California Textbooks - 2

03-27-2006, 09:29 AM

QUOTE(Viren @ Mar 27 2006, 08:55 AM)
Aaare bhai, how can Prashad find Ma Saraswati. Didn't these FOIL and FOSA fight in California to keep Saraswati OUT of textbooks? After the CA edits episode was warped up, Prashad suddenly remembered Saraswati? Is he turning into a Hindutvadi.Â <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blow.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='blow.gif' />

Your gig's up Vijay, maybe you are impressing those misguided FOIL and FOSA Hindus who still lend you their ear, you ain't fooling anyone here.
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Naaa.. He is generating documentation and trail, just in case the law suit drags him in.. CYA in action, you won't see him change colors though... Anu Mandavilli or whatever her name is will be left high and dry, all the professors will keep their jobs.. Good deal, no?

03-29-2006, 08:51 PM

QUOTEHow Does California Teach about Hinduism?
Vamsee Juluri, San Francisco Chronicle, March 6, 2006
URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...u&sn=014&sc=247

State textbooks contribute to ignorance about Hinduism

Has Hinduism been insulted in California history textbooks? Will the state be forced to change the six new social studies textbooks' depictions of this religion? The state Board of Education is scheduled to have the last word on the matter this week when the full board votes on adopting the new texts. In the meantime, Hindu parents are outraged, academics have counterattacked and the local Hindu community is at war, all at a moment when President Bush is saying that India and America are "global leaders and good friends."

I am an academic, but I feel the moral obligation to line up with the outraged parents and demand a change in the textbooks for California middle-school students. This manufactured ignorance of Hinduism and Indian culture has not only hurt the feelings of immigrant children, but has also had a geopolitical cost for the United States by delaying what should have been a natural alliance between the two secular democracies.

That alliance has finally begun to flower, with President Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's historic nuclear agreement. Despite the opposition from various quarters, the president's visit has achieved at least one thing. It shows that the two countries are serious about working together on issues ranging from security and trade to education and culture. The future of this relationship, however, depends on rejecting old frameworks and mistaken assumptions. The ugly misrepresentations in the textbooks are a part of that old error, and have no place in the future.

I therefore disagree with the academics, some of the world's leading experts on South Asia, India and Hinduism, who have preferred to see the demands for changes in the textbook as part of a "Hindu extremist conspiracy" rather than an issue of correcting past errors. I am no supporter of religious extremism, where it exists, but that's not the issue here. The issue here is the need to correct three mistakes:

First, there is a problem with the California textbooks defining Hinduism as the religion of caste and gender discrimination. This has been opposed by the Hindu community for a number of reasons, including fairness (other religions are not defined largely by their faults) and, of course, accuracy. I am not naÃ¯ve to suggest these problems did not or do not exist, but there are more useful ways to address them than in the first lesson schoolchildren ever have about a religion's beliefs.

Second, the term "Hinduism" refers to a complex diversity of traditions that are difficult to unify or summarize in terms of founders, dates and origins. But this is Hinduism's virtue, not a problem. The story of Hinduism in California's textbooks, to begin with, is out of sync with how Hinduism is lived by its followers. For example, many textbooks, even in India, talk about Hinduism as the religion of "Aryan invaders." The critiques and counter critiques of this are complex, but what is relevant here is that no one ever dwells on this "Aryan" origin in their religion, their prayers or their religious practices.

Third, the dismissal in some of these textbooks of Hindu "myths" is plainly insulting. If Hindus think about Elephant Gods writing epics and Monkey Gods leaping over oceans, they are neither ignorant nor are merely celebrating their "stories." For devout Hindus, these are not characters from a fairy tale; these are the Gods (and "Gods" does not deny the fact that Hindus also think of "God" in the singular).

The need to correct these mistakes is great because there has been a history of stereotyping and misrepresentation of Hinduism, from Katherine Mayo's vicious 1927 book "Mother India," (which Mohandas Gandhi, no foe of criticism, called a "drain-inspector's report," designed only to give a graphic description of the stench from open drains) to the 1984 "Indiana Jones" movie with its bizarre fantasies about Indian dining customs. Stereotypes such as these have kept India from being better understood in the United States, and perpetuating them is not in the interest of either nation.

This is what being a scholar has taught me. As for what my religion has taught me, it is that religion, any religion, is like a mother. It has made us who we are and is there for us to better ourselves and the world around us. To use the name of a great religion as a synonym for vileness, as a few scholars have done in this debate, is not just unscholarly, it is very hurtful. I am tempted to say to them, what you are doing here is savaging the mother of a civilization.

