An illustration depicting Tamil poet Subramania Bharati (Bharathiar) sporting a saffron turban — instead of his trademark white headgear — on the cover of the State Board class XII Tamil textbook has stirred up a controversy.
The General Tamil textbook was released by School Education Minister K.A. Sengottaiyan in the presence of Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation Chairperson B. Valarmathi in Chennai.
“This is the first time that poet Bharathiar has been depicted in a saffron turban. I have been teaching Tamil to students for long and have never seen any image of Bharathiar with a saffron turban. His turban has always been white,” said a government schoolteacher.
“When has anyone seen Bharathiar with a saffron turban?” asked former School Education Minister and DMK MLA Thangam Thennarasu. He charged that the illustration was part of a subtle attempt to saffronise textbooks, adding, “This is an attempt to subconsciously give students a different image of Bharathiar.”