From: Janeshwari Devi
Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2005 12:55 PM
Subject: California textbook adoption
Dr. Prabhu:
Namaste. It was nice speaking to you briefly on the conference call.
The textbook adoption is in the critical final phase of decision making, as the State Board of Education will be voting on the issue on November 8th and 9th. I would appreciate if you could redate your letter and resend it addressed to the State Board of Education members. Their office has been experiencing a turnover of staff members. It is doubtful that they would have received your letter (which did reach the Curriculum Commissioners).
Please reforward it to the administrative assistant to the board members:
Ms. Rebecca Parker; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
She can be reached at (916) 319-0694 if you wish to contact her.
It may be helpful to our cause if you encourage others to write and express their views. All letter should be received in advance of the Nov. 8th meeting.
Regards,
Sent: Saturday, August 27, 2005 4:03 PM
Subject: California textbooks
Friends,
If it is possible for you,I would like to request you to write a letter to the California School Officials.
A lot of folks were requested to write but so far very few letters have been received.
If you know others who may be able to write please forward this request to them/request them to do so.
There is no rush.It could be done in the next three weeks.
It needs to be printed on your personal or business stationary,addressed to:
The California State Board of Education Members
and mailed to:
Janeshwari Devi
The Vedic Foundation
The Vedic Foundation
402 Barsana Rd.
Austin, TX 78737
(512) 288-7180
Austin, TX 78737
(512) 288-7180
Pl include your designation after your signature.
Thanks for all your help in this important effort.
With best wishes,
Sudhir Prabhu
PS I am attaching copy of my letter FYI.
I am also reproducing some points forwarded by Janeshwari Devi which you may consider for inclusion in the letter . You may also wish to visit: http://thevedicfoundation.org to read about the background of the issue.
Misinformation
The information presented in the 12 textbooks being considered for adoption present:
l derogatory and prejudicial views of Hinduism
l contain factually inaccurate statements about Hinduism
l an unbalanced view of Hinduism when compared with other religions
l description of Hinduism which is not based on the Hindu scriptures
l Hinduism is presented from a cultural and anthropological perspective rather than from the perspective of followers as the coverage of other religions do
l material emphasizes stereotypes
l material sensationalizes the religion
l over emphasizes the negative aspects of the culture, economy, lifestyle, etc.
l excludes many of the positive elements of Hindu culture and religion
Effects on Youth
Must knowingly answer test questions incorrectly in order to pass tests
Parents lose credibility when teachings from home conflict with textbook material
Children feel embarrassed when Hinduism is taught in such an incorrect way
Children are teased by classmates about their religion after learning about Hinduism from the textbooks
Children feel ashamed to admit they are Hindu out of fear of ridicule by classmates
Children feel conflicted about their heritage
Children are type-cast by the students in their class
Children have rejected Hinduism in an attempt to be viewed as normal by American standards
Teachings have harmful long-term effects on the Hindu youth and create a negative of
Responsibility as Educators
It is the responsibility of educators to insure that all children receive a non-prejudicial educational experience.
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Introduction Sign the Petition Problem Statement California Textbook Adoption Inaccuracies in
TextbooksNegative Effects
on YouthYouth Stories
Textbook Reform Initiative
Inaccuracies in Textbooks
Below are a few examples of factually inaccurate and demeaning quotations taken directly from the textbooks that are currently being considered for adoption in California for use in 6th grade history-social studies classes. Such gross inaccuracies span multiple topics on Hinduism and India and are widespread among all of the textbooks considered for adoption. The textbook quotations are followed by a brief statement that corrects the quotes and gives an accurate description.
Hindus worship many gods and goddesses. Unlike Vishnu, Shiva is not concerned with human matters. (Shakti) is both kind and cruel.
Textbook: History Alive! Teachers Curriculum Institute, p. 115-116. Durga and Kali are terrible and extremely bloodthirsty forms of this goddess.
Textbook: The Ancient South Asian World, Oxford University Press, p. 92. Hindus believe yoga exercises help free the soul from the cares of the world.
Textbook: History of Our World, Prentice Hall, p. 118.
God in Hindu scriptures is described as eternal, omnipresent, all-Blissful, all-Gracious, all-kind and all loving Divine personality. There is one single God Who represents the various aspects of His unlimited Blissful charm through many forms. God is one. He Himself is within everything that exists. He is omnipresent. (Shvetashvatar Upnishad 1/10). Humble, loving and wholehearted self-submission to any personal form of God evokes the Grace of God and frees the soul from the bondage of the material world. Those who self-submittedly, selflessly and continuously worship God and adore Him with unfailing faith, they cross the mayic realm. (Mundakopnishad 3/2/1)
According to the Vedas, Agni the fire god enjoyed sacrifices of horses, bulls, male buffalo, goats, sheep and sometimes even human beings ...
Textbook: The Ancient South Asian World, Oxford University Press, p. 81. Historians think several different authors wrote it (the Mahabharata) and that it was written down around 100 B.C. ... Like adventure movies of today, the Mahabharata tells thrilling stories about great heroes.
Textbook: Discovering Our Past Ancient Civilizations, Glencoe-McGraw Hill, p. 265-266.
Katyayan Sutra specifically says that the materials used in the Vedic yagyas must be purely vegetarian. References from the scriptures The evil person who kills or eats the meat of a horse or a cow deserves to be terminated. (Rig Ved 10/87/16); In the Vedic yagya, killing of an animal or eating meat is totally prohibited. (Poorv Mimansa 12/2/2). The Mahabharat reaffirms this fact It is only the evil-minded hypocrites who started telling that Vedic yagyas involve intoxicants and meat eating; it is not in the Vedas. (Mahabharat Shanti Parv 265/9)
The Mahabharat was produced by Sage Ved Vyas soon after the Mahabharat War that took place in 3139 BC between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Besides numerous astronomical references that are given within the epic itself, other geological, inscriptional, scriptural, circumstantial and documentary evidences unquestionably prove the date of the Mahabharat and that of the epic (The True History and the Religion of India, H.D. Swami Prakashanand Saraswati, 2003 edition).
Sanskrit belongs to a language group called the Indo-European languages ... The languages listed and many others developed from a lost language called Proto-Indo-European.
Textbook: World History - Ancient Civilizations, Holts, p. 148. 500 B.C.E. Sanskrit language is first written down.
Textbook: History Alive!, Teachers Curriculum Institute, p. 179. In about 1500 B.C., a group of Indo-Europeans called the Aryans traveled east into India. In contrast to city-dwelling Harappans, the Aryans were herders.
Textbook: World History Ancient Civilizations, McDougal Littell, p. 228.
Sanskrit, the language in which the Vedas, Upnishads, and hundreads of Hindu scriptures are produced, the language which exhibits six unique features that cannot be found in any other language of the world is undoubtedly the worlds first language. The word Arya in Sanskrit refers to noble characteristics of an individual and is not a reference to a group of people. To introduce the idea that Sanskrit was an outside language, Sir William Jones and other European orientalists, created a fiction of Aryan invasion in the 1800s and extensively promoted it during the British rule over India. None of the thousands of Hindu scriptures even once mention any such invasion or migration. If there is any mention of migration in the scriptures it is an outward migration from India. Ambitious chatriyas (kings) of Bharatvarsh (India) went abroad to the neighboring countries to establish their new kingdoms ... (Manu Smriti 10/43)
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