[Fwd: [SriVaishnavaRajayam] California Text Book initiative(Please feel free to fwd it)]

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While in the past i have been disturbed by such reports, i have attained much peace by these verses by holy Nammazhwar in one of his paasurams: Avaravar thama thamadhu arivari vagai vagai Avaravar iraiyavar enavadi adaivargal Avaravar irayavar kuraivilar iraiyavar Avaravar vidhi vazhi adaya ninranare This'd make sense to those who know Tamil - while i do not claim expertise in interpreting these holy hymns - please note the third verse - 'Avaravar irayavar kuraivilar iraiyavar' - which means to each his/her god is great! probably very few religion/religious leaders have propagated this this isn't the first time Hindus/hinduism has been derided - Hinduism has withstood several onslaughts and those mentioned here are perhaps the mildest forms! run vikram <ranga_skumar

wrote: Mr. Mohan, I am not surprised. These things happen in India itself. The textbooks in schools give distorted versions of hinduism. When the BJP minister Mr.Murali manohar joshi made a few corrections , he was dubbed communal & a big hue & cry was raised. These changes were reversed once the congress came to power. The recent census report clearly shows that the muslim population has increased & that of the hindus has come down. Try talking family planning to a muslim. U should be aware of the fate that befell salman rushdie when he wrote the "satanic verses". The joke is that the then PM rajiv gandhi banned the book even before anyone had read it. India was the first country to ban the book. India has the 2nd largest muslim population in the world. Even today in many of the christian management run schools, non christain students are forced to attend the morning gospel sessions everyday. In chennai, speakers gather once a month & deride hinduism in so called christian prayer meetings. They even proclalim that the blind can see, lame can walk & the dumb can speak after these prayer sessions. The so called rationalists asociations turn a blind eye to this. The so called athesists & atehsistic organisations in India criticise only hinduism & NOT any other religion. Whay, at the time of independence, Gandhi insisted that the Somnath temple should be built with public funds & not thro' govt. money. In the same breath he also insisted that all the mosques destroyed during partition should be rebulit with govt. money. What have U got to say to this? At least U guys are lucky that U are able

to raise Ur voice out these in the US. Try doing this in India. Even Ur hindu friends will dub U communal. In India, if U are pro hindu, U are communal. If U are anti india U are secular. Simple. Reason : Vote banks, lack of unity among hindus etc., etc., At least may Ur efforts bear fruit. Good luck. regards, sanjay kumar Mohan Sagar <madhuriandmohan wrote: Can Hindus in the USA ask for parity with other religionists? Can theydemand that Hinduism in textbooks be taught using the same yardstickapplied to Islam and Christianity? Hindus in

California thought so. Inthe eyes of most unbiased observers, these would be the mostreasonable demands.Portrayal of Christianity and IslamTextbooks in California portray Christianity and Islam according tothe beliefs of insiders. Christianity and Islam are historicizedaccording to believers' traditions. Mainstream scholarship sto two views regarding Jesus Christ. One school concludes that henever existed and that all tenets, beliefs and legends found in theChristian Bible are derived from pre-existing Pagan, Persian,Buddhist, Jewish and Egyptian traditions. Professor G A Wells [TheJesus Myth] is an excellent example of this school of thought. Theother school concludes that a shadowy figure called Jesus existed, whowas later fictionalized in the Christian Bible. But, there arenumerous hypotheses as to what his identity was. Professor AlvarEllegard [Jesus, Hundred Years Before Christ] is an

example of thisschool of thought.But, all mainstream scholars tend to agree on several points:1. There is no historical evidence that Jesus Christ, as narratedin the Christian Bible, ever existed.2. There is absolutely no evidence that the Jews were responsiblefor the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In fact, Professor Robert Price[Deconstructing Jesus] even calls it cruci-fiction.3. Many terrible social practices such as slavery andanti-Semitism are enshrined in the Christian Bible. From the CatholicPope Pius XI to the Lutheran theologian Norman Beck, many scholarshave admitted that the Nazi anti-Semitism witnessed in the 20thcentury was a mere culmination of a long tradition of Christiananti-Semitism. Beck even summarizes the approximately 450 anti-Semiticremarks found in just five of the books

that constitute the ChristianBible.4. The versions of various stories told in the synoptic gospelsare often contradicted by other gospels which the Church suppressed.Professor Morton Smith [The Secret Gospel], for example, discusses avariant version of the life of Jesus discussed in a gospel. Of course,many scholars, including theologians such as Raymond Brown [TheVirginal Conception and Bodily Resurrection of Jesus], have alsoconcluded that even the synoptic gospels present conflicting versions.Yet, textbooks do not hint at any of these academic findings when theydiscuss Christianity. Textbooks discuss the Sermon on the Mount as ifa historical Jesus delivered it. They state that the twelve disciplesof Jesus disseminated Christian teachings as if this claim ishistorically valid.It is the same with Islam. Textbooks report the revelation of TheQuran to Prophet

