RE: [world-vedic] Ramayana-bashing in American schools - Status

[Guest guest]

The Federal Grant program is exclusively set to sponcer religious

defemation, for in all its billions does it offer a grant to a viable,

cultural presentation of Indian culture or of any culture of a Godly nature

unless it is a program sharply intagonistic to that culture or God. It is

time that they sponcer an equal number of grants for each or else, they need

to change board members who are so skewed with hate crime like prejudice.

They now need to sponcer some cultural or accedemic presentation of the

Ramayan that is genuiune to its roots artistically and culturally or else it

demonstrates the religious and racial bias of the board. Does anyone heave

the contacts with attorneys or political leaders or accedemic contacts so we

can put something like this together?

 

Raghu

 

 

vrin parker [vedic108]

Friday, December 15, 2000 8:17 AM

vediculture

[world-vedic] Ramayana-bashing in American schools - Status

 

 

 

 

 

>"Rajiv Malhotra" <Rajiv.malhotra

><Rajiv.malhotra

>Ramayana-bashing in American schools - Status

>Wed, 13 Dec 2000 13:13:34 -0500

>

>Our US Congressman, who is a member of the India Caucus and will be part of

>the Congressional delegation visiting India in early January, spent

>considerable time with me today specifically on the Ramayana portrayal by

>Professor Susan Wadley. (Below is a copy of what we had mailed earlier to

>Washington.)

>

>The Congressman said that he was appalled at the inflammatory approach in

>the Ramayana material, and was especially concerned that it was done under

>Federal grant money as that could give it the aura of governmental stamp of

>approval. While there is the First Amendment of the Constitution giving

>freedom of speech, it is not the job of the Federal Government to spend the

>taxpayer's money in support of what is essentially hate speech. He also

>felt

>that the standard in case of school material should be at a higher level of

>sensitivity towards minority communities in America, of which the Hindus

>are

>one.

>

>He promised to write to Washington supporting our position, and will also

>explore a way to get us in contact with the relevant authorities to

>participate in future grants of this kind. Lets keep our fingers crossed.

>Nothing will happen quickly or easily.

>

>Rajiv

>

>

>The Educational Council on Indic Traditions

>53 White Oak Drive

>Princeton, NJ 08540.

>Phone: (609) 683-0548. Email: dbgray64

>

>December 1st 2000.

>

>The National Endowment for the Humanities

>1100 Pennsylvania Ave, NW

>Washington DC 20506

>

>Dear NEH Members,

>

> We bring to your notice Prof. Susan Wadley's work emerging from two

>National Endowment for the Humanities grants (1994 and 1997) received by

>her

>to train high school teachers to teach the Indian epic Ramayana to American

>students. Besides India, Ramayana is also the sacred epic of Thailand,

>Indonesia and many other parts of Asia. While the project generated some

>interesting and useful course material, it also included what are clearly

>partisan and political readings of the epic, as well as outright

>inflammatory 'cheap shots' at a sacred text.

>

> This complaint is on behalf of United States citizens. Ramayana and

>Hinduism are no longer merely about a far away exotic land that Americans

>have little to do with. We have Hindus right here in our classrooms today,

>amongst our office co-workers and as our neighbors. It is irresponsible for

>any multicultural school to introduce material where a made up protest song

>against Hindus includes hate speech alleging that "Muslims were targeted",

>or that certain people are "enslaved to form a monkey army" with the

>purported intention to "attack Muslims". What does this do for integration

>in America's sensitive tapestry where the students in class include members

>of the various communities depicted in this denigrating manner? Should

>Government funds be used to create such racially and religiously

>inflammatory teaching materials, ironically in the name of

>multiculturalism?

>

> We understand that academic freedom, and the freedom of speech,

>allows

>us all in this country to espouse ideas that may be unpalatable to some.

>These ideas could be politically or culturally biased or even prejudiced.

>However, such bias about others' religions and religious ideals, others'

>sacred texts and spirituality, when it is presented to high school students

>by non-experts (high school teachers) would lead to a warped understanding

>of others' history and religions and to unintended consequences, including

>stereotyping and hatred of minority groups.

>

> The particular version of the Ramayana that Prof. Wadley includes in

>the lesson plans, and which she says is her favorite version of the many

>songs on the God-king Rama and the Ramayana is a "song" whose author we

>don't know, and which we believe was recently crafted to exacerbate the

>heightened tension between religious groups in India1. This particular

>"song" is included in the essay titled, "The Ramayana and the Study of

>South

>Asia" ("Education About Asia", volume 2, number 1, Spring 1997, page 36, by

>Susan S Wadley).

