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NCERT stands up to political bosses, will drop just 3 of 21 controversial toons

After deliberating on the controversial cartoons in the political science textbooks of classes IX to XII, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has tactfully managed to retain its autonomy in the face of political pressure.

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After deliberating on the controversial cartoons in the political science textbooks of classes IX to XII, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has tactfully managed to retain its autonomy in the face of political pressure.

In a report dated August 6, its textbook development committee (TDC) has agreed to drop only three of the 21 cartoons termed ‘educationally inappropriate’ by the government-appointed Thorat committee.

Though the report is still confidential, sources suggest that in all probability its decision should be final.

In addition, many of the suggestions have been ‘accepted’ by the TDC in a manner which keeps intact the spirit in which the textbooks were written. The textbooks were conceived, keeping in view the National Curriculum Framework 2005 which believes “learning should not be secluded from tensions and conflicts”.

The dropped cartoons include the controversial Ambedkar cartoon which will now be replaced by a photograph showing Rajendra Prasad and BR Ambedkar greeting each other.

The move is in keeping with the suggestions of the NCERT’s monitoring committee which had questioned the Thorat report for urging the NCERT to make a decision based only on “sound academic grounds and in furtherance of the NCF 2005”.

The TDC report says that “of the 40 suggestions made by Thorat, most of them (nearly 30) have been accepted either totally or the content has been revised.”

However, experts said the modifications reiterate the spirit of ‘critical pedagogy’ in which the textbooks were written, over-riding the Thorat report’s attempt to dilute it.

For instance, many of the irreverent questions of the two characters ‘Unni and Munni’ which had to be modified show no changes at all. In the class XI textbooks, the suggestion was to tone down the line “Is there something wrong with the constitution or us? I think 90 amendments in 50 years is too much”. This had to be replaced with “Why was our constitution amended so many times?” In the TDC’s report, however, this has only been modified as “Why was our constitution amended so many times? Is something wrong with us or the constitution?”

Likewise, a cartoon in the class X textbooks which had faced objection because “politicians and institutions are represented as animals” will not be deleted. Instead, an explanatory note will be introduced below it saying “The party’s symbol is elephant. The cartoon seems to suggest that corporate America controls all major institutions of the country”.

Two other cartoons to be replaced include one in which Sheikh Abdullah is kneeling in front of Indira Gandhi, which will be replaced by the picture of an injured dove. In place of the other cartoon on the anti-Hindi agitation, the accompanying newspaper clipping will be enlarged instead. In addition, a poster on political rights in the same textbook will also be dropped.

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