09-03-2007, 12:56 PM
Some1 sent me this:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> Dear Friends:
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to convey to you the struggle that we all face in getting fair representation of our heritage, faith and culture. What the textbooks teach children today about India and Hinduism is still dominated by âhistoryâ written by the colonial rulers of India over half a century ago. The specification for middle school textbooks, derived from the fundamental rights specified in the Constitution of the U.S.A., is very simple:
âTextbooks should instill pride in every child in his or her heritageâ.
While âhistorical accuracyâ is important, it is far more important that no child should be made to feel inferior. No religion or culture should be demeaned or denigrated.
In 2005, California tried to improve the texts, giving a voice to all communities. Indian-Americans took this opportunity, like many other citizen groups, and carefully developed many edits, which were approved for adoption by the review panels. At the last minute, some people on the CA State Board of Education, whose job was to ensure fairness for all, conspired with certain entities hostile to Hinduism, to deny the rights of Hindu Americans to remove denigrating and false references to our culture. They brought in a hostile anti-Hindu group including Communists, Pakistani-ISI-supported propagandists, and fundamentalist proselytizers led by an East Coast Aryan supremacist who runs a hate forum against Hindus, and placed such entities above the duly appointed authorities, to railroad the process.
A brave group of parents took the powerful establishment to Federal Court for restoration of our civil rights. The defendants predictably tried to get the case dismissed, claiming that they represented the State (and hence were above the law?) The Court ruled that they could be held liable for their actions. The defendants then fought tooth and nail to avoid producing the records of email and other conspiracies, as ordered by the Court. Apparently the Court prevailed, and now it is time to get their Depositions.  Here is an update: <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
( I have removed some of the dated stuff from there, so this should serve as a current intro. Add the Arvind Kumar newsletter):
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> Dear Friends:
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to convey to you the struggle that we all face in getting fair representation of our heritage, faith and culture. What the textbooks teach children today about India and Hinduism is still dominated by âhistoryâ written by the colonial rulers of India over half a century ago. The specification for middle school textbooks, derived from the fundamental rights specified in the Constitution of the U.S.A., is very simple:
âTextbooks should instill pride in every child in his or her heritageâ.
While âhistorical accuracyâ is important, it is far more important that no child should be made to feel inferior. No religion or culture should be demeaned or denigrated.
In 2005, California tried to improve the texts, giving a voice to all communities. Indian-Americans took this opportunity, like many other citizen groups, and carefully developed many edits, which were approved for adoption by the review panels. At the last minute, some people on the CA State Board of Education, whose job was to ensure fairness for all, conspired with certain entities hostile to Hinduism, to deny the rights of Hindu Americans to remove denigrating and false references to our culture. They brought in a hostile anti-Hindu group including Communists, Pakistani-ISI-supported propagandists, and fundamentalist proselytizers led by an East Coast Aryan supremacist who runs a hate forum against Hindus, and placed such entities above the duly appointed authorities, to railroad the process.
A brave group of parents took the powerful establishment to Federal Court for restoration of our civil rights. The defendants predictably tried to get the case dismissed, claiming that they represented the State (and hence were above the law?) The Court ruled that they could be held liable for their actions. The defendants then fought tooth and nail to avoid producing the records of email and other conspiracies, as ordered by the Court. Apparently the Court prevailed, and now it is time to get their Depositions.  Here is an update: <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
( I have removed some of the dated stuff from there, so this should serve as a current intro. Add the Arvind Kumar newsletter):