>

> Prof. Wadley says, "My favorite lessons are those that most directly

>challenge the ways in which South Asia is often taught. Hence the final

>lesson on low caste views of the Ramayana presents a reality too often

>ignored in western treatments of Hinduism and India. The low caste folk

>song presented in this lesson gives a view of the Ramayana not commonly

>found in western texts.... This view of the Ramayana as oppressing women

>and the indigenous pre-Aryan inhabitants challenges us to remember that

>India has never been the rigid society so often portrayed, but rather one

>in

>which multiple voices speak, often challenging the superiority of those at

>the top. And it is through the many tellings of the Ramayana over time, in

>different historical and social circumstances, that this message is

>conveyed

>so clearly"2.

>

> We repeat that no scholar we contacted knows who wrote this "song".

>We

>believe that it could be the work of Prof. Wadley herself or a recent

>contribution by a political activist opposed to the present government in

>India. This made-up hate song is used as a vehicle to express the

>scholar's

>own biases. Her political diatribe against Hindus, and this false and

>mischievous characterization of Rama as the oppressor of women and of

>"lower

>caste" Hindus, and of Rama as a slave-holder and outsider (Aryan other as

>opposed to the native Dravidian) is not only an attack against Rama, who

>the

>majority Hindus hold as the incarnation of God, but a clear attempt to

>create and fuel political, religious, and cultural rifts in India and feed

>American students complex Indian political issues in a simplistic and

>insidious manner.

>

> We provide refutations to the claims made in this "song" to support

>our

>argument that not only is it a false depiction of both the epic and Indian

>history but a dangerous attempt at inserting one's political agenda into

>American classrooms3.

>

> We wish to point out that in an introductory course on world

>religion

>for young people, it is important to give a clear, balanced, and

>sympathetic

>portrayal of a tradition (especially when it is a tradition to which they

>don't belong). From this base, students can later explore more

>sophisticated and complex issues. The average American teenager has very

>little understanding of Hinduism. These students have no idea what the

>Ramayana is, let alone its significance for Hindus and Hinduism. In an

>introductory unit, they will be merely struggling to grasp the bare

>outlines

>of Hindu practice and philosophy. Given this, we cannot imagine the

>students reciting a "song" that views the Ramayana as a tool for oppressing

>women or lower caste people. They would probably imagine that this is what

>most Hindus thought of the Ramayana and that is what they believe in and

>practice.

>

> This same principle carries over to the study of other religions: for

>example, Christianity or Islam. Some of the scholars who have studied the

>Bible have read all or part of it as being patriarchal and oppressing

>women,

>Jews, homosexuals and black. There are others who criticize its violence

>and the way it is used to oppress the poor. Still others question the

>authenticity of the Bible and the real-life events of Jesus. Of course,

>most Christians see the Bible as containing God's words and would be

>horrified at the "deconstruction" of their sacred text. Would we provide

>such portrayals of the Bible to our secondary school students, especially

>dramatized in performances of hate songs in the manner recommended by Prof.

>Wadley? Christians would object vociferously at what they would call an

>unfair portrayal of their faith. Islamists and Muslims would similarly

>protest if one were to characterize Prophet Mohammed as a jihadist and an

>oppressor of women, even if that were supported by textual references.

>

> Scholars can debate controversial views on the Ramayana and the

>Bible

>all they want. We just don't find it necessary to import such debates into

>classrooms where children are beginning to understand the basic contours of

>each religion. The question that Prof. Wadley should have addressed is

>this: if I were a Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Jew, or Moslem, how would I

>want my faith to be understood by those outside it? We believe she has not

>adequately understood this problem or has deliberately chosen to ignore it.

>

> India and the U.S. are the world's two biggest and vibrant

>democracies,

>and it is only recently that there has been an effort to bridge the

>differences in perception that each has had about the other over the past

>fifty years. In such times, it is important that we are all engaged in

>constructive and positive work that will help build better relations and

>understanding among and between the peoples of the two countries. We

>therefore urge you to request Prof. Wadley to remove this particular

>portion

>of her Ramayana instructions in the relevant books and instructional

>material she has provided to high school teachers. We are not asking Prof.

>Wadley to eschew her brand of politics or stop publishing her scholarly

>articles. What we are asking is that Prof. Wadley's malefic interpretation

>of the Ramayana or her desire to espouse the political causes of certain

>sections of the people of India not be made part of American high school

>students' curriculum. A political activist should not turn social studies

>into a platform for social engineering, and Government funds should not be

>used in this way.

>

>Sincerely,

>

>

>Dr. David Gray, Executive Director

>Executive Council on Indic Traditions Group)

>

>cc: Richard W. Riley, Secretary of Education, U.S. Department of Education

> Washington, D.C. 20202

> Naresh Chandra, Indian Ambassador to the U.S., 2107 Massachusetts

>Avenue, NW

> Washington, DC 20008

> Congressman Gary L. Ackerman, U.S. House of Representatives

> 2243 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington DC 20515-3205

>

>

>

> Appendix I

> From "Spotlight on Ramayana - An Enduring Tradition", Chapter V.

