The Republican Sena has demanded that the Centre take strict action against those guilty of including a cartoon of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in the Class 11 textbook of the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT).
The party said that it would turn its protest into a full-scale agitation from Monday, as so far, the Centre has shown scant regard to the disrespect being shown to the father of the Indian Constitution.
Speaking to The Asian Age, Anandraj Ambedkar, grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and president of the Republican Sena, said that a protest in Parliament was in the right direction, as the inclusion of the cartoon of Dr Ambedkar in college textbooks would send out a wrong signal to the youngsters. The cartoon portrays Dr Ambedkar riding a snail that depicts the Indian Constitution, and was sketched by artist Keshav Shankar Pillai, popularly known as Shankar, in 1949.
“The cartoon is not only derogatory, but its inclusion in the textbook also indicates that the government has no respect for the sentiments of the masses. Dr Ambedkar is an icon and his contribution to the nation is unparalled. But by allowing the inclusion of the cartoon in the textbook, the government has shown that it does not care,” Mr Anandraj said.
He added that the Republican Sena was not satisfied with the apology by human resource development minister Kapil Sibal, and seconded the demand of the political parties for his removal from the post.
“Whoever made and published the cartoon should be treated as a traitor and enemy of the country and should be punished accordingly,” Mr Anand-raj said. Interest-ingly, Mr Anandraj’s demand for punishing Shankar can’t really be implemented, as the artist has passed away.
Shankar has even been honoured by the Indian government with the Padmashree, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan in his lifetime. Mr Anandraj’s full-fledged agitation, in response to the government’s disregard for the father of the Constitution, will kick off at Azad Maidan from Monday.