Tag Archives: NCERT text-books

Debates, Politics

Report of Committee to Review NCERT Textbooks and Note of Dissent by MSS Pandian

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Clarification: These documents did not reach us through any member of the Committee.

We have re-ordered the first document to place the Executive Summary at the beginning. Otherwise, no changes have been made. We have also linked to the sites from which you can download the actual text-books so that you can see what has been recommended for deletion/change.

MSS Pandian’s Note of Dissent follows the report of the Committee.

A Report of the Committee constituted for Reviewing the Textbooks of Social Sciences / Political sciences, for Classes IX-XII constituted by NCERT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY     

 a)       The Committee’s terms of reference were to identify the educationally     inappropriate materials and provide alternative suggestions for the six        textbooks in Political Science.

b)       Since six textbooks covered different themes such as Political Theory,     Indian Constitutions, Indian Politics and World Politics, the    Committee requested the subject experts from Political Science, to      give their opinion using the NCERT guidelines for the textbooks    preparation.  The opinion expressed by the experts was used as   resource material to arrive at the final view by the Committee .The      Committee also made use of some literature, particularly on the use   of cartoons in teaching.

c)      The Committee used the guidelines developed by the NCERT to prepare the textbooks for the review of educational material        including the cartoons. Since the NCERT did not provide specific guidelines for the inclusion of cartoons (and used the general NCF           guidelines for selection and use of cartoon), the Committee made use of general guidelines and also suggestions of some eminent researchers who have worked on the use of cartoons in teaching, to review the inclusion of cartoons in six textbooks on Political Science.

d)       The Committee has made recommendations for each of the six textbooks          for changes in the current year. The Committee recommended (a)       removal of    some cartoons, (b) change in the “Note “below the        cartoons Unni and Munni to bring  clarity and improvement in the message and (c) removal        of       some cartoons on Unni and Munni.

e)      The Committee has also made suggestions for modification in material    which can be considered at the time of the general review of the       textbooks in future. Continue reading Report of Committee to Review NCERT Textbooks and Note of Dissent by MSS Pandian →

Culture, Debates, Identities

Humiliation condemned to remain ‘Hurt’ – Notes from a talk by Gopal Guru: Parth Pratim Shil & Ankita Pandey

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Guest post by PARTH PRATIM SHIL and ANKITA PANDEY

Unni [a cartoon character] asks:

“Am I just a figurehead or am I asking real questions? Did the textbook writers give me power to ask questions I wish to ask or am I asking questions they have in their mind?” [Page 85, Chapter 4: Executive, Indian Constitution at Work, for class XI]

This cartoon appears in the context of the discussion on the powers of the President of India in the political science textbook of NCERT. It seems this question has a function far wider than the limited task of revealing the institutional blueprint of Indian politics. It pushes the student to ask something very uncomfortable. Am I really the one asking the questions I ask? Or am I rehearsing questions that someone else has decided for me?

As teachers of political science, our constant effort is to understand the ways in which power operates. None of the themes of our syllabi can be taught without reference to the resistance, critique and offending positions taken by groups who challenge the status quo. Sanitizing the history of critique and resistance that is encapsulated in satirical modes of representation like cartoons, can only be at the cost of keeping the discipline of political science uprooted from its very object of study. In the recent cartoon controversy, however, the issues at stake are many more than a defence of critical pedagogy.

Continue reading Humiliation condemned to remain ‘Hurt’ – Notes from a talk by Gopal Guru: Parth Pratim Shil & Ankita Pandey →

Bad ideas, Culture, Debates, Government, Identities, Politics

’बिगड़ैल बच्चे की खोज में’: हिमांशु पंड्या

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“क्या आपको इस बात का अहसास है कि ताकाहाशी को ‘तुम्हारी पूँछ तो नहीं है?’ पूछने पर कैसा लगा होगा” बच्चे शिक्षिका का जवाब नहीं सुन पाए. उस समय तोत्तो चान यह नहीं समझ पायी कि पूंछ वाली बात से हेडमास्टर साहब इतना नाराज़ क्यों हुए होंगे क्योंकि अगर कोई उससे यह पूछता कि तोत्तो चान तुम्हारे क्या पूंछ है? तो उसे तो इस बात में मजा ही आता.
-‘तोत्तो चान’ (तेत्सुको कुरोयांगी, अनुवाद – पूर्वा याग्निक कुशवाहा)

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इस कार्टून पर चली ऐतिहासिक बहस के बाद अब यह पक्के तौर पर कहा जा सकता है कि साहित्य से आगे अभिव्यक्ति के अन्य क्षेत्रों में भी दलित चेतना ने दस्तक दे दी है। शायद हम कल चित्रकला और बहुत आगे संगीत में भी दलित चेतना युक्त दृष्टि से इतिहास का पुनर्पाठ देखेंगे। Continue reading ’बिगड़ैल बच्चे की खोज में’: हिमांशु पंड्या →