California-based Hindu Education Foundation suggested corrections to proposed school textbooks after Indian Americans raised issues over alleged negative portrayal of Hinduism and India.
California-based Hindu Education Foundation suggested corrections to proposed school textbooks after Indian Americans raised issues over alleged negative portrayal of Hinduism and India.
SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — California-based Hindu Education Foundation suggested corrections to proposed school textbooks after Indian Americans raised issues over alleged negative portrayal of Hinduism and India.
According to the organization, the Indian American community has been “battling to remove several inaccuracies and myths about Hinduism from textbooks.”
The California Department of Education has made several updates to the framework based on input by scholars, students and the community members, mentioning Hindu concepts like Yoga and Dharma, Sages Vyasa and Valmiki and Indian achievements in science and technology.
After the Hindu American, LGBT and African-American communities raised concerns about the “biased and inequitable portrayal” of their communities in textbooks at a public hearing held by the California Department of Education’s Instructional Quality Commission, the department voted to reject content from two publishers.
“While the disparaging images were rejected and a few positive changes were made, many of the textbook narratives still contain extensive inaccuracies and stereotypes,” Shantharam Nekkar of the Hindu American Foundation said. He says that several items that are mandated in the California History-Social Science textbook framework (state guidelines) for India and Hinduism are “being ignored by some publishers.”
Parents, students and community leaders joined in week-long protests across California, demanding accurate and equitable representation for India and Hinduism in textbooks. A petition signed by over 8,000 people demanding the withdrawal of biased and inaccurate content was also submitted to the department.
“Some improvements have been made, but significant additional changes are required to present India and Hinduism in an accurate and equitable manner,” said Krishna Maheshwari of Hindupedia.
The IQC will send its recommendations to the State Board of Education for its approval in November. The textbooks recommended by the board are expected to be adopted by school districts in 2018.
Robert Haugh, a Bay Area based journalist who has been covering news, elections, arts & entertainment, professional sports, community events and crime for 18 years.
