Sacramento, USA - The battle over how Hinduism is taught in California schools has moved to the courtroom with the Hindu American Foundation suing the California State Board of Education for "failing" to follow a fair and open process in adopting changes to sixth-grade history textbooks.
The lawsuit, filed in California Superior Court here, follows months of controversy and hearings that resulted in the state Board of Education approving history textbooks on March 8 that rejected many changes in descriptions of ancient India that the Vedic Foundation and the Hindu Education Foundation had sought.
The two groups said Hinduism is demeaned by depictions of women's inferior status and of the untouchable class, as well as by the theory that an Aryan invasion or migration was a key catalyst for the blossoming of ancient Indian culture.
"Hindu Americans have taken a stand against not only the illegal machinations of the SBE and unfair treatment Hindus received during the textbook adoption process, but also the inaccurate and unequal portrayal of their religious tradition in school textbooks," said Nikhil Joshi, member of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) Board of Directors.
"This is about treating Hindus in America and their religion with the same level of sensitivity and balance afforded to other religious traditions and their practitioners," he said.
The changes the board accepted represent "our best efforts," said California State Board of Education (CBE) member Ruth Green, acknowledging that the decision was unlikely to make everyone happy.
CBE revises textbooks once every six years through a process that includes public hearings. The Vedic Foundation and Hindu Education Foundation, had sought proposed 500 changes, but the board approved about 20 per cent of those.
Anu Mandavilli, a representative of Friends of South Asia, a group that includes Hindus and that opposed the controversial changes sought by the Hindu foundations, called the Board's action "a big victory for secular history."
The lawsuit alleges that the SBE violated the law when it approved textbooks that tend to demean, stereotype, and reflect adversely upon Hindus; that portray Hinduism as undesirable; that hold Hindu beliefs and practices up to ridicule or as inferior; that inaccurately describe and characterize Hinduism; and discourage belief in that religious tradition.
HAF said Hinduism is demeaned by depictions of women's inferior status and of the untouchable class, as well as by the theory that an Aryan invasion or migration was a key catalyst for the blossoming of ancient Indian culture.
HAF is seeking a temporary restraining order to halt the publishing of the textbooks until the issue of whether the textbooks meet the state standards have been resolved by a court of law. An emergency hearing for injunctive relief is expected to be scheduled this week.
The textbooks are scheduled for use in the fall.