Nursing body takes action against publishers in "merits of dowry" textbook row

No matter what the ground realities are, a story about a prescribed textbook listing the "advantages" of the dowry system isn't one that can be brushed under the carpet in India. Over the last few days, ever since a picture of a portion of the textbook in question went viral on social media, there have been calls from all quarters, expressing outrage against the Indian Nursing Council (INC) that found a mention on the cover of the now-infamous textbook, was published by Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers.

Subsequently, the INC has released a clarification on the matter and has said that it does not give any publisher permission to use its name. "Indian Nursing Council as a policy does not endorse any author or publication nor has allowed any author to use the name of Indian Nursing Council for their publications," said the notification. The INC has also now declared that necessary action has been initiated against the concerned publisher and author for "misusing its name in the book". 

The textbook in question, which is titled Textbook of Sociology for Nurses, declares on its cover that it is "as per the INC syllabus". The INC has categorically said that it does not have anything to do with the "substandard" and "derogatory" content in the textbook, which has been authored by TK Indrani. "The INC strongly condemns any derogatory content which is against the prevailing law of the land. It is clarified that INC only prescribes syllabus for various nursing programmes, which is placed on its website," said the Nursing body. It has added in a statement to the press that, as per policy, it only prescribes the syllabus and does not endorse the work of any author or publisher.

Among the four "merits" of dowry that the book lists, it states that an attractive dowry can be used to "marry off ugly-looking girls" with well or "ugly-looking boys". The author, TK Indrani, has four books to her credit. These include Manual of Nutrition & Therapeutic Diet, First Aid for Nurses and Sociology for Nurses: A Precise Guide to Sociology for General Nursing Students.