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Journalism of Courage
Hurt over Ambedkar cartoon is understandable. But Babasaheb wouldnt approve of the response
Parliament was disrupted by the newly-noticed presence of an old Shankar cartoon in an NCERT political science textbook,that purportedly insulted B.R. Ambedkar. Ram Vilas Paswan demanded that those who permitted the cartoons publication be hauled up under the Prevention of Atrocities Act,Mayawati threatened to stall Parliament until action was taken. HRD minister Kapil Sibal immediately announced that the cartoon would be deleted,the textbook withdrawn,and an independent review instituted of all such cartoons and other objectionable material in all political science textbooks. The cartoon shows Nehru and Ambedkar with whips,Ambedkar sitting on a snail named Constitution a comment on the slow,laborious process of forming the founding document. It is unclear what,precisely,is offending about the cartoon Nehrus domination of the scene,or the suggestion that Ambedkar was unable to crank out the Constitution quickly. The latter is preposterous,since the cartoon is framed by text that explains why it took so much time and patience to harmonise views,and assumes full understanding of Ambedkars pivotal role in this process. Certainly,Ambedkar himself didnt care about the cartoon,produced during the Constituent Assemblys tenure. The cartooning legend,Shankar,was used to cutting political authority to size he was famously asked by Nehru not to spare him. So why,then,does a mundane cartoon,over half-a-century old,create such political turmoil today? Because Ambedkar is not any historical figure he remains a meld of political prophet and deity and parent to many. His views on education,on religion,on nationalism,have forged a self-aware Dalit political community. What others may dismiss as a matter of symbols is,in fact,essential to a politics of dignity and social equality,and Ambedkars physical image is still important to that struggle,as Mayawati and Paswan recognise.
Given Indias laxity on free speech issues,and our tendency to flatten our history,it is not surprising that Sibal should have jumped to apologise and excise the cartoon before any attempt to discuss the insult. However,it is sad that our politics should lose all sense of context and intention,and prohibit us from learning about the past that has produced us.
