Cartoon issue: NCERT, textbook panel continue talks

NCERT today continued its deliberations with the textbook development committee on political science on the issue of removal of certain cartoons and objectionable content from CBSE books, amid indications that it has firmed up plans on removal of two cartoons.

The two controversial cartoons in question are the one on B R Ambedkar and another relating to anti-Hindi agitation in Tamil Nadu, the use of which in textbooks as education tools had triggered controversy.

Sources indicated NCERT would keep a window period of one year should any further changes in the textbooks arise. The revised books after the present changes would, however, be made available to the students soon without causing any further hardships to them.

The national monitoring committee, an apex group of experts approving textbooks, which had met here on July 14 to discuss the Thorat panel recommendations had said changes if any would be done keeping in mind the public debate on some cartoons.

However, it had expressed its dissatisfaction over the panel recommendations on deletion of certain number of cartoons on the grounds that there were many inadequacies in the report and the grounds given for removal of the cartoons were not very satisfactory.

The Thorat panel was set up following the row over the Ambedkar cartoon in the CBSE class XI political science textbook.

The panel has sought removal of about 21 cartoons and recommended some changes in words and phrases with negative implications.