Mangaluru : The BJP’s national general secretary C.T. Ravi said here on Saturday that the “Congress, Communists, and conversion mafia” were politicising and opposing the revision of school textbooks in the State.

Speaking on “politics over school texts; myth and truth” at a programme organised by the Citizens’ Council, Mangaluru, he said that their hue and cry over the revision is to weaken the movements of “Bharatikarana” (spirit of Indianness) and Hindutva.

The BJP leader said that when the Congress ruled the country for long, the “Congress, Communist and conversion mafia” intentionally did not include texts on nationalism in school textbooks. Because they feared that such a step will strengthen the nationalism movement.

He said that after Independence and till the 1970s those who held the Human Resource Development (the then Education) portfolio belonged to a particular community. They ensured that nationalism did not get prominence in school textbooks.

“The Congress, Communist and conversion mafia is trying to weaken the Hindutva movement by pitching castes against each other. At the same time they are trying to weaken the nationalism movement through regionalism,” the former Minister said.

Calling the controversy over revision of textbooks as the “fight between the Tukde gang and Bharatikarana”, the former Minister for Kannada and Culture said that education should enable one to become self-reliant and have a concern for society.

Japan stood up from the scratch with the help of education and not through industrialisation or anything else. Now those who are opposing the revision of textbooks are terming the “corrective steps” taken as “saffronisation and communalisation.”

Mr. Ravi said that it is wrong to say that all religions stressed on non-violence and peace. In such a case why is terrorism by a particular community growing, he asked.

Kumara Bangarappa, MLA, Soraba, and P.L. Dharma, Registrar (Evaluation), Mangalore University, spoke.