Origins: 

“Hindu Education Foundation, an educational project of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, strives to replace these various misconceptions with a correct representation of India and Hinduism.” (source: HSS launches Hindu Education Foundation (HEF), statement on http://hssworld.org   website).²  The HSS is the U.S. based affiliate of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) an organization with a sordid history of violence against Muslims, Christians, and the core of the Hindutva (Hindu supremacist) ideology. ³  At a recent gathering of RSS and HSS activists from around the world, a U.S. based activist stated: “Through the Hindu Education Foundation run by the RSS in California, we have succeeded in correcting the misleading information in text books for primary and secondary classes,” ⁴  

Connections: 

HEF is almost entirely composed of Hindutva activists and ideologues from various RSS organizations in the U.S.  Some of the HEF’s advisors have been at the forefront of a vicious and slanderous campaign against Dr. Michael Witzel, including a petition directed to Harvard University aiming to discredit him by accusing him of being an “Aryan Supremacist,” and a “creationist,” accusations that could in reality more aptly describe the content they wish to impose on sixth-graders with their current assault on California’s textbooks.⁵  Such malicious tactics are not new to the Hindutva movement.  A few years ago these same U.S. based RSS organizations attempted (and failed) to block the appointment of the world renowned historian Dr. Romila Thapar to the Kluge Chair at the Library of Congress, using similar smear tactics accusing her of “cultural genocide,” being “anti-Hindu” and so on.  The head of the RSS even called for her arrest!  This is the approach RSS organizations take to oppose those they disagree with.⁶ 

S. Kalyanaraman, advisor to HEF and an ideologue of the Hindutva movement in the U.S. refers to the Indo-Eurasian Research run by Michael Witzel as “a Communist-leaning political list better known for its uncritical beliefs in myths like Aryan Invasion and its negation of historical facts..”⁷ This advisor to the HEF also believes that “It is time to attack the 'secular'. It is a dirty word, a dirty system and should be used as a word of abuse against anyone who does not adhere to Sanatana Dharma…I think secularism should be deemed a negation of Dharma, anti-Dharma, a word of abuse and hence rejected altogether.”⁸ 

“Educational” interests: 

The Hindu Education Foundation website has a “Resources” section which begins with a link to http://www.atributetohinduism.com/ a website that includes articles such as one titled “Ancient Writings tell of UFO visit in 4,000 B.C.” and “Did Man reach the moon Thousands of Years ago?”  HEF’s website describes this link as “Information about Hinduism and Hindu contributions.”  

Some quotes from this “Information” resource: ⁹  

“India may have had a superior civilization with possible contacts with extraterrestrial visitors, and the flying devices called 'Vimanas' described in ancient Indian texts may underline their possible connections with today's aerospace technology…”  

“The mention of airplanes is found many times throughout Vedic literature..”

Endnotes