- Title: INDIA: Indian government deletes sensitive cartoon and sparks lampoon frenzy
- Date: 19th May 2012
- Summary: NEW DELHI, INDIA (MAY 18, 2012) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC) A SEMINAR ON THE ONGOING CARTOON ROW IN PROGRESS A PARTICIPANT DRAWING A CARTOON SENIOR JOURNALIST, RAJDEEP SARDESAI ADDRESSING THE SEMINAR AUDIENCE SITTING SARDESAI ADDRESSING THE SEMINAR A PARTICIPANT DRAWING A CARTOON (SOUNDBITE) (English) POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, YOGENDRA YADAV, SAYING: "It was sad to see that textbooks, which were created through due process, had been withdrawn, to my mind without following any due process. Parliament of India is well within its right to talk about the textbooks, to discuss them, to give its feedback but there has to be a proper way in which that feedback is taken into account. It was sad to see that most parliamentarians who commented about these books treated as if these books were book of cartoons. None of the parliamentarians who spoke on the floor of the house used any text from within the book." A COLLAGE OF CARTOONS THE CONTROVERSIAL CARTOON OF FIRST INDIAN PRIME MINISTER JAWAHARLAL NEHRU WHIPPING BHIMRAO RAMJI AMBEDKAR ANOTHER CARTOON OF FORMER INDIAN PRIME MINISTER INDIRA GANDHI POLITICAL CARTOONS ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, YOGENDRA YADAV, SAYING: "We thought these were completely innocuous cartoons and this cartoon, particularly, in essence acknowledges in many ways that Dr. Ambedkar held the reins to the Constitution of India. That to be seen as offensive has struck me as a rather strange reading specially for a book which went out of it's way to establish to Dr. Ambedkar as an architect of this republic, for a book which took the idea of social justice very seriously, for a book which is influence so deeply by Dr. Ambedkar's philosophy, for it to be seen as anti-Ambedkar is one kind of reading, what can we do?" CARTOONS ON DISPLAY A COLLAGE OF CARTOONS (SOUNDBITE) (English) SENIOR JOURNALIST, RAJDEEP SARDESAI, SAYING: "I think there is an issue of a government looking for any and every attempt to curb freedom of expression, there is no doubt in my mind that the government want to control the media. They believe that the media has in some way become a beast, which has to be chained. So whether it's cartooning, whether it's other forms of pre-censorship or regulation, its all part of a concerted well-designed campaign to somehow or the other control the media." CARTOONS ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) SENIOR JOURNALIST, RAJDEEP SARDESAI, SAYING: "The politicians of one generation, for all their other ails used to have thick skins, so even if you had a sense of humour, they didn't mind, they didn't treat it as a confrontation. Today's politicians are so insecure and perhaps have such low self-esteem that they see a cartoon as in someway denigrating them." CARTOONS ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) SENIOR SUPREME COURT ADVOCATE, PRASHANT BHUSHAN, SAYING: "These books and these cartoons are showing the politicians in the correct light. In fact if you ask the people of this country what do they think of the mainstream politicians of mainstream political parties in this country? They will tell you things which are much worst than what these cartoons are saying." CARTOONS ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) AN INDEPENDENT CARTOONIST, IRFAN, SAYING: "The agitations are obvious. If a force is tried to be subdued, it erupts even more. Cartoons will now become more aggressive and it is a fact. If we take the example of Pakistan, there are a lot of restrictions but cartoonists are free and make very strong cartoons. And now, a cartoon is in limelight, which had been printed 60 years back shows that the intentions are dubious. What does the cartoonist make? Tussle inside the assemblies, a minister jumping a traffic signal or any party feud. The cartoonist is the mirror of the society and if were tried to be subdued we will react more aggressively." SENIOR SUPREME COURT ADVOCATE, RAJEEV DHAWAN SHOWING A CARTOON OF INDIA'S EDUCATION MINISTER, KAPIL SIBAL A CARTOON OF SIBAL A CARTOONIST DEPICTING THE FOUR PILLARS OF DEMOCRACY IN HIS OWN WAY A CARTOONIST PAINTING CARTOONISTS SHOWING THEIR WORK
- Embargoed: 3rd June 2012 03:38
- Keywords:
- Location: India
- Country: India
- Topics: Politics
- Reuters ID: LVABL99PYM2UZS9YSCH8E3DLZB17
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: Fight fire with fire. This age-old proverb suited aptly as journalists, political commentators, advocates and social activists came together in New Delhi on Friday (May 18) for a 'draw to demonstrate' seminar, organised to protest against the Indian government's decision to withdraw a controversial cartoon from a political science textbook.
