The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has questioned the depiction of Tamil poet Subramania Bharati or Bharathiar wearing a saffron turban on the cover of the state board’s Class 12 General Tamil textbook, The Hindureported on Tuesday. Images of Bharathiar usually show him wearing a white turban.
“When has anyone seen Bharathiar with a saffron turban?” asked Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MLA Thangam Thennarasu, who was the former school education minister. Thennarasu called the illustration part of a “subtle attempt to saffronise textbooks”. “This is an attempt to subconsciously give students a different image of Bharathiar.”
The General Tamil textbook was released by School Education Minister KA Sengottaiyan along with Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation Chairperson B Valarmathi in Chennai. Sengottaiyan was unavailable for a comment, while Valarmathi rejected the claim that the illustration of Bharathiar was an attempt to saffronise education.
“This is a state government-issued textbook and there is no question of politics or religion in education,” Valarmathi said. “It could be a genuine mistake. If it is so, it will be looked into and sorted out.”