Vamsee Juluri is an associate professor of media studies at the University of San Francisco and the author of "Becoming a Global Audience: Longing and Belonging in Indian Music Television," (Peter Lang, 2003).

04-04-2006, 09:20 PM

Latest Sabha report is out:
QUOTEHarvard Professor: 33 + 1 = 34!
Why do horses in India have 34 ribs? 1 plus 33 makes 34. That is why! This is on the authority of Harvard Professor Michael Witzel himself, who made this discovery and claimed that it was part of philology

<img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ROTFL.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ROTFL.gif' />

04-07-2006, 07:09 PM

Intellectual terrorism: ReadersÂ´ Forum
QUOTEThe way Romila Thapar and Michael Witzel have criticised the proposal of California State Board of Education (CSBE) to teach Rama, Krishna, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata in textbooks, in an article published in a Delhi-based English daily, reveals the anti-Hindutva attitude of the two careerists. Since their malicious propaganda stopped the Indian politicians and so-called historians from teaching Hindu history including the epics and the great heroes like Rama and Krishna in the Indian textbooks, the Romila Thapars' and Michael Witzels' hearts are burning to note that their academic dictatorship has failed to prevail on the politicians of America, where Hindus are not so stupid as we are in India. Such career-seeker scholars who question the very existence of the heroes of humanity, like Rama and Krishna, live in fool's paradise. They should ask themselves as to why only their interpretation of Indian history should be taught world over. Agreed, their collaboration with the violence-seeker Marxists and fundamentalist Islamists has been terrorising the common Indian Hindus for long, but now since the assertive Hindutva refuses to tolerate the intolerance of the terrorists posing as scholars, the Hindu heroes must get a place in Indian textbooks also. What exactly causes pain in the stomach of Romila Thapar and Michael Witzel in noting that the "American Hindutva lobby is very closely allied to the RSS" is not known. They must know that it is not only the Hindus of more than one hundred countries who are allied to RSS. Every right thinking person of any pursuance knows in his or her heart that RSS stands for patriotism, freedom and true secularism. Opposing the CSBE move to update the textbooks is nothing short of intellectual terrorism. It is the anti-Hindu attitude of the so-called secularists that gives solace to Nazism, racism, Marxism, fundamentalism and, indeed, terrorism. An honest study and teaching of textbooks of the characters of Rama and Krishna would make a terrorism-free world. Mankind has already tasted the violence-seeker religionists' rule and their approach to divide humanity. Time has now come, when not only California, but the whole world must ignore the society-breaker careerists posing as scholars and teach Hindutva in detail in textbooks to redeem peace and progress for mankind.
âDr. Balram Misra

04-17-2006, 08:46 PM

Some news about these jet set "progressives": <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clap.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='clap.gif' />

Jharkhand police CD 'exposes' Maoist leaders
QUOTERanchi, April 15 (IANS) To win the moral battle against the Maoists and regain the faith of the people, the Jharkhand police are distributing a CD that 'exposes' the double standards of the leaders preaching political extremism.

The 30-minute CD released by the state police in April contains footage showing training centres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), confessional statements of arrested Maoist leaders and proof of 'immoral' practices indulged in by the leaders, a senior police official said.

The CD was released by the Director General of Police (DGP) V.D. Ram recently and is being distributed and shown in the several Maoist strongholds in the state.

Of the state's 22 districts, 16 are reeling under Maoist terror.

'The CD carries video footage of how people are recruited forcibly in their organisation and how villagers are forced to join the cadres and help them against the police,' the official told IANS.

'It also has footage of how women who have joined the organisation are exploited by the Maoist leaders who engage in wife swapping,' he said.

'It has confessional statements of some Maoist leaders on how money is misused and swindled by the leaders and how the top leaders are fighting among themselves for supremacy,' he added.

The disc incorporates footage from the CDs seized from the Maoist hideouts.

'We cannot win the war against Maoists unless we expose them in their den with their misdeeds. Maoists claim to be fighting for the cause of the poor but in reality they are looking after their own interest,' said another police official.

'The idea is to win the moral battle against the rebels and regain the faith of the villagers who have turned against the police,' he said.



Any petitions to put this CD in Class IV textbooks? Nalini Taneja? Anu Mandival? Akhila Raman? Angana Chatterji? Shalini Gera?