The controversial cartoon was that of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru whipping Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar-popularly known as Baba Saheb-over the slow progress in framing of the Constitution.
It was first published in 1949, and was reprinted in a textbook a few years ago - without anyone batting an eyelid.
The government's decision to withdraw it couldn't have been more ironic. Just a day earlier, India had observed the 60th anniversary of the first sitting of its parliament, seen as one of the pillars of the world's largest democracy.
"It was sad to see that textbooks, which were created through due process, had been withdrawn, to my mind without following any due process. Parliament of India is well within its right to talk about the textbooks, to discuss them, to give it's feedback but there has to be a proper way in which that feedback is taken into account. It was sad to see that most parliamentarians who commented about these books treated as if these books were book of cartoons. None of the parliamentarians who spoke on the floor of the house used any text from within the book," said Yogendra Yadav, political commentator and former advisor for the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
Yadav added that the panel had intentionally made an effort to keep the content of the textbook as a tribute to B.R. Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian republic.
"We thought these were completely innocuous cartoons and this cartoon, particularly, in essence acknowledges in many ways that Dr. Ambedkar held the reins to the Constitution of India. That to be seen as offensive has struck me as a rather strange reading specially for a book which went out of it's way to establish to Dr. Ambedkar as an architect of this republic, for a book which took the idea of social justice very seriously, for a book which is influence so deeply by Dr. Ambedkar's philosophy, for it to be seen as anti-Ambedkar is one kind of reading, what can we do?" Yadav added.
While it is best left to our imagination as to why the cartoon, roughly as old as the Indian republic itself, created the controversy now, the government's reaction to the row is alarming and sets a dangerous precedent.
The government's decision now to withdraw the cartoon and subsequently review all textbooks could be perceived as an attempt to pacify a certain section of society.
But has the Indian state gone too far to regulate the freedom of expression? Senior journalist, Rajdeep Sardesai certainly believes so.
"I think there is an issue of a government looking for any and every attempt to curb freedom of expression, there is no doubt in my mind that the government want to control the media. They believe that the media has in some way become a beast, which has to be chained. So whether it's cartooning, whether it's other forms of pre-censorship or regulation, its all part of a concerted well-designed campaign to somehow or the other control the media," said Sardesai.
A few instances in the past are a case in point. In 2011, the government passed a law to regulate content on the Internet.
Recently, Chief Minister of eastern India's Mamata Banerjee had a chemistry professor Ambikesh Mahapatra arrested for making a cartoon viral on the Internet, which poked fun at her.
"The politicians of one generation, for all their other ails used to have thick skins, so even if you had a sense of humour, they didn't mind, they didn't treat it as a confrontation. Today's politicians are so insecure and perhaps have such low self-esteem that they see a cartoon as in someway denigrating them," Sardesai added.
Senior Supreme Court advocate and close aide of India's anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare, Prashant Bhushan used the seminar to take another jibe at the federal government by saying that the cartoons were still subtle compared to the real sentiment of the masses.
"These books and these cartoons are showing the politicians in the correct light. In fact if you ask the people of this country what do they think of the mainstream politicians of mainstream political parties in this country? They will tell you things which are much worst than what these cartoons are saying," said Bhushan.
For the cartoonists the proposed ban is being seen as an inspiration. They intend to change gears and hit overdrive by aggressively portraying the political realities.
"The agitations are obvious. If a force is tried to be subdued, it erupts even more. Cartoons will now become more aggressive and it is a fact. If we take the example of Pakistan, there are a lot of restrictions but cartoonists are free and make very strong cartoons. And now, a cartoon is in limelight, which had been printed 60 years back shows that the intentions are dubious. What does the cartoonist make? Tussle inside the assemblies, a minister jumping a traffic signal or any party feud. The cartoonist is the mirror of the society and if were tried to be subdued we will react more aggressively," said Irfan, an independent cartoonist.
Overcoming numerous social and financial obstacles, Ambedkar became one of the first 'untouchables' to obtain college education in India.
Ambedkar is also viewed as messiah for the marginalized 'Dalit' section, which comprises socially and economically disadvantaged sections of India's caste-orientated society.
He died on December 06, 1956, and was posthumously honoured with India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, in 1990. - Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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