He came to India in 1977 as a young Frenchman and never left. Nearly five decades later, Michel Danino finds himself at the centre of a legal storm that may cost him his last institutional foothold in the country he made his home.
IIT Gandhinagar has reportedly said a standing faculty committee will review Danino’s guest professor role following a Supreme Court direction.
The court has asked the central government, states, union territories, universities and public institutions to dissociate from Danino and two others involved in drafting a now-withdrawn NCERT Class 8 social science textbook, claimed reports. The chapter in question dealt with the judiciary. It was pulled after a section on corruption in courts drew scrutiny.
NCERT Director D P Saklani had named Danino, Suparna Diwakar and Alok Prasanna Kumar in an affidavit. He said the chapter was drafted by a team under Danino’s chairmanship.
IIT Gandhinagar Director Rajat Moona told a section of the media that the faculty standing committee would deliberate on the appointment in light of the Supreme Court judgment and take a decision.
Moona also clarified Danino’s current status at the institute. He said Danino had served as visiting faculty until the end of January last year, after which he was appointed guest faculty on a need basis. He has not visited the institute since. Guest faculty, Moona noted, are paid only for the time they are physically present.
Danino, 69, is a Padma Shri awardee. He chaired the curricular area group responsible for developing social science textbooks and was centrally involved in producing books for classes 6 to 8.
His association with IIT Gandhinagar began in 2011, when he joined as a guest professor. He later helped establish an Archaeological Sciences Centre there and was involved with a course on Indian Knowledge Systems.
His academic interests had drawn attention well before the controversy. A series of lectures he delivered at IIT Kanpur between 2010 and 2014, on subjects including the Indus-Sarasvati civilisation and early Indian science and technology, found an audience beyond the immediate campus, including among faculty at IIT Gandhinagar.
rom France to India, Danino’s Long Journey Ends In SC Order
He came to India in 1977 as a young Frenchman and never left. Nearly five decades later, Michel Danino finds himself at the centre of a legal storm that may cost him his last institutional foothold in the country he made his home.
IIT Gandhinagar has reportedly said a standing faculty committee will review Danino’s guest professor role following a Supreme Court direction.
The court has asked the central government, states, union territories, universities and public institutions to dissociate from Danino and two others involved in drafting a now-withdrawn NCERT Class 8 social science textbook, claimed reports. The chapter in question dealt with the judiciary. It was pulled after a section on corruption in courts drew scrutiny.
NCERT Director D P Saklani had named Danino, Suparna Diwakar and Alok Prasanna Kumar in an affidavit. He said the chapter was drafted by a team under Danino’s chairmanship.
IIT Gandhinagar Director Rajat Moona told a section of the media that the faculty standing committee would deliberate on the appointment in light of the Supreme Court judgment and take a decision.
Moona also clarified Danino’s current status at the institute. He said Danino had served as visiting faculty until the end of January last year, after which he was appointed guest faculty on a need basis. He has not visited the institute since. Guest faculty, Moona noted, are paid only for the time they are physically present.
Danino, 69, is a Padma Shri awardee. He chaired the curricular area group responsible for developing social science textbooks and was centrally involved in producing books for classes 6 to 8.
His association with IIT Gandhinagar began in 2011, when he joined as a guest professor. He later helped establish an Archaeological Sciences Centre there and was involved with a course on Indian Knowledge Systems.
His academic interests had drawn attention well before the controversy. A series of lectures he delivered at IIT Kanpur between 2010 and 2014, on subjects including the Indus-Sarasvati civilisation and early Indian science and technology, found an audience beyond the immediate campus, including among faculty at IIT Gandhinagar.
Also Read: Book Withdrawn: NCERT Issues Public Apology Over Judiciary Chapter Row https://www.vibesofindia.com/book-withdrawn-ncert-issues-public-apology-over-judiciary-chapter-row/
