooks are named after rivers in India. He clarified that the Kannada textbook was named Krishna after the Krishna River, one of the major rivers flowing through Karnataka.The board pointed out that its Hindi textbook is called Ganga, English is called Kaveri and Urdu is called Jamuna (Yamuna). “Similarly, the Kannada textbook has been named ‘Krishna’ as it is one of the major rivers flowing in Karnataka,” NCERT said.The clarification came after the Popular Alliance for Fundamental Rights in Education (PAFRE) alleged that the name reflected an attempt to introduce religious themes into school education and demanded that the textbook be removed from the current year’s curriculum.NCERT also addressed criticism related to a lesson on nutrition. The group had claimed that the chapter presented only vegetarian food as part of a balanced diet and excluded foods such as fish, eggs and meat, which are widely consumed in Karnataka.Rejecting the allegation, NCERT said the concept of a balanced diet is covered in Chapter 6 of the textbook and is dealt with separately under the heading ‘Balanced Diet’ on page 63. It added that the illustration on this page includes both vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods.“Nowhere in the textbook is vegetarianism explained or justified, nor is non-vegetarian food opposed,” the council said.PAFRE had earlier argued that the textbook ignored Karnataka’s diverse food culture and cultural traditions. The organization also questioned why the book was named Krishna instead of being linked to prominent figures of Kannada literary and social reform. He has called for the textbook to be withdrawn, renamed and revised.Recently, the iconic “Dancing Girl” of Mohenjo-daro, one of the most celebrated artifacts of the Indus Valley Civilization, appeared in an altered form in the new NCERT Class 9 Arts Textbook, with her traditionally bare torso visually covered, sparking a debate about the depiction.