The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has responded to concerns raised about its new Kannada Class 6 textbook, Krishna, after a Karnataka-based education rights group accused it of promoting religious themes and abandoning the state’s cultural identity.In a statement, NCERT said that all its language books are named after the rivers of India. It is clarified that the Kannada textbook was named Krishna after the river Krishna, one of the major rivers flowing in Karnataka.The board said that their Hindi textbook is called Ganga, English textbook is called Kaveri, and Urdu textbook 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 to Education (PAFRE) said that the name reflects an attempt to introduce religious themes in school education and demanded that the textbook be withdrawn from the current academic year’s curriculum.NCERT also addressed criticism related to a nutrition lesson. 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 that the concept of a balanced diet is covered in Chapter 6 of the textbook and is discussed separately under the heading “Balanced Diet” on page 63. It added that the illustration on that page includes both vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods.“Nowhere in the textbook is vegetarianism explained or justified, nor is non-vegetarian food opposed,” the board said.PAFRE had earlier argued that the textbook ignored the diverse food culture and cultural traditions of Karnataka. The organization also questioned why the book was named after Krishna instead of being linked to noted Kannada literary and social reform figures. He requested that the textbook be withdrawn, renamed and revised.Recently, the iconic “Dancing Girl” of Mohenjo-daro, one of the most celebrated artifacts of the Indus Valley Civilization, appeared in an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 NCERT’s new Class 9 art textbook, with its traditional naked torso visually covered, sparking a debate about the representation.
