NCERT CARTOON CONTROVERSY
'We condemn the somber Indian politicians’ and their lathi-wielding goons’ zeal to persecute persons committed to the cause of irony, irreverence and critical humour in public life'
Partha Chatterjee, et al
| Wed May 16, 2012
View From UK
The history of family life has been wildly misrepresented by conservatives, who have been able to construct a history that is almost entirely false.
George Monbiot
| Wed May 16, 2012
Opinion
Voters respect democracy despite politicians not because of them. Perhaps it is time that our stridently insecure parliamentarians learn that respect is earned not taught. Heeding the lessons of political satire is a good place to start.
Mukulika Banerjee
| Tue May 15, 2012
Maoists
Home ministry warns that Maoists are seeking to 'revive' activities deep in the South, in the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu
Ajit Kumar Singh
| Tue May 15, 2012
NCERT Cartoons
Some of the political cartoons in NCERT textbooks, a large number of depictions in which, according to our HRD minister, "are offensive and are inappropriate for textbooks"
Tue May 15, 2012
Cartoons in NCERT Text Books
'We were shocked to learn that these books were presented in the Lok Sabha as an attack on politics, politicians and democracy. Nothing can be farther from the truth'
Yogendra Yadav, Suhas Palshikar
| Mon May 14, 2012
Lok Sabha Statement
'Review of all textbooks of Political Science as well as a general review of all books of NCERT should be undertaken to ensure that inappropriate material is excluded from these textbooks. I am of the view that a large number of depictions in these cartoons are offensive and are inappropriate for textbooks'
Kapil Sibal
| Mon May 14, 2012
State Snippets
More than the CBI summon to Jaganmohan Reddy, what's generated greater controversy is the CBI freezing the current accounts of Sakshi TV and newspaper which are owned by him
Madhavi Tata
| Mon May 14, 2012
From The Blogs
After the insult to the nation yesterday came the injury, with an attack on the Pune campus office of Suhas Palshikar, one of the two ex-NCERT advisers responsible for the now controversial book
Buzz | Sat May 12, 2012
Full Text: Letter of Resignation
'We think that the short, heated and not very well informed debate in the Parliament did not do justice to the responsibility that a democratic society has towards its future generations'
Yogendra Yadav, Suhas Palshikar
| Sat May 12, 2012
For The Record
Chapter I of the now controversial book Indian Constitution at Work which features the impugned cartoon, and has been described by academic experts as a "first rate introduction to the Indian Constitution". Check it out for yourself.
Sat May 12, 2012
Opinion
Who decides, and what?
Nivedita Menon
| Sat May 12, 2012
For The Record
Enquiry report (preliminary, of May 2010) by the special investigation team in the matter relating to to SLP (CRL.) No. 1088/2008 of Smt Jakia Nasim Ahesan & Anr Vs State of Gujarat & Ors as ordered by the hon'ble Supreme Court of India vide order dated 27th April, 2009
A.K. Malhotra
| Sat May 12, 2012
Opinion
R&AW should take the latest controversy in its stride and hold a thorough enquiry into the whole affair to avoid recurrence.
B. Raman
| Sat May 12, 2012
From The Wires
And now our netas are not amused by a cartoon that originally appeared on 28 August 1949 in Shankar's Weekly and was included in an NCERT text book in 2006
Fri May 11, 2012
Opinion
Since the media blitz and publicity has over-powered any dispassionate debate on the first episode of Aamir Khan's much publicized TV show Satyamev Jayate, we need to ensure that our critical faculties are not swept away by this euphoria.
Shohini Ghosh
| Fri May 11, 2012
From the archives
On Saadat Hasan Manto's 100th birth anniversary, a collection of short stories from our archives
Fri May 11, 2012
State Snippets
With the DMK boycotting the Pudukottai bypoll, nothing will give her more pleasure to crush Vijayakant if he gets egged into fielding his party’s candidate there.
Pushpa Iyengar
| Fri May 11, 2012
View From Israel
After having peered into the face of near-certain electoral disaster, the partisans of peace must now get together and prepare themselves for the fight. There is a chance, it must not be squandered.
Uri Avnery
| Fri May 11, 2012
View From Britain
Why the private sector should be subject to freedom of information laws.
George Monbiot
| Thu May 10, 2012
Opinion
Or, in the imagery of the Occupy movement, the 1% and the 99%. Not literal numbers, but the right picture.
Noam Chomsky
| Thu May 10, 2012