The edit “Cartoon history” (July 5) is commendably balanced in its appreciation of the inclusion of cartoons in school textbooks. Since textbooks are written for students in their teens, who have limited exposure to the real world and ongoing events, care should be taken to select cartoons to illustrate or explain an important issue and not trivialise it. As such, cartoons with political content or religious connotation are best avoided. A surfeit of cartoons tends to replace understanding with funniness. It will be a good move to appoint an expert body to lay down the scope, principles and norms for choosing cartoons for textbooks.
Y G Chouksey Pune
...and maturity
Cartoons make textbooks more interesting and are a great way of introducing a topic to students in a lighter, layered manner. So why object? Anyone with a little maturity will take them in the right spirit. Should our students not develop that spirit or would we rather have them take offence at the smallest issue?
Mahesh Kapasi New Delhi
Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:
The Editor, Business Standard
Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
New Delhi 110 002
Fax: (011) 23720201
E-mail: letters@bsmail.in
All letters must have a postal address and telephone number