The Ambedkar cartoon has been misread. And this could just be the beginning Ever since the Ambedkar cartoon controversy erupted, I have not stopped wondering about the irony of the situation. The attempt, perhaps the first one in the national textbooks, to accord Babasaheb Ambedkar his due place as one of the founders of our republic, was being attacked for insulting him. Professor Suhas Palshikar, who has taught me to read...
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The comic republic
-The Hindu “Bhakti in religion may be a road to the salvation of the soul”, B.R. Ambedkar said in a famous speech to the Constituent Assembly on November 25, 1949, just before putting the Constitution of India to vote. “But in politics, Bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship”. If only the parliamentarians who vented their anger against a 1949 cartoon last week had bothered...
More »cartoons All! Politicians and Self-Seekers-Aditya Nigam
-Kafila.org The uproar over what is being referred to as the ‘Ambedkar cartoon’ in the class XI textbook prepared by NCERT first began over a month ago, that is to say, almost six years after the books have been in circulation, been taught and received high praise for their lively style and a critical pedagogical approach (more on this below). It was a political party – one of the factions of...
More »Government to act against political cartoons in school textbooks
-CNN-IBN cartoons are not a laughing matter for politicians after a 63-year-old cartoon of DR BR Ambedkar led to uproarious scenes in Parliament, forcing the Union Government to apologise. Finance Minister Pranab Mukerjee assured Parliament on Monday that no political cartoons would be allowed in school textbooks and all objectionable material would be withdrawn after there was a ruckus over a cartoon of BR Ambedkar in NCERT class XI social science...
More »Politicians play censor, political cartoons scrapped from textbooks
-PTI cartoons making fun of leaders like BR Ambedkar finding their way into textbooks came under all-round attack in Lok Sabha on Monday, 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...
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