Replacing of 'India' in textbooks: Kerala Govt sends letter to the Centre
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The Left government in Kerala has sought the intervention of the Central government to reconsider a recent recommendation made by an NCERT panel to replace the term 'India' with 'Bharat' in school textbooks.
State General Education Minister V Sivankutty has sent letters via email to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, seeking their intervention into the matter.
A high-level committee for social sciences, constituted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to revise the school curriculum, has recommended that the name of the country 'India' be replaced with 'Bharat' in the school textbooks for all classes in the country.
In his letters, Minister Sivankutty underscored the importance of upholding the existing practice in the best interest of the educational system and the nation's unity, which thrives on its diverse cultural heritage.
For generations, students have learnt about the country's rich past, history and heritage with the name 'India', he said, adding that any change in this would create confusion and disrupt the continuity in the educational system.
Sivankutty said allegations have cropped up that the NCERT's present stance would only support certain ideologies.
This has raised concerns about the distortion of history and bias in the educational system, he said in the letter.
It is essential to scrutinise such recommendations to ensure that they do not follow any particular political or ideological agenda, the minister added.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had on Thursday categorically made it clear that the NCERT panel's recommendation to replace 'India' with 'Bharat' in school textbooks cannot be accepted.
He also urged all citizens to unite and safeguard the essence of India.
He had said that the present recommendation could be seen only as a continuation of the recent arbitrary exclusion of portions including Mughal history and the banning of the RSS following Gandhi's assassination from textbooks.
The politics behind the move are as clear as day, the CM had said.
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Stray dogs case: We will play video, ask you what is humanity, SC tells petitioner
New Delhi (PTI): Responding to a petitioner in the stray dogs case who objected to some rules framed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) saying "inhuman" treatment was being meted out to them, the Supreme Court on Thursday said a video will be played in the next hearing, "asking you what is humanity".
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who is appearing in the stray dogs case, told a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta that a three-judge special bench which was scheduled to assemble on Thursday to hear the matter was cancelled.
"It will come on January 7," Justice Nath said.
Sibal said, "The problem is that the MCD, in the meantime, has framed some rules which are completely contrary.color:red;"
He urged the bench to hear the matter on Friday, saying authorities don't even have dog shelters. "It is very very inhuman what is being done," Sibal said.
Justice Mehta, in an apparent reference to the stray dog menace, said "On the next date, we will play a video for your benefit and we will ask you what is humanity," .
Sibal responded that they will also play a video to show what was happening.
"The problem is your lordships has passed an order and we respect that. But the point is, there are statutory rules," he said.
When the bench said it would consider the matter on January 7, Sibal said the authorities will implement the rules in December itself.
"They will be implementing it and they will be removing the dogs. They don't have shelters," he said.
Justice Nath said, "It is alright Mr Sibal. Let them do it, we will consider."
The bench said it would hear the matter on January 7.
On November 7, taking note of the "alarming rise" in dog bite incidents within institutional areas like educational institutions, hospitals and railway stations, the apex court directed the forthwith relocation of stray canines to designated shelters after due sterilisation and vaccination.
A three-judge special bench had also said the stray dogs so picked up shall not be released back in the place they were picked up from.
The bench had directed the authorities to ensure the removal of all cattle and other stray animals from state highways, national highways and expressways.
It had said recurrence of dog bite incidents within institutional areas, including sports complexes, reflected not only administrative apathy but also a "systemic failure" to secure these premises from preventable hazards.
The top court had passed a slew of directions in the suo motu case over the stray dog menace.
It is hearing a suo motu case, initiated on July 28 over a media report on stray dog bites leading to rabies, particularly among children, in the national capital.
