Dinanath Batra: Difference between revisions

On 15 May 2007, acting on the advice of Batra, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh [[Shivraj Singh Chouhan]] removed [[sex education]] from the state curriculum on the grounds that it offended Indian values. Batra suggested that [[yoga]] be added to the curriculum instead of sex education.<ref name=sexed>{{cite news|title=Madhya Pradesh bans sex education|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/madhya-pradesh-bans-sex-education/25871/|access-date=23 May 2014|newspaper=[[The Indian Express]]|date=16 March 2007}}</ref> This view was criticised by S. Anandhi, a scholar of gender issues, who wrote that sex-education was aimed at combating [[child sexual abuse]], and controlling the spread of [[HIV/AIDS]] by encouraging safe sexual practices. She also stated that fundamentalist organisations were attempting to repress sexuality.<ref name="Anandhi EPW">{{cite journal|last1=Anandhi|first1=S.|title=Sex Education Conundrum|journal=Economic & Political Weekly|date=18 August 2007|volume=42|issue=33|pages= 18–24 Aug. 2007|jstor=4419913}}</ref> Later that year, Batra wrote a letter on behalf of the ''Shiksha Bachao Andolan Samiti'', which stated that parents can possibly book instructors on the charge of "outraging the modesty of a woman or dishonouring a person."<ref name=formerHRD>{{cite news|title=Former HRD minister feels sex education corrupts kids|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/former-hrd-minister-feels-sex-education-corrupts-kids/article1-236673.aspx|access-date=23 May 2014|newspaper=[[Hindustan Times]]|date=15 July 2007}}</ref>

On 3 March 2010, Batra sent a legal notice to [[Wendy Doniger]], [[Penguin Group]] USA and the Penguin India subsidiary, raising several objections on the book ''[[The Hindus: An Alternative History]]'' by Doniger.<ref name=notice>{{cite news|title=Your Approach Is That of a Woman Hungry of Sex|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?289468|access-date=23 May 2014|newspaper=[[Outlook India]]|date=11 February 2014|archive-date=18 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318113852/http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?289468}}</ref> In 2011, Batra filed suit against Doniger and Penguin Publishing under [[Hate speech laws in India#Section 295(A)|Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code]], which punishes acts intended to cause outrage or offend the sentiments of religious communities.<ref name=ratna>{{cite news|last=Kapur|first=Ratna|title=Totalising history, silencing dissent|url=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/totalising-history-silencing-dissent/article5690041.ece|access-date=15 February 2014|newspaper=The Hindu|date=15 February 2014}}</ref> In February 2014, pursuant to a settlement agreement, Penguin India withdrew all unsold copies of the book and pulped them, leading to sharp criticism.<ref name="pulp_outcry">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/13/indian-conservatives-penguin-hindus-book|title=Outcry as Penguin India pulps 'alternative' history of Hindus|date=13 February 2014|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=28 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|date=2014|journal=American Libraries|volume=45|issue=9/10|pages=17|issn=0002-9769|jstor=24603863|title=Global Reach—Censorship}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/17/books/author-resigned-to-ill-fate-of-book.html|title=Author Resigned to Ill Fate of Book in India|last=Williams|first=John|date=2014-02-16|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-06-03|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.firstpost.com/living/children-of-marx-macaulay-are-defaming-hinduism-dinanath-batra-1559083.html|title=Children of Marx, Macaulay are defaming Hinduism: Dinanath Batra|website=Firstpost|access-date=2019-06-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://caravanmagazine.in/reportage/pulped|title=Publishers failed to stand up to Dina Nath Batra in ways that matter. What will this mean for the future of debate in India?|last=Bal|first=Hartosh Singh|date=December 2014|website=[[The Caravan]]|language=en|url-status=live|access-date=2019-12-30}}</ref>

The books among other things, asserted that cars were invented in ancient India and urged students to draw the geographic map of an ''Akhand Bharat'', that includes countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/rss-dina-nath-batra-wants-tagore-urdu-and-arabic-words-removed-from-ncert-textbooks/story-11iigvXLLMaTBrwQ0PiApM.html|title=RSS' Dina Nath Batra wants Tagore, Urdu words removed from NCERT textbooks|date=2017-07-24|website=Hindustan Times|language=en|access-date=2019-06-03}}</ref> They received severe criticism from historians as well as the popular press. Historian [[Romila Thapar]] stated that the books contained "not history, but fantasy."<ref name=fantasy>{{cite news|title=Historians slam Dina Nath Batra books, call them 'fantasy'|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/historians-slam-dina-nath-batra-books-call-them-fantasy/article1-1245617.aspx|access-date=28 July 2014|work=[[Hindustan Times]]|date=28 July 2014}}</ref> [[Irfan Habib]], another prominent historian, described them as "hilarious but scary".<ref name=fantasy/> He said that the books were being introduced as part of a political program, and also stated that "The point here is whether the person has any semblance of scholarship, any track record."<ref name=fantasy/>

On 12 November 2014, the newly elected BJP government of [[Haryana]] state announced that Batra would be appointed to a new committee of educationalists. The committee would consist of retired teachers and professors from the state.<ref name=haryana_committee>{{cite news|title=Dinanath Batra to guide Haryana on education|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/rss-ideologue-dinanath-batra-to-guide-haryana-on-education/article1-1285430.aspx|access-date=14 November 2014|work=[[Hindustan Times]]|date=12 November 2014}}</ref>