Another Cartoon is under the hammer of our intolerant society. This time it is an old cartoon which when published 60 years ago did not raise any eyebrows. Cartoon of the famous cartoonist Shanker was reproduced by NCERT in it’s much appreciated Class 11 text book. Now it has been made controversial by vested interests and was ordered to be removed by Education Minister. Unfortunate thing is not only RPI (the supposedly pro Dalit party) but MPs of all political parties (from Left to Right) were united in getting it removed.
The cartoon was shown to highlight the time taken to write the most voluminous Constitution of the World. The text below it explains that each clause was deliberated at length by the members of the Constituent Assembly, amended rejected or approved as per majority opinion in a most democratic and reasonable way.
The cartoon only depicted the newly independent Country waiting impatiently and expectantly for the most important document ever produced in India.
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Now a Parliamentary committee has been formed to look into all NCERT Text books.
While teaching my daughter I was always amazed at the quality of NCERT Social Sciences text books of recent years. The high calibre was the result of team effort of a large number of people. Will this intolerance see an end to good quality learning materials for our students?
The intolerance of our MPs to such harmless cartoons is a shame for World’s largest Democracy
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