A chapter on V.D. Savarkar in Class 8 Kannada textbook has triggered a controversy in Karnataka after it allegedly claimed that the Hindutva ideologue used to fly out everyday with the help of bulbul birds while he was imprisoned in the Andaman jail.
According to reports, the chapter is a part of a travelogue written by K.T. Gatti who narrates his experiences during his visit to the cellular jail in Andaman where Savarkar was lodged between 1911 and 1924.
"There was not even a keyhole in the cell where Savarkar was incarcerated. But, Bulbul birds used to visit the room, and Savarkar used to sit on their wings and fly out and visit the motherland every day," reads a paragraph in the chapter titled ‘Kalavannu Geddavaru’ (Those who won against time).
As the controversy raged in, Rohith Chakratirtha, chairman of the now dissolved Karnataka Textbook Revision Committee, claimed that the line is a figure of speech and not a literal claim that Savarkar flew on birds.
"I wonder if the intellect of a few people has sunk so low that they can't understand what a figure of speech is," Chakratirtha was quoted as saying by The News Minute.
The Karnataka Text Book Society (KTBS) said they have received a few oral complaints against the chapter.