Scholars quit textbook body as government bans 1949 cartoon

May 12, 2012

cartoon

New Delhi, May 12: Two eminent scholars have resigned their positions as advisers to the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) after a furore in Parliament led Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal to withdraw a book on the Constitution because it contained a cartoon some legislators said was offensive.

Yogendra Yadav and Suhas Palshikar, both eminent political scientists, resigned hours after the cartoon provoked a furore in Parliament.

The 11th-class textbook, Indian Constitution at Work, includes a cartoon which shows Dr. B.R. Ambedkar sitting on a snail, a whip in hand, while Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru stands behind him, also armed with a whip.

A caption accompanying the drawing, which was made by the legendary cartoonist K. Shankar Pillai in 1949, explains that it illustrated “the ‘snail's pace' with which the Constitution was made.”

Dr. Yadav said: “The heated and not very well-informed debate in Parliament did not do justice to the responsibility that a democratic society has towards future generations.” He pointed out that the decision implied “a law must be passed to ban all cartoons.” Dr. Palshikar was not available for comment.

Shankar regularly drew cartoons for his weekly, Shankar's Weekly. His depiction of Ambedkar and Nehru triggered no controversy at the time and his public service was recognised by successive governments which awarded him the Padma Shri, Padma Bhusan and Padma Vibhusan.

Furore in Parliament

Responding to the furore in both Houses, Mr. Sibal said he had “directed the NCERT to stop the distribution of these textbooks. A committee had been set up to review not just the cartoons but the content of these textbooks as well.” “For the next year,” Mr. Sibal assured MPs, “we will remove all these cartoons. But even this year, till we review the situation, the present textbooks will not be distributed.”

The government would not allow Dr. Ambedkar's memory to be “disparaged.” “When I got information [on this issue] in the beginning of April,” he said, “I wrote a letter to NCERT that such a cartoon should not be there as it is objectionable.” The government would also examine whether those who drew the allegedly objectionable cartoon had committed a criminal offence. Mr. Pillai died in 1989.

Earlier, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi member Thol. Thirumavalavan, who raised the issue in the Lok Sabha, said the cartoon had insulted both Nehru and Dr. Ambedkar. He sought Mr. Sibal's resignation and withdrawal of the book. In the Rajya Sabha, BSP leader Mayawati sought criminal action against those responsible.

Lok Jan Shakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan sought dismissal of those responsible for allowing the cartoon to be published.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee described Dr. Ambedkar as the Ved Vyas of the Constitution, and said the cartoon was “totally wrong.”

D. Raja (CPI) said the matter was “serious” as tension prevailed in Tamil Nadu after this incident came to light.

The AIADMK, the CPI, the CPI(M), the SP, the RJD, the LJP, the BJP, the TDP and the BSP also joined in the attack on the textbook.

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News Network
February 11,2020

New Delhi, Feb 11: Celebrations broke out at the AAP headquarters here as early vote-counting trends for the Delhi Assembly polls on Tuesday showed a comfortable victory for the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led party.

The headquarters were decorated with blue and white balloons and big cut-outs of Kejriwal were placed in different parts of the party office.

"We knew it. We have changed the politics of this country. Now it is Delhi, next is India," said Sanjeev Singh, a party volunteer from Hari Nagar.

Another volunteer Fareen Khan said, "We hope we get such a clear majority that a message goes out that doing Hindu-Muslim politics will not work anymore."

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is leading in 26 seats while the BJP is leading in 14 seats, according to early trends by the Election Commission.

According to the EC's website, AAP convenor Kejriwal is leading in his New Delhi constituency.

Kejriwal reached the party office as the counting of votes got underway.

Counting centres are spread across 21 locations, spanning 70 constituencies.

Polling for the 70-member Delhi Assembly was held on Saturday.

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News Network
April 2,2020

New Delhi, April 2: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed a bio suit to keep the medical, paramedical and other personnel engaged in combating COVID-19 safe from the deadly virus.

"Scientists at various DRDO laboratories have applied their technical know-how and expertise in textile, coating and nanotechnology to develop the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) having specific type of fabric with coating," read a statement.

The suit has been prepared with the help of the industry and subjected to rigorous testing for textile parameters as well as protection against synthetic blood. The protection against synthetic blood exceeds the criteria defined for body suits by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

"DRDO is making all efforts to ensure that these suits are produced in large numbers and serve as robust line of defence for the medics, paramedics and other personnel in the front line combating COVID-19," the statement said.

The industry is geared up for production of the suit in large quantities. Kusumgarh Industries is producing the raw material and coating material, with the complete suit being manufactured with the help of another vendor. The current production capacity is 7,000 suits per day.

Another vendor is being brought in with the experience in garment technology and efforts are on to ramp up the capacity to 15,000 suits per day.

The bio suit production in the country by DRDO industry partners and other industries are being hampered due to non-availability of seam sealing tapes, the statement said.

"The DRDO has prepared a special sealant as an alternative to seam sealing tape based on the sealant used in submarine applications.

Presently, bio suits prepared using this glue for seam sealing by an industry partner has cleared test at Southern India Textile Research Association (SITRA) Coimbatore," it said.

"This can be a game changer for the textile industry. The DRDO can mass produce this glue through industry to support the seam sealing activity by suit manufacturers," the statement added.

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News Network
May 15,2020

New Delhi, May 15: Microsoft founder Bill Gates on Friday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the interaction and stressed that combating the coronavirus pandemic requires global collaboration.

"Thank you for the conversation and partnership PM Narendra Modi. Combating the pandemic requires global collaboration. India's role is key as the world works to minimize social and economic impact, and pave the way to vaccine, testing, and treatment access for all," Bill Gates said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday interacted with philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and discussed the global response to Covid-19 and the importance of global coordination on scientific innovation to combat the pandemic.

The Prime Minister underlined the conscious approach that India has adopted in its fight against the health crisis - an approach based on ensuring public engagement through appropriate messaging, a PMO release said.

He explained how this people-centric bottom-up approach has helped win acceptability for physical distancing, respect for frontline workers, wearing of masks, maintaining proper hygiene, and respecting lockdown provisions.

They agreed that given India's willingness and capacity to contribute to global efforts, particularly for benefit of fellow developing countries, it was important for India to be included in the ongoing global discussions for coordinating responses to the pandemic.

The Prime Minister also suggested that the Gates Foundation could take the lead in analyzing the necessary changes in lifestyles, economic organisation, social behaviour, modes of disseminating education and healthcare, that would emerge in the post-Covid world, and the associated technological challenges that would need to be addressed.

He said that India would be happy to contribute to such an analytical exercise based on its own experiences.

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