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IN DEPTH:
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Stop the Injection of Hindutva Ideology into California History Text books
Dear Friend,
As you may be aware, a major effort is underway in California, in the
guise of multiculturalism and minority rights, to inject narrow
sectarian versions of Hinduism and Ancient India into Grade 6
History-Social Science text books. (For background information and
talking points, see http://www.friendsofsouthasia.org).
We need your urgent help to turn back the Hindutva assault on our text
books, before they are adopted by the California State Board of
Education (SBE).
If you are among those who:
- Believe
that school curriculum ought to be based on scholarly and factual
information, and encourage class discussions on links between history
and contemporary social issues;
- Wish
to prevent California from being used as a laboratory for a Hindutva view
of history, which has been rejected by Indian policy makers (via NCERT
books); and
- Want
the SBE to know that a majority of Hindus and Indians DO NOT subscribe
to the supremacist, and often violent, ideologies of Hindutva groups
Then here is what you can do:
1. Let the SBE know by fax or email or by telephone that:
- Ancient
Indian history belongs to ALL the communities from the subcontinent,
not just to some “practicing Hindus” (as defined by some sectarian groups) based in the United
States.
- You
have serious reservations about the edits submitted by the Vedic
Foundation (VF) and the Hindu Education Foundation (HEF), and that you
would like the SBE to adopt the edits submitted by the Content Review
Panel of scholars appointed by the SBE.
- You
reject the demands of the VF and HEF, who posture as aggrieved
minorities when their cohorts in India make a mockery of rights for
religious minorities, Dalits, Adivasis, and women.
Contacts at the CA Department of Education:
- President
Ruth Green -- (916) 319-0827. Fax: (916) 319-0176. Email: Jack
O'Connell joconnell@cde.ca.gov, Tom Adams tadams@cde.ca.gov
- Deputy
Supt Sue Stickel, Curriculum & Instruction Branch -- Phone: (916)
319-0806. Fax: (916) 319- 0103 Email: sstickel@cde.ca.gov;
- Assembly member Jackie Goldberg; Chair of the Education Committee -- Fax: (916) 319-2145 Goldberg@asm.ca.gov;
- Secretary Alan Bersin -- Fax: (916) 323-3753; kheinrich@ose.ca.gov;
- Chief Counsel Karen Steentofte -- Fax: (916) 319-0176 ksteento@cde.ca.gov
2. Write to your local South Asian newspaper expressing your views about this ongoing controversy.
India Abroad: editorial@indiaabroad.com, Fax: 212-727-9730
India West: news@indiawest.com, Fax: (510) 383-1155 24
Indian Express, North America: info@iexpressusa.com Fax. (212) 594-8848
Thank you for caring.
Volunteers at Friends of South Asia (FOSA) and Coalition Against Communalism (CAC)
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