04-17-2006, 09:51 PM

xposting from dalit thread..

http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?roo...9&filetype=html

From Sept 2003 EPW..

QUOTEDalit or Harijan?

Self-Naming by Scheduled Caste Interviewees

The terms harijan and dalit have evolved over the last many decades, with the latter more or less replacing the former in published works of recent years. What do members of the scheduled castes call themselves?
Alan Marriott

The most socially and politically acceptable name for the most disadvantaged members of Indian society has changed over the years. Outcaste and untouchable have become unacceptable (although, sadly, still having some descriptive validity). They were replaced, chronologically, by harijan in the middle of the 20th century and subsequently dalit in last decade or two of the century. These names are closely associated with M K Gandhi and B S Ambedkar, respectively and the shift in the status of the names is linked with changed attitudes in the broader political environment as the relative standing of Gandhi and Ambedkar has altered. However, although these changes in usage have clearly occurred among politically aware commentators it is not so apparent what members of the least privileged social groups in Indian society (officially, and perhaps neutrally identified as scheduled castes) call themselves. This study examines the results of a survey in which interviewees were asked to give the name of their caste.

...................

Dalit is now almost universally preferred among researchers and writers. In the Economic and Political Weekly, for example, there has been a marked increase in the number of papers with dalit in their title from the 1980s. There were just 13 papers between 1981 and 1990 compared with 62 in the following decade â including a veritable rush of 33 papers in 1995-97. Harajan appeared in just two titles â in 1981 and 1986.

...................

While most of the scheduled caste respondents gave their jati, a proportion recorded a generic name, but while harijan (or harizan or some other spelling) was used by 1351 respondents in 18 different states, and a number of respondents used scheduled caste, not one respondent chose dalit. In addition some respondents gave harijan qualified by their jati, e g, harijan parayar in Tamil Nadu

...................

Whatever the reservations about the data the scale of the difference in the use of dalit and harijan suggests that there is a real contrast in the preferred name chosen by external commentators and SC people themselves. Ambedkar may be winning the posthumous rivalry among the scribbling classes but Gandhi remains the dominant opinion-former among the SCs themsleves.

04-20-2006, 01:26 AM

Articles by Rajeev Srinivasan

Leading the pack: the honorable Harvard professor

The theory that refuses to die: "Aryan" invasion or migration or influx or tourists?

In which Snow-White Witzel and 45 Â½ others sign a petition

04-23-2006, 08:56 AM

QUOTEApril 30, 2006
Witzel takes his Aryan Invasion to Pakistan
California textbook controversy
By N.S. Rajaram

A few months ago, California education authorities accepted recommendations to make changes to the depiction of Hinduism and India in textbooks to be used in the state. Uninvited, Harvard Sanskrit Professor Michael Witzel went on a lobbying spree to stop the proposed changes. But here is a curious fact: while he seemed to be campaigning against what he called 'Hindutva-inspired changes' his real agenda was to save his pet Aryan invasion theory from being axed.

Michael Witzel and a small group of his followers, mainly Europeans and the usual Indian hangers-on like Romila Thapar, are almost the last holdouts for the foreign origin theory of the Vedas and Sanskrit as products of the Aryan invasion. Their academic reputation, what is left of it, rests on the survival of their Aryan theories.

Though largely ignored by the Indian media, two major developments have sounded the death knell of the Aryan invasion theory. These are: (1) genetic evidence showing that the Indian population is almost entirely indigenous with negligible input from outsiders going back to the last Ice Age (more than 10,000 years); and (2) British admission that the Aryan invasion theory was concocted to serve imperial interests, because, "it gave a historical precedent to justify the role and status of the British Raj, who could argue that they were transforming India for the better in the same way that the Aryans had done thousands of years earlier." 

In 1929, the British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin stated in the House of Commons: "Now, after ages, â¦the two branches of the great Aryan ancestry have again been brought together by Providenceâ¦ By establishing British rule in India, God said to the British, I have brought you and the Indians together after a long separation, â¦it is your duty to raise them to their own level as quickly as possible â¦brothers as you areâ¦" Need we say more?

Disgraced at Harvard
It is obvious that these revelations are devastating to Witzel's academic reputation. This goes to explain his desperate lobbying in California schools, begging education authorities to keep his Aryan theories in the books. He made several trips, spending hours waiting in the outer offices of California bureaucrats and arguing with his opponents. This is not the kind of undignified behavior that one expects from an elderly professor at a prestigious university like Harvard.

