Saffron brigade suffers setback in far off California, fails to convince officials caste is "not part of" Hindu culture

A demonstration for keeping caste out of curriculum

If in India the ruling BJP and the Hindutva brigade may have succeeded in inserting in their saffron agenda in textbooks, in far off California, they have suffered a major setback. "The New York Times" reports, the American Hindu Foundation, known to be a protagonist of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has failed to convince California's education officials that caste system is alien to Indian history and culture.
Hindutva advocates, the daily reports, argued that the grades six and seven curriculum puts "too much emphasis on the caste system", adding, "It leaves Indian students vulnerable to bullying in schools. Dozens of students told committee members that they were taunted after learning about castes in school."
"But activists for the Dalits, members of the 'untouchable' caste, said that glossing over the caste system would do little to protect students and would be an inaccurate portrayal of India", the daily points out.
“Whether we like our history or not for any particular reason, we have to stick with the facts,” the daily quotes Risha Krishna, one of the Dalit protagonists in a discussion on what the curriculum should be like, as saying. Risha sharply criticises those who tried to project castes groups as having autonomous powers to decide how they would function, pointing out, this is just not true, and caste does not offer autonomy, but it is in fact a top down system.
The daily reports, a discussion on the subject, in which about 200 individuals participated, touched on the manner in which "the culture of the region is portrayed, including women’s role in society and the vestiges of the caste system." Based on this discussion, California officials, had to "deal with a fight that mirrors similar arguments being made in India, where Hindu nationalist governments have begun overhauls of textbooks in some states."
It adds, one side were advocates from the Hindu American Foundation, which seeks to shape the image of Hinduism in the United States. They wanted "the caste system to be explained as a phenomenon of the region, not as a Hindu practice — an idea that is not universally accepted in India."
On the other hand, another group challenged the historical accuracy of this view. It said, the foundation was "trying to sanitize history by wiping out any link between Hinduism and castes."
Quoting the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington-based think tank, the daily says, there are roughly 2.2 million immigrants from India live in the US. California, with its vibrant technology industry, has attracted a big chunk, with the the Hindu Foundation claiming, nearly half of them live in California.
It wasn't caste alone that the Hindu Foundation wanted to abandon, the daily says. Instead of a reference to “Early Civilizations of India”, it wanted “Early Civilizations of South Asia.” And, instead of learning about “ancient societies in India”, the Hindu Foundation wanted children to know “learn about ancient societies in South Asia.”

Comments

A sector under siege? War and real estate: Navigating uncertainty in India's expanding market

I was a little surprised when I received an email alert from a top real estate consultant, Anarock Group , titled "Exploring War’s Effects on Indian Real Estate—When Conflict Meets Concrete," authored by its regional director and head of research, Dr. Prashant Thakur. I had thought that the business would wholeheartedly support what is considered a strong response to the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor.

Environmental concern? Global NGO leads campaign urging banks to cut ties with Odisha steel project

A decade after the withdrawal of the South Korean multinational POSCO from Odisha following large-scale protests, questions remain about whether India-based JSW Steel, which took over the project, can successfully revive the 13.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) steel plant and coal-fired power plant. POSCO initiated the project in 2005 but exited in 2017 due to sustained local opposition.

Beyond Indus water treaty suspension: A 'nationalist' push despite harsh climate realities

The suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) appears to have pushed the middle classes, at least in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, Gujarat, further towards what the powers-that-be would consider—a "positive" direction. As usual, during my morning walk, I tried talking with a neighbour about what impact it would have. Ignoring what is widely considered a "security lapse," this person, who had just returned after buying milk, compared the Modi move with Trump.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

Despite Hindutva hold claim, 18% Hindus in US don't want to be identified with Hinduism!

Scanning through news items on the Google News app on my mobile — which is what I do almost every morning — I came across a story published on India.com, which I found somewhat misleading. The headline said, "Muslim population drops significantly in THIS country as over 25% Muslims leave Islam due to…, the country is…"

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Adani Group a key player in Indo-Israel defence cooperation: Tel Aviv daily

Said to be one of the most influential Israeli dailies, "Haaretz" (literally: News of the Land) has identified the Adani Group—known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi—as one of the key Indian business houses engaged in defence cooperation with Israel. Pointing out that India supplied the Israeli military with Hermes 900 drones, the daily reported that this advanced aerial vehicle came off “the production line in a factory set up in Hyderabad, as part of the cooperation between the Israeli Elbit and India's Adani Group.”

Gujarat slips in India Justice Report 2025: From model state to mid-table performer

Overall ranking in IJR reports The latest India Justice Report (IJR), prepared by legal experts with the backing of several civil society organisations and aimed at ranking the capacity of states to deliver justice, has found Gujarat—considered by India's rulers as a model state for others to follow—slipping to the 11th position from fourth in 2022.

Search This Blog