Mohammad as a historical fact. Revelations are notsubject to scientific skepticism. No mention is made of how jihad andjizyah were used as effective tools in the spread of Islam. Textbooksare silent about the fact that the Christian Bible has pronouncedwomen inferior. A textbook reports that Prophet Mohammad was employedby an Arab widow and businesswoman, Khadija, whom Mohammad lattermarried. In the very next paragraph, it adds that Islam improved thestatus of women who were oppressed in the pre-Islamic society. If so,how did a woman run businesses in pre-Islamic Arabia? In a desire topresent Islam favorably, textbooks even let go logic.In the treatment of both Christianity and Islam, the following salientfeatures are noted:1. They are historicized according to the beliefs of theirpractitioners and not according to the conclusions of

mainstreamacademics.2. No terrible practice authorized in those religions such asanti-Semitism or slavery is even mentioned.3. Tenets of these religions are summarized, in an instructionalmanner, as understood by practitioners.4. Islam is not presented as an improvement on Christianity, norChristianity presented as a replacement of Judaism.It is reasonable to conclude that textbooks are doing the right thingin accordance with the guidelines of the California Department ofEducation [CDE] which stipulate that religions must be dealt with insuch a manner as to instill pride in its followers.Portrayal of HinduismOn the other hand, Hinduism has all along been discriminated against.The following have been the significant features of the treatment

ofHinduism:1. It is historicized not according to its traditional beliefsbut according to the speculative, racist and unproven 19th centurycolonial theories propagated by those highly hostile to Hinduism. Forexample, Aryan Invasion Theory [AIT], which was invented to divideIndia on racial grounds, justify British occupation and facilitateconversion to Christianity, is used to historicize the origins ofHinduism. This is being done even though many empirical evidencesactually refute AIT.2. The tenets of Hinduism, a very pluralistic tradition, arehastily summarized in a manner that is hardly instructional or noteven mentioned.3. The caste system is portrayed in a selective and biasedmanner, from the perspective of a hostile outsider. Social practicessuch as untouchability [also found in non-Hindu

societies like Japan,Korea and Tibet] are depicted in graphic detail, and associated withHinduism, which could only make Hindu students feel ashamed of theirreligion. Textbooks fail to mention that the most sacred books of theHindus such as the Vedas, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata andTirukkural were all authored by Harijan saints. Textbooks do not alsomention that many revered saints in Hinduism have been Harijans.4. Textbooks make fun of Hindu gods and beliefs.5. Buddhism is depicted as a cure all for the assumed evils foundin Hinduism. This is done contrary to facts.The California Hindu InitiativeAs their children attend California schools, parents come to know ofwhat is written in textbooks. Many have been astonished and pained.Many Hindu groups, all of them non-political, have consistently workedwith teachers

and schools, at a local level, to correct suchmisrepresentations.Over the last several months, two organizations The Vedic Foundationand The Hindu Education Foundation have been working with the CDE. Theformer is a religious organization while the latter is a socialorganization that includes Hindus from all walks of life. Bothunderstood that to ensure a fair representation, the mandate itselfhas to be revised. But, in the meanwhile, within the scope of themandate, they worked with the CDE, publishers, schools, scholars andparents.They reviewed many textbooks and suggested changes that would helpremedy the erroneous and hostile depictions, until the mandate itselfcan be corrected. The CDE constituted a review process to review andaccept changes.Some Academics Oppose the Hindu InitiativeSome 47 academics, including those known for their virulentlyanti-Hindu stances and

