news details |
|
|
| Offensive Cartoons a Ploy to Slight Politicians: LS MPs | | | Agencies
New Delhi, May 14 : Cartoons making fun of leaders like B R Ambedkar finding their way into textbooks came under all-round attack in Lok Sabha today, prompting government to promise an inquiry into the role of NCERT officials and ensure there are no recurrences. Members cutting across party lines expressed concern over such material in school textbooks with BJP and TDP utilising the occasion to demand HRD Minister Kapil Sibal's resignation. Most of the members held him "fully responsible" for allowing such things to happen. The House saw almost a hour-long impromptu discussion with members contending that the impressionable minds of young children were being "poisoned" by such cartoons. Their contention was that an all-out conspiracy was being enacted to put politicians in poor light, may it be the media or Bollywood. "The government has also resolved to conduct an inquiry into the role of the officials of NCERT who approved the inclusion of the offending material in political science textbook in of classes IX to XII and fix responsibility. "The government will put in place a suitable process to ensure that such instances do not recur," Sibal said. He said in early April, the ministry had received information about an "offending" cartoon in an NCERT textbook on page 18 of Political Science of class XI relating to B R Ambedkar with reference to the making of the Constitution.
The minister said he had sought an explanation from the NCERT, which in turn sought response from the chief advisers of the Textbook Development Committee Suhas Palshikar and Yogendra Yadav.
They responded by giving an elaborate explanation. "In light of the content and the explanation on record by Palshikar and Yadav, I directed that the offending cartoon be withdrawn from the NCERT textbook of Political Science of class XI," he said. Sibal said that in early May he had called for the textbooks relating to political science for class IX and class XI and perused the contents including the cartoons. "I found that a number of cartoons were inappropriate. I came to the opinion that a review of all textbooks of political science as well as a general review of all books of NCERT should be undertaken... I am of the view that large number of depictions in these cartoons are offensive and are inappropriate for textbooks," he said.
On May 11, Sibal had requested NCERT Director to withhold further distribution of the textbooks who in turn informed the ministry that all wholesalers who have received copies of the books would be asked not to distribute them.
He said the textbooks were developed between 2005 and 2007 by Textbook Development Committees constituted by the NCERT and chaired by experts in the concerned areas.
"This government fully appreciates the sensitivities involved and the concerns expressed by members of this House to the nature of these cartoons and their inappropriateness finding place in textbooks.
"The government fully appreciates these concerns and will take effective steps to ensure that henceforth textbooks take into account the concerns and sensibilities of individuals and communities to ensure that only educationally appropriate material are included," Sibal said. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