>

>UNIT 25, LESSON 2 (Pages 335 through 337):

>

>Teacher Background

>

> This lesson looks at one way in which caste and the ideology

>of caste

> are protested in India today. It is important that students

>in

>the US

> realize that caste is not accepted by all Indians, although

>that is

> the popular perception. In this protest song, sung by a

>group

>of

> untouchables in northern India, the Ramayana is the vehicle

>for

> protest. It refers to Hindu-Muslim conflicts over the past

>decade,

> conflicts which are thought by government and untouchable

>alike to be

> started by agitators who seek to destabilize the government.

>(See

> also lesson x, this volume. ) Those most hurt by these

>conflicts are

> the poor who depend on daily wages to survive. If their town

>has a

> week-long curfew, they have no income for a week. The rich

>can

> survive these closings, but the poor cannot.

>

> The song also refers to a popular belief that the Ramayana

>describes

> the conflict between India's native peoples and the Aryans.

>Hence

> Ravana becomes the hero, the monkeys are the aborigines (who

>become

> low castes and untouchables) and Rama is guilty of warring

>on

>the

> weak.

>

>Procedure

>

> Distribute Worksheet 2. Read and discuss this song in class.

>Students

> should be asked to think about comparable traditions in our

>country

> (rap, rock and country music all conveying political,

>anti-elite

> traditions). They should also discuss any similarities with

>our

> history.

>

> If you live near an area with Indian stores, you might seek

>out a

> store with tape cassettes and ask if they have any cassettes

>of

> Indian rap. One particularly popular singer is Apache

>Indian,

>a

> singer born of Indian descent in Birmingham, England, who

>uses

>a

> modified rap style to sing social protest songs about life

>in

>India

> and England. His songs deal with topics like arranged

>marriages and

> caste. They would be effective vehicles for reaching your

>students.

>

>

>Summary

>

> For homework, ask each student to write a song or story

>about

>caste

> in India. They could write a story of Shabari's lineage. Or

>they

> could compose a song (in any style) about the evils of

>caste.

>

> What Role Does Caste Play in the Ramayana and Indians'

> Interpretations of it?

>

>

>

> Appendix II

>

>Worksheet 2

>

> Read this song sung by an untouchable in north India.

>

> The rulers who control all knowledge,

> Claim the Ramayana to be India's history

> And called us many names -demons, low castes, untouchables.

> But we were the aborigines of this land.

> Listen to our story.

>

> Today we are called the dalits -the oppressed.

> Once the Aryans on their horses invaded this land.

> Then we who are the natives became the displaced.

> Oh Rama, Oh Rama, You became the God and we the demons.

> You portrayed our Hanuman as a monkey,

> Oh Rama, you representative of the Aryans.

>

> You enslaved us to form a monkey army,

> Those you could not subjugate

> You called a rakshasa -a demon.

> But we are the forest rakshak -the protectors.

> You invented the hierarchy of caste

> Through your laws of Manu, the first man.

> Oh Rama, you representative of the Aryans.

>

> And you trampled on the rights of women.

> You made your wife Sita undergo the ordeal of fire

> To prove her chastity.

> Such were your male laws, Oh Rama.

> Oh Rama, you representative of the Aryans.

>

> When Shambuka, the Untouchable

> Tried to gain knowledge,

> You beheaded him, Oh Rama.

> Thus did you crush those who tried to rise above their

>caste.

> Oh Rama, you representative of the Aryans.

>

> Days passed, years and centuries,

> But our lives remained the same.

> We skinned your cattle,

> So that you can wear shoes.

> We clean your gutters,

> So that you can stay clean.

> Oh Rama, you representative of the Aryans.

>

> Did you ever even ask, Oh Rama,

> What our caste is?

> Did you ever even ask

> What our religion is?

> Oh Rama, you representative of the Aryans.

>

> Independence dawned.

> It began with the rule of the constitution.

> The author of the constitution Dr. Ambedkar

> Framed the constitution around secular ideals.

> The castle of caste privileges began to crumble.

> No longer could the elite skim

> The milk of religious exploitation.

> Oh Rama, you representative of the Aryans.

>

> But poverty grew and to divert the poor

> From their real need, a new enemy was found.

> Muslims were targeted and "taught a lesson".

> To destroy Lanka, Oh Rama, you

> Formed us into a monkey army.

> And today you want us,

> The working majority,

> To form a new monkey army

> And attack Muslims.

> Oh Rama, you representative of the Aryans.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>Appendix III

>

>Rama is depicted as an "Aryan" and thus an outsider. We note that the

>Aryan

>Invasion Theory is itself a colonial and racist construct of the 19th

>century, and therefore such a "song" cannot be a part of the folklore of

>Indian tribals. This "song" therefore foists colonial prejudices on an

>already suffering population, forcing them to look at themselves through

>the

>eyes of one of their historical oppressors.