Even before the California scandal, Witzel's reputation had taken a severe beating at Harvard. Recently, he had started an Internet e-group called Indo-Eurasian Research that was little more than a hate group that repeatedly attacked those who disagreed with him in violent and abusive language. This was brought to the notice of Harvard authorities.

Ten years ago, Witzel had to step down as chairman of the Sanskrit Department because of professional irregularities and personal misconduct. He was charged with misusing his position to bring unqualified people to Harvard and also threatening one of his students (possibly more) with a lawsuit for disagreeing with him. 

One of his favorites, Enrica Garzelli, was expelled by Harvard and sued the university. His latest favorite is one Steve Farmer who claims that DNA research discrediting Witzel's theories is an international conspiracy! So far Witzel's troubles had been confined to Harvard. Thanks to his political meddling, what was Harvard's embarrassment is now an international scandal.

Looking for money in Pakistan
There also seems to be a mercenary angle to his campaign. Even before the California controversy could be resolved, Witzel, along with Romila Thapar, Emeritus Professor at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University, announced the formation of The Academic Indology Advisory Council, and Indian American Public Education Council.

According to Witzel and Thapar, their goal in forming these is "to counteract this threat to the integrity of the material taught to our children," to which end their group "will offer its expertise to any school boards and publishers who may call on it, as a service to the field of Indian Studies." ("Our children" sounds a bit strained since neither Thapar nor Witzel is an American, much less parents of school-going children in California.)

In other words, it is a consulting outfit that hopes to benefit from the unprecedented media coverage that the controversy received. Given his record, it is not surprising that Witzel's newfound business venture has failed to takeoff. Publishers are avoiding him like the plague, having incurred delay and losses due to his meddling in California school curriculum. Some are facing lawsuits, as is the California State Board of Education, for violating the civil rights of Hindu children.

His failure to attract money in America is what seems to have sent Witzel to Pakistan looking for business as an anti-Hindu lobbyist. In the March 12 issue of the Karachi newspaper Dawn (Internet edition), Witzel proudly proclaimed Defeat for Hindutva revisionists, thanks to his lobbying efforts in California. 

The interesting thing about this advertisement masquerading as an article on education is Witzel's identification of himself as "Professor of South Asia Studies at Harvard." This conceals his real position as Professor of Sanskrit. He no doubt sensed that Sanskrit is closely associated with Hindu religion and culture. "South Asia Studies" may sell better than Sanskrit in Pakistan.

While it is too early to say what all drove Witzel's plunge into California school politics and form his business venture, it is hard to take at face value his claim that it was to help school boards and publishers maintain integrity in the field of Indian studies. Saving his reputation and making some money to cover his growing legal and other costs seems a more likely explanation.

All this places Witzel and his colleagues in their true placeânot as heroic fighters or larger than life demons, but pathetic figures trying desperately to save themselves and their discredited discipline from collapse.
(The writer is a former U.S. academic and historian of science. His book Sarasvati River and the Vedic Civilization: History, Science and Politics will be released this year.)
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.p...pid=128&page=10

04-25-2006, 05:43 PM

http://hinduismtoday.com/#3

QUOTE3. California Textbook Lawsuit Moves Ahead in Court

HPI

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, April 21, 2006: The California Superior Court ordered an expedited schedule be determined in the lawsuit of the Hindu American Foundation against the California State Board of Education over the adoption of sixth grade social studies' books for next school year. The lawsuit was brought when Hindus were dissatisfied with the book review process which left in place inaccuracies, distortions and an unbalanced presentation of Hinduism vis-a-vis other religions. See HPI, March 18, for a summary of the lawsuit issues: here.

In his ruling, Superior court Judge Patrick Marlette stated twice that he was "troubled" by the SBE review process in adopting the books. HAF had charged that what is supposed to be a documented and transparent system of review actually progressed through 2005 and 2006 in a haphazard manner. Parts of the review, HAF contends, were contrary to California State law.

The preliminary injunction was rejected by Marlette in favor of a speedy schedule to resolve the complex case prior to the school year. It would be rare for a preliminary injunction to be issued against a state government. He could have dismissed the case, if he felt it had no merit, but did not. He has instead ordered the SBE and HAF to confer and provide a schedule for hearing the case expeditiously, before the textbooks in question are distributed this fall. He also recommended the two parties explore any possible resolution of the issues between them.

