Aversion to cartoons? Publish and Be Damned!

A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people - John F. Kennedy

“Govt  to ban cartoons from school text books” (Deccan Herald, May 14)

The above is one of the cartoons.

It is sad a controversy kicked up on Ambedkar-Nehru cartoon in the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) text book of Grade XII.  The cartoon depicts Nehru, with a whip in his hand, behind Ambedkar seated on a snail.  The caricature attributes to the "delay in drafting the Constitution".  It is plain insipid to utter  something as  "educationally inappropriate" because it is "politically sensitive".

I don’t, for a moment, think that Dr. Ambedkar is to be reckoned as a leader of Dalits only.  He has played yeoman’s role in shaping and drafting the great document The Constitution. If Mahatma Gandhi was called The Father of the Nation, Dr. Ambedkar was called The Father of the Indian Constitution.  It is not fair to divide such great leaders into small fragments.

“What is extremely disturbing is the manner in which the Education Minister Mr. Kabil Sibal apologised in Parliament and conceded to the demands of the MPs by stating that he has directed the NCERT to remove the so-called objectionable caricatures and stop the distribution of books. He also stated that he had taken action by setting up a committee to look at the entire gamut of cartoons in textbooks and their content to ensure material of this nature is taken out of textbooks”. (The Hindu, May 18, 2012)

None of these cartoons would be banned in any other democracy.  Clearly, an assault on freedom of expression!

Creating a wrangle out of a cartoon has become a political phenomenon.  The point the cartoon is trying to make has been misunderstood (or, as often, wantonly misinterpreted for political mileage). 

Courtesy: Wikepedia

A satirical 1871 image of Charles Darwin as an ape (right) reflects part of the social controversy over whether humans and apes share a common lineage.  Are we to interpret that the author of  Theory of Evolution was sought to be decried? In which case, the whole of humanity should go up and agitate?

Cartoons in general, political cartoons to  be more specific, are indispensable.  R.K. Laxman, a genius political/social cartoonist has brought in the common  man’s woes through Common  Man. In his own words, Mr Laxman says, “What you have today is not democracy… Our politics is so sad that if I had not been a cartoonist, I would have committed suicide”.  Such is the passion of the great man, who found himself the ideal partner, his simple ‘common man’.

The beauty of a cartoon is that it makes a point, breaks the monotony of reading the mass of words and also gets entertained in the bargain.  When it is informative and entertaining, the relaxed reader gets clarity that helps him interpret.  Cartoons should not be taken literally and should not be understood as an exaggerated comment.  Even in some TV channels, puppet shows inspire political satire, and we have witnessed amplified animations and imitated voices that are employed to bring out humour.  The visual impact is too great to miss.  Politicians have no sense of fun, nor they accept reality.  Cartoons, you keep it or remove it; the truth of the matter will remain no matter what.  This reminds me of a tamil movie “Citizen”, where the politicians and bureaucrats manipulate to wipe out a village itself  from the map.

“To develop scientific temper” is one of the fundamental duties of Indian citizens, according to the Indian Constitution.   Discussion, argument and analysis are vital parts of scientific temper.  Elements of fairness, equality and democracy are built into it. The purpose of education is to create a quest for enquiry. Providing diverse points of view becomes essential to the educational process, which should have comprehensive outlook.  

The fables of Panchatantra have long established that education need not ever be bitter medicine. Cartoons and sketches do like-wise. They supplement and at times supplant the printed word.  It is not a magnified opinion that what a pompous editorial finds it hard to target is more instantly and adequately achieved by a few strokes of the brush, much to the likes of Shakespearean adage “brevity is the soul of wit”. “A picture (cartoon) speaks more than 1000 words” is equally, if not more, valid for caricature. A creative medium to express one’s impressions!

During Emergency, in the Indian context, cartoonists played a significant role in dishing out their opinions, while editorials were gagged.   A cartoon is best comprehended when the issue is in vogue and the impact is sensed instantly. It is believed that editorials are biased to the extent of the management policy of the respective publication, whereas a  cartoon is unbiased.  Editorials are more said to be the opinions of the intellectuals, whereas cartoons articulate the feelings and expressions of the millions of common man.   It is left to the imagination of the reader to interpret the cartoon.

Make no mistake! Political cartoons have become integral part of the society.  The more you resist, even more it will explode, all the more thanks to the  access and availability of greater social media networks like internet, FB, blogging………

May be you can even attempt to control inflation, but not, never corruption. It may be redundant yet relevant to remind that today’s politics is tomorrow’s history.    Indian history can be proud to present that Political Science as a subject will undoubtedly cover Corruption as a major option!!  In India, politician and corruption are made for each other.

After all , politics without cartoons would be like face without eyes.  In fact all the shame and scandals and scams must be vividly recorded in our academic texts with all the supporting documents using all the tools like cartoons, photos, diagrams, graphs .... for the future generations to know how the nation was administered and how tax payers’ money were looted!

This is also an excellent occasion to take up the creative hobby of “cartooning”.