1. Whether we see the elimination of cartoons from textbooks as involving issues of freedom of expression would depend on how we view the status of images in the text. Surely different genres of texts connote different forms of creativity. Contrary to what Bilgrami thinks, images in most of these NCERT textbooks are not merely ‘illustrations' but are constitutive of the text, shaping the meaning of what is being said....

Ara, Patna: To any old-timer, the earliest image of the Bihar caste wars is from 1977. Belchhi in Patna had seen 14 Scheduled Caste workers killed, and the enduring image is of a visit by Indira Gandhi, otherwise lying low since the post-Emergency defeat. She had to ride an elephant to the small hamlet of Dalits, the monsoon having waterlogged the approach road. The caste wars Belchhi triggered would not stop...

Are Dalits turning intolerant? Are they emotional and scornful to reason? These are some of the questions the mainstream Media asked, following the controversy over publication of an Ambedkar cartoon in an NCERT book. In the process, a new stereotype on Dalits may have been created.  The authors of the NCERT book, 'Indian Constitution at Work,' are amazed at the response of 'emotional-devotional' Dalits. "They have not read the book," and...

Of late, a childhood friend's 80-year-old mother has taken to writing. Emboldened by her single-mindedness, memories dulled by a lifetime of contingencies now respond readily to the daily rustle of pen on paper. One memory stands out in Surjit Kaur's mind. In 1957, as a fresh eyed schoolteacher from Delhi she went on an educational tour to Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. It was 10 years after Independence...

-The Hindu In an effort to reach out to the people who have no voice, the Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission proposes to make linkages to the print Media for regular feedback on instances of violation of human rights. The Commission has asked the newspapers with multi editions in the State to e-mail it the instances of violations reported in their local editions so that action could be taken on them. “Most...