Considering proposal to drop everything about Tipu Sultan from textbooks: BS Yediyurappa

Earlier, on October 28 State Education Minister Suresh Kumar wrote to the Managing Director of Karnataka Textbook Society, directing him to submit a report in three days on BJP MLA Appachu Ranjan’s proposal to strike off references to Tipu Sultan from history textbooks.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Wednesday indicated his government’s plans to remove the lesson on Tipu Sultan from middle school history textbooks and said he does not believe the controversial 18th century ruler of erstwhile Mysore kingdom was a freedom fighter.

BS Yediyurappa said that the government is considering a proposal to remove Tipu Sultan’s name from school textbooks. (ANI Photo)

“Tipu - we are going to drop everything and even in text book also (lesson regarding him) appeared that also we are thinking to cancel,” he told reporters in Bengaluru in response to aquestion, days after BJP MLA Appachu Rajan demanded removal of the lesson saying it carried “wrong information”.

Yediyurappa said he does not believe Tipu Sultan was a freedom fighter. “....we will look into it, we will examine it (demand for removing the lesson from text book),” he added.

State Primary and Secondary Education Minister Suresh Kumar on Monday asked officials to look into the demand by Ranjan and sought a report in three days.

The move was slammed by the Congress which said removing the lesson was like “distorting history”. Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Siddaramaiah on Wednesday called the BJP a “bigot”. “Removing lesson on Tipu from text book is like distorting history. Tipu fighting British is true or false?”