>

> Valmiki, the author of the Ramayana was himself a member of one of

>the

>"lower castes" (Please note that "lower" and "upper" castes are modern

>terms

>recently coined. There is no Indian term for "caste". The term jati has

>been conflated with caste but is clearly very different from the Western

>conception and definition of caste. There are literally thousands of jatis

>in India, and the closest one can come to describing them is a "community"

>or "guild"). Superimposing this construct onto a sacred text is a work of

>imagination.

>

> The Shambuka episode included in the "song" is considered by experts

>to

>be a later day interpolation in the Ramayana. That particular episode is

>at

>variance with other sections of the story, for example, the Shabari

>episode.

>The Shambuka episode occurs in the Uttarakanda which is considered a later

>addition to the Ramayana as a whole. Regarding the characterization of the

>Rama-Ravana Yuddha (battle) as a war between Dravidians and Aryans, the

>following points should be noted:

>

>1. Tradition is unanimous that Rama was a Kshatriya (of the warrior class)

>whereas Ravana

>was a descendant of Maharshi Pulyatsya and was therefore a Brahmin. The

>Jyotirlinga temple at Rameshwaram owes its existence to the expiation

>performed by Lord Rama for the killing of

>Brahmins like Ravana.

>

>2. Rama is depicted as a dark man whereas Ravana is depicted as a

>fair-skinned person in the epic. If Dravidians were dark and Aryans were

>fair, then Rama should be a Dravidian and Ravana should be an Aryan.

>

>3. Ravana's chief queen was Mandodari, who hailed from Mandor in Rajasthan,

>part of "Aryan" country. Therefore, even if Ravana was a "Dravidian", it

>still follows that "Aryan-Dravidian" marriages were prevalent in those

>days.

>

>4. Ravana is depicted in the epic as a scholar of Sanskrit. When the

>monkey-God Hanuman went to Lanka, he is said to have seen smoke emanating

>from the Vedic altars in the homes of the citizens of Lanka. Valmiki, the

>author of the Ramayana, also states that Hanuman heard the recitations of

>Vedas from the homes of Lankans. In short, the Lankans were Aryans!

>

>5. Barring Rama and his brother Lakshmana, the entire "Vanara-sena" (army)

>was comprised of

>the natives of South India. Therefore, the war could very well be

>characterized as one between Dravidians. By no stretch of imagination can

>the battle/war between Rama and Ravana could be characterized as one

>between

>Aryans and Dravidians. It is said that when Rama first met Hanuman, the

>latter addressed Rama in such mellifluous speech that Valmiki makes Rama

>say

>that Hanuman has to be a scholar in the Trayvidya to be able to speak so

>well.

>

>6. According to anthropologists, Sri Lanka was originally inhabited by a

>people called Veddas who were not Dravidian. Thereafter, the North Indians

>from Gujarat and Tamils from the South migrated to Sri Lanka. This view of

>anthropologists puts a big question mark on the Aryan-Dravidian theory

>propagated by Christian missionaries and racist historians.

>

>7. Contrary to the impression this "folk song" likes to portray, Rama is a

>hallowed figure amongst numerous tribal communities in almost every part of

>India.

>

>The reference to tribes being treated as 'monkeys' and then being used to

>'attack Muslims' is highly irresponsible and inflammatory. Besides, there

>is

>no basis for it.

>

>If the scholar wishes to portray social issues facing dalits, she should

>also portray their plight today at the hands of Christians, as explained at

>the dalit's own web site at:

>http://www.dalitchristians.com/Html/problems_struggles.htm.

>

>Some anthropologists such as Prof Wadley often fall into the trap of

>labeling all of India's problems as 'Hindu', whereas they would not label

>the US' very high incidence of child abuse, rape, massive prison

>population,

>drug and other addictions, and high incidence of clinical depression as

>'Judeo-Christian' problems. Western scholars emphasize caste as the

>defining

>characteristic of Hinduism, often to the exclusion of other qualities.

>However, if they called it 'class' rather than 'caste', it would compel

>students to compare with the US' own racially segregated churches, white

>supremacy groups, racial profiling, economic stratification, and civil

>rights issues. America's caste system is implicit and subtle rather than

>explicit and publicly acknowledged, but it is no less harmful. Americans

>label their social categories as demographic groups rather than castes, but

>this does not make the problems disappear. Often, social science studies

>scholars place the West above such 'primitive' practices so as to ridicule

>non-Western traditions. This exacerbates the pre-existing prejudices in our

>society when in fact scholars should act responsibly rather than using

>sensationalism in the classroom.

>

>

 

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