Communist affiliations, petitioned the CDEurging them to dismiss the Hindu demands. They alleged that thechanges were unscholarly and politically motivated. Michael Witzel ofHarvard University led the charge.Ironically, those who initiated this petition admitted that they hadabsolutely no clue about the nature of changes proposed. Theirpetition to the CDE too did not reveal any knowledge of proposedchanges. These changes had been on the CDE website for weeks, andanyone could have reviewed those. Petitioners did not bother to gothrough that trouble. Instead, they made wild allegations. Theirpetition lacked substance.They also volunteered to help the CDE with the revision process.Surprisingly, the CDE accepted their proposal. It nominated MichaelWitzel, Stanley Wolpert and James Heitzman to review changes. Thefirst two had signed the petition while the third is a strong believerin Christian

miracles.Over 30 distinguished archeologists and historians had written the CDEsupporting the Hindu initiative and explaining why falsified theorieslike the AIT or AMT should not be included. The signatories includedsuch distinguished scholars as archeologist B B Lal, the most eminentauthority on ancient Indian archeology who had also definitelyestablished the direction of the Indus Valley script.The CDE does not seem to have acted on this substantive communication.On the other hand, it yielded to Witzel and others, whose petitionlacked substance. One does not know the logic behind this decision orwhy the CDE allowed Witzel etc to circumvent the proceedings late inthe process.Commissioners Uphold Hindu SuggestionsOn December 1-2, 2005, the CDE held a hearing and the commissionersreviewed and decided on the suggestions. Most of the suggestionsoriginally proposed by the Hindus

and accepted during the initialreview process, were approved by the commission. During the hearing,Heitzman urged the commission to at least retain Aryan MigrationTheory [AMT] in the place of AIT. Fortunately, Professor Metzenberg, adistinguished biologist and a commissioner on the panel, pointedlytold that there is no genetic evidence for Aryan migration and addedthat he would go by scientific evidence than accept the unprovenbeliefs of some historians. The commission decided to add that somehistorians believe in AMT.What Motivates These Anti-Hindu Academics?Even though Hindus succeeded, and got most of what they had asked for,there are many disturbing questions worth asking.1. What motivates Witzel and other signatories to maliciouslyoppose a Hindu initiative even without bothering to know the nature ofchanges

proposed?2. Why did some academics agree to the Hindu suggestions inprivate but opposed that in public? What are they afraid of?3. Will Witzel and other petitioners ever campaign that Islam orChristianity be presented according to mainstream scholarship andtheir crimes not whitewashed? Why are they silent when it comes tothese religions and only hostile to Hinduism and Hindus?4. Witzel has made many derogatory remarks about Hindus. He hasmade fun of Hindu immigrants to America. He has ridiculed theirpractice of cremating their dead. He has called them "lost" or"abandoned" people. He has ridiculously claimed that American Hindusdo not invest in their children's higher education. What motivates himto make such disparaging remarks? What motivates other academics tofollow him and sign on the

petition?5. Why did the CDE nominate three academics with known hostilestances against Hindus or Hinduism? Will they ever nominate someonewho makes such vilifying remarks about Christianity or Islam to reviewsuggestions from those communities? What compelled the CDE tocircumvent its own procedural guidelines and give a free run to suchanti-Hindu academics, more so when their petition made wildallegations and lacked substance?ConclusionOne can speculate on what motivates Witzel or others to attack Hindus,even when their initiative is most reasonable. Many of thosespeculations might be factual. But, Hindus can get justice only bebeing proactive. Here are a few things they must do:1. Create forums that can serve as focal for textbook review andadoption process.2. Review your

child's textbook and compare the treatment ofHinduism vis-à-vis Christianity and Islam in those. See if Hinduism isdiscriminated against.3. Validate if the portrayal of Hinduism is according to guidelines.4. Ask the education department who is reviewing and authoringtextbooks. Do some background research on those academics. If they areknown for their anti-Hindu credentials, Hindus must demand that thedepartment replace such academics with neutral and sympatheticscholars. This is a very reasonable demand. After all, religion andculture, unlike science, are subjective. There is always a dividebetween an interpretation by a sympathetic and neutral scholar and oneby a hostile person.5. Form teams to work with publishers and insist that they do nothire anti-Hindu academics to author textbooks. After all, there

aretwo million Hindus in the USA. There are numerous others sympatheticto the Hindu rights. Publishers cannot ignore a group like this.6. Form a task force to identify neutral scholars to authortextbooks. Work with publishers and education department to ensurethat such scholars are considered for writing and reviewing textbooks.Hindus must remember that the Jews fought many such battles in thecourtroom and the media before getting justice. We cannot ignore theimportance of either.The author is an India-born, Silicon Valley-based orthodox,practising, agnostic Hindu. He can be reached at kalavai.venkat ShoppingFind Great Deals on Holiday Gifts at Shopping

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