One surprising testimony in the case is that of Stan Metzenberg, a member of the Curriculum Commission whose December 2 decision on the Hindu issues with the textbooks -- and supposed to be the final recommendation -- was tossed out by subsequent SBE actions. The SBE contended the Curriculum Commission failed to follow the guidelines laid out for it in reviewing the proposed Hindu "edits" (as the changes are called). As a result, the SBE held a separate, closed door meeting on January 6 to again review the edits, and arrived at a different set of recommendations less acceptable to Hindus.

Metzenberg, a professor at Northridge University in the California system argues in his testimony that the Commission did indeed follow the Board's instructions. He is no stranger to textbook issues, having been involved in improving the science curriculum in California and testifying before the US Congress on the same issue. During the December 2 meeting, Metzenberg, a molecular biologist, took issue with the claims that there was an "Aryan Invasion" in ancient times in India -- one of the main points of dispute with the texts. He took it upon himself to read the studies that had been done on the genetic makeup of individuals of the Indian subcontinent, and reviewed them with his wife, also a professor at Northridge and an expert in human genetics. At the meeting, he sided with the Hindus against the recommendation of several Western non-Hindu Indologists. In his testimony, he states, "My opinion as a scientist, and what I recommended to my fellow commissioners on December 2, was that Aryan Invasion Theory is not easily supported by genetic evidence, and in fact the preponderance of more recent genetic evidence would tend to rule out a major invasion of Europeans. This is why I believe that it would be inaccurate to portray Aryan Invasion Theory as a fact in California textbooks. Our [the Commission's] addition of a qualified statement, 'Aryan invasion theory has been contradicted by some scholarly evidence,' is a sensible solution."

Metzenberg's testimony carries special weight as he was part of the process of textbook adoption and is supporting the Hindu contention that the Curriculum Commission had followed proper procedure in considering the edits. The Board's contention that the Commission did not proper procedure is a major part of their defense.

Another declaration submitted is that of Dr. Shiva Bajpai, who was hired by the Board as an expert in Indian history to review the proposed edits. Upon the entry of the non-Hindu Indologists in December, he was sidelined in the process. At the critical January 6 meeting in which all contested edits were reviewed again, he was told that changes would only be made if he and Dr. Witzel of Harvard, leader of the non-Hindu Indologist group, agreed. This effectively gave veto power over the edits to Dr. Witzel, with the result that significant edits Hindus sought were not made. Bajpai concludes in his testimony, "It is my view and opinion that if the textbooks reflect only the edits recommended by the subcommittee [mostly the results of the January 6 meeting], those texts will portray Hinduism and Indian history inaccurately and in a manner that puts Hinduism in a rather unfavorable light. It is my view and opinion that the texts continue to require changes to make them comply with the Standards imposed by law for textbooks in California."

Also of interest in the court documents is an Amici Curiae Brief submitted by a group of political and social activist organization including The Ambedkar Center for Justice and Peace and the Friends of South Asia. An Amici Curiae Brief is one filed by persons or organizations not directly part of the court case, but who wish to provide input. Most of the Brief is spent critiquing the edits still sought by the Hindu groups, attacking the same groups as "politically motivated," including a flow chart connecting all of them to the RSS in India, even though HAF and the Vedic Foundation -- two key players -- have no organization ties with the RSS, and the association of most others in the chart is tenuous as best.

Toward the end, their Brief states, "Indeed, 126 south Asia faculty and scholars have unequivocally stated that the edits approved by the SBE are an 'important and positive step in providing California school children with more accurate information on Hinduism and Indian history than in the current textbooks.' These faculty and scholars have reached consensus that the textbook edits approved by the SBE are 'a sizeable improvement over the earlier texts in attempting to present responsible scholarship that is sensitive to and respectful of religious and cultural difference.' "

The irony here is that the praised "edits approved by the SBE" are those 75% or so of the edits proposed by the Hindu groups and accepted. There was no input to the edit process by the groups submitting the brief.

The judge at the April 21 hearing requested the groups explore a possibility of settlement. The charges brought against the Board by HAF are fairly extensive, ranging from improper process to the specifics of five issues: women's rights, caste and untouchability, theology, comparison with other faiths and Aryan Invasion. Toward the end of January, prior to the final Board decision on the edits, HAF submitted a document with their recommendation on two dozen or so critical edits related these five issues. This proposal was rejected by the Board, which led to HAF filing the lawsuit. The possibility remains that the Board and HAF could revisit this list of edits and try to work out a solution that does not hold up the entire textbook printing process, as a trial might. A solution based on these specific edits would not address the larger problems with the texts, but it would establish the rights of Hindus to at least an equal part in the process with Western non-Hindu Indologist, many of whom appear to regard Hinduism with contempt. If, however, HAF prevails at trial, then court-ordered changes to the books to bring the treatment of Hinduism on par with the other religious would necessarily be quite extensive, as the court would not be limited to the relatively small corrections allowed in the Board's review process.

