Bangladesh bans Japanese cartoon Doraemon to halt Hindi invasion
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A file photo of a cinema still from Doraemon Movie: Nobita’s Mermaid Legend. Bangladesh has banned the Japanese manga cartoon Doraemon from its TV screens over fears that youngsters who are hooked on the Hindi-dubbed version are struggling to learn their native Bengali. -- PHOTO: CATHAY-KERIS FILMS
DHAKA (AFP) - Bangladesh has banned the Japanese manga cartoon Doraemon from its TV screens over fears that youngsters who are hooked on the Hindi-dubbed version are struggling to learn their native Bengali.
Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu told Parliament on Thursday that television channels which have been screening Doraemon had been sent official notifications ordering them to take the series off air.
"The government doesn't want children's educational atmosphere to be hampered by Doraemon," the minister said.
The ban comes after several local dailies called for a ban on the cartoon, worried that Doraemon addicts were speaking Hindi to each other instead of Bengali.
