IIT Gandhinagar cuts ties with prof amid NCERT textbook row| India Information
The Indian Institute of Expertise (IIT) Gandhinagar on Friday discontinued its affiliation with its visitor professor Michel Danino, two days after the Supreme Court docket ordered governments in addition to public establishments to dissociate from him and two others concerned in drafting a now-withdrawn Nationwide Council of Academic Analysis and Coaching (NCERT) Class 8 textbook which had a bit on “corruption within the judiciary”.
The institute may also take “corrective motion” to keep away from “misrepresentation” on its official web site, which nonetheless carries a profile of Danino showcasing his works and achievements. His profile on the IIT Gandhinagar web site describes him as “an Indian citizen” and “an impartial scholar of Indian civilization.”
“Danino is not related to IIT Gandhinagar,” mentioned institute’s director Prof Rajat Moona, in response to HT’s queries on the choice following the Supreme Court docket’s March 11 order.
Born in France in 1956, Danino studied physics and engineering earlier than shifting to India in 1977 drawn by Indian thinker and yogi Sri Aurobindo. In India, he has since been engaged in analysis and writing on Indian civilization. Since 2011, he has been affiliated with the Indian Institute of Expertise Gandhinagar (IIT Gandhinagar), the place he’s at present a visitor professor within the Earth Science division. He was instrumental in creating the Archaeological Sciences Centre there, and taught or coordinated a number of programs associated to Indian Information Programs (IKS), together with “Views on Indian Civilization” in a Grasp’s programme.
Danino was awarded the Padma Shri in 2017 for his contribution to literature and training. His books embrace The Misplaced River: On the Path of the Sarasvati (2010), Indian Tradition and India’s Future (2011), and Sri Aurobindo and India’s Rebirth (2018). In his personal writings and lectures, Danino has argued in opposition to the Aryan Invasion principle and has written on the civilisational and archaeological dimensions of early Indian historical past. He was a scholar-in-residence at IIT Kanpur primarily between 2010 and 2014, the place he delivered lecture collection on Indian civilization and expertise.
Moona mentioned the syllabus of programs at IIT Gandhinagar doesn’t observe any textbook written by Prof Danino. “Danino was related to the Centre for Archaeological Sciences at IIT Gandhinagar. We will take corrective motion in order that no misrepresentation is carried out on our web site,” Moona mentioned.
Danino declined to touch upon the developments.
The Supreme Court docket on Wednesday directed the Centre, states, Union Territories (UTs), NCERT and universities to exclude Danino, educator Suparna Diwakar and authorized researcher and skilled lawyer Alok Prasanna Kumar from any function in getting ready educational curriculum. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi mentioned the three shouldn’t be related “in any method” with the preparation or finalisation of textbooks meant for college students.
Class 8 social science textbook half 2 launched on February 23 and withdrawn on February 24 after 38 of 82,440 copies printed had been offered and later retrieved after the Supreme Court docket order on February 27.
HT first reported on February 27 that the controversial chapter on the judiciary within the textbook was written by a committee of members, together with a lawyer, however was not reviewed by anybody from the authorized fraternity. Corruption seems in each the brand new Class 7 and Class 8 textbooks – each of which have two components every. The Class 7 textbook mentions corruption within the legislature and throughout the election course of – however not within the judiciary. The primary a part of the Class 8 social science textbook (the controversy is over the second half) additionally mentioned political corruption. It depicted politicians and officers violating the mannequin code of conduct throughout elections with one cartoon exhibiting bundles of ₹500/- notes present in a candidate’s automotive throughout inspections.