A critique of the Supreme Court's recent action against renowned scholar Michel Danino. This article examines the controversy surrounding NCERT textbook reforms, the history of ideological bias in Indian education, and the unpleasant truth of judicial corruption.
MICHEL DANINO, in many ways, is reminiscent of the Gurus of the ancient Indian parampara. Unassuming and quiet, yet a powerhouse of scholarship, which is only matched by his dignity and unimpeachable intellectual integrity.
I’ve had the immense fortune of learning from him nearly over the last two decades. On the several occasions I’ve met him, the experience has always been enriching, fruitful and above all, ennobling.
In fact, if at all I’ve managed to contribute in any meaningful way in the area of Bharatavarsha’s history and cultural heritage, I owe a huge debt of gratitude — which I can’t repay — to Michel Danino’s stellar body of work.
The areas of his scholarly investigations are daunting even for professional scholars — exposing the bogus Aryan Invasion Theory, tracing the trajectory of the Sarasvati River, archeology, ancient Indian knowledge traditions, nuances of Puranas and epics, prehistoric studies, Harappan art and town planning, marine archeology…
From a larger perspective, Michel Danino has created a substantial and qualitative scholarly legacy in his own lifetime and continues quietly in his chosen path away from public glare, away from any temptations of celebrity.
I speak from personal experience.
The distinguished positions he has held — most notably, as Visiting Professor of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Gandhinagar and lately, as the chairperson of the NCERT — are not only entirely deserving but are reflective of his eminence.
THE SUPREME COURT, which took suo moto cognisance of a chapter on judicial corruption in the eighth standard NCERT textbook, has meted out a rather highhanded treatment to Danino. In many ways, it is a tacit admission of its ignorance of his distinction.
There are legions of students and scholars who literally venerate Danino. Without exaggeration, Michel Danino — a Frenchman by birth and Indian citizen for over three decades — is one of the finest cultural patriots of India. He is deeply anchored in the philosophy and ideals of Sri Aurobindo, one of twentieth century India’s greatest mystic-saints.
But to put it in context, Michel Danino has actually rescued the NCERT by lifting it out of the morass that the Leftist establishment had sunk it into. Arun Shourie’s Eminent Historians, a classic expose of the NCERT (apart from the Humanities department of the HRD ministry) is perhaps the most devastating critique of this morass till date.
But the late scholar N.S. Rajaram supplies an even more stunning data point that Shourie’s book does not contain. He mentions how Nurul Hasan — Indira Gandhi’s favourite Education Minister — ran the NCERT like a czar and the consequences thereof.
NIEPA is a particularly influential body that administers and oversees educational policy in India. NCERT controls textbooks and other materials that are used in schools and colleges in India… Through his control of these two powerful bodies, Nurul Hassan became the education Czar in India… A single example should help give an idea of the dangers of this centralized feudal educational policy. For over 20 years, H.S. Khan — Nurul Hasan’s favourite — headed the history and sociology division of the NCERT. He is known to hold the view that India became civilized only through the introduction of Islam. This incidentally is also the official Pakistani line… This is taking the Aryan invasion idea a giant step backward…In 1986, on Khan's initiative, textbook writers in all the states were directed to change the version of history to accord with the anti-Hindu model.
Yet, not one court back then took umbrage to this flagrant history distortions done at the behest of sitting ministers and high-ranking bureaucrats.
The reforms to history textbooks under Michel Danino’s leadership was long overdue and are in the right direction. Yet, the SC has taken severe objection to one solitary chapter dealing with judicial corruption and has used its power disproportionately against a widely respected scholar and academic. Its wording is troubling to say the least.
… we have no reason to doubt that Professor Michel Danino, along with Ms Diwakar and Mr Alok Prasanna Kumar, either does not have reasonable knowledge about the Indian judiciary or they deliberately and knowingly misrepresented the facts in order to project a negative image of the Indian judiciary… There is no reason why such persons be associated in any manner with the preparation of curriculum or finalisation of textbooks… We direct the Government of India and all states/UTs/Universities etc. to disassociate 3 of them forthwith and not to assign any responsibility which involves public funds.
Since my own schooldays, there have been any number of chapters in textbooks dealing with political and bureaucratic corruption but as far as I can remember, there were no cases or punitive court actions against its authors.
But to state the obvious, judicial corruption is a reality and judges and the entire legal fraternity know it better than anybody else. “Higher the court, greater the corruption” is a standard line used in legal circles quite openly. One is reminded of the recent case of Justice Yashwant Varma, which sent nationwide shockwaves, leading to impeachment proceedings against him.
However, the learned judges in this case chose an overbearing path than wisdom and introspection. Omitting the mention of uncomfortable truths — judicial corruption in this case — won’t make them go away. This is akin to the medieval patriarchs of Europe who whipped the very people who merely showed the existence of dirt in a room in their manor — all in the good interest of their masters in their hearts.
The whole issue is unfortunate, tragic and frightening. The learned judges who are supposed to be the guardians of free expression and are supposed to enrich the promotion and expansion of knowledge have resorted to banning and victimising a peerless scholar.
One is tempted to use the cliche that truth is stranger than fiction but this issue is perhaps one of the clearest signs of the times we live in. Or rather, an illustration of a timeless truth of history, beautifully captured in the Mahabharata:
sulabhāḥ puruṣā rājan satataṃ priyavādinaḥ |
apriyasya tu pathyasya vaktā śrotā ca durlabhaḥ ||
O King, it is easy to find people who always say pleasant things. But it is extremely rare to find someone who speaks the 'unpleasant but beneficial' truth, and even rarer to find someone willing to listen to it.
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