June 9, 2012: Within days after the controversy over a cartoon on B.R. Ambedkar in a textbook prepared by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) settling down, another row has erupted over a cartoon in a class XII Political Science text book of the NCERT.
The cartoon relates to the anti-Hindi agitation of 1965 in Tamil Nadu and politicians here say it depicts the student protagonists of the agitation in a poor light.
MDMK chief Vaiko has issued a statement, saying he had written to Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal, seeking to have the cartoon, published in the NCERT’s class 12 political science textbook, removed because it distorted history and hurt the sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu.
PMK leader S Ramadoss joined issue to say the cartoon insulted the anti-Hindi movement and demanded that it be removed from the textbook immediately. But with the Centre having already indicated its willingness to remove political cartoons from text books, the MDMK chief ’s protest received limited attention across political circles in TN on Friday.
Vaiko, who has also written a similar letter to Prof. P. Sinclair, director of NCERT, requested the Minister to take steps to remove the cartoon from the textbook and defer to the emotions of the people of Tamil Nadu.
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