Bharatvarsh · 04-25-2006, 09:02 PM

CA Textbooks website ready:

http://letindiadevelop.org/irochtc/

04-25-2006, 09:23 PM

QUOTECA Textbooks website ready:

http://letindiadevelop.org/irochtc/
Truly commendable effort. <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rocker.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='rocker.gif' />

04-25-2006, 09:55 PM

QUOTE(aruni @ Mar 16 2006, 10:57 PM)Per Times of India report (and others around) FETNA is a front for LTTE (organization banned by US State Dept)
You want these people to have a say in your kids education?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll...show?msid=55880
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTEIndian cine stars to raise money for LTTE
Wednesday, July 02, 2003 05:05:07 pmTIMES NEWS NETWORK

NEW DELHI: Notwithstanding a ban, one of LTTE's front organisations is organising a fund-raiser show in United States this week, which will be attended by leading Indian cine stars and playback singers, according to a report in The Island on Wednesday.

The LTTE is recognised as a terrorist organisation in the United States and all activities such as fund-raising by the LTTE or its front organisations are banned in the US.

The three-day show, organised by LTTE's front organisation, Federation of Tamil Sangams in North America (Fetna), beginning on July 4 at the Patriotsâ Theatre at the War Memorial, Trenton in New Jersey, will be attended by heartthrob Madhavan, Sneha and singers including Shankar Mahadevan and Mahalakshmi, the paper said.

Quoting posters published for the event, the paper said that "Fetna has consistently voiced its support for the protection of human rights in Tamil Eelam and the fundraiser and the convention in New Jersey feature programmes by Eelam Tamils".

The organisation has put up colourful posters announcing the event and tickets are priced at $ 85, the paper added.

According to the report, Fetna is an umbrella organisation of Tamil associations in North America with nearly 40 member organisations. 

The Island also quoted a Fetna communiquÃ© as saying that the organisation is dedicated to serving the Tamil American community by promoting Tamil education, literary and cultural activities, and that they also support inland charitable activities. Through its annual conventions, Fetna brings together thousands of Tamils from all over the United States and Canada.

Fetna annual conventions have been educational, informative, entertaining and have provided opportunity for all Tamils of US and Canada to come together, the paper said, quoting the release.
Â

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</div>

Those $85 ticket contribution to Fetna was most likely responsible for this:
Fake Pregnant Bomber Kills 8 in Sri Lanka
Any press release from Fetna? Why is Fetna silent about it's latest achievements?

04-26-2006, 10:51 AM

Bible thumpers Americans are being increasingly stereotyped as stupid. By Arvind Kumar

04-27-2006, 06:00 AM

QUOTEhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/Indo-Eurasian_research/message/3676

The fact is that there is so much to say at this point -- a lot has happened since all this began in early November (I have over 4000 files and emails in my California folder, and Michael Witzel I know has at least an equal number) -- that I'll stick for now to a few bare facts about events in the last month. This summer, starting after the Beijing Roundtable (to be held May 11-13), Michael and I plan to finish writing a long article that attempts to cover every major side of the California caseÂ -- the links between the California Hindutva campaign and attempts to rebuild the faltering Hindutva movement in India (with the May 2009 elections in mind); the enormous amounts of money and manpower that the Hindutva right pumped into their California plans, which included the production of massive documents and the use of high-priced law firms; the internationally coordinated smear campaigns aimed at Michael, Madhav Deshpande, and many others who took a public stand against the Hindutva groups (there is no doubt that the smears did keep a lot of people who shouldn't have from speaking out); the role that the Internet is playing in facilitating the organization of rightwing groups internationally, of which Hindutva groups are to my mind the most notable example; the phony Websites (including phony Dalit sites) planted by the Hindutva groups, which by itself suggests the scale of their financial operations; the financing of Hindutva groups in the US, including the use of corporate facilities (like those of Medtronic, Inc.) to distribute defamatory materials; the slow process of educating the press on the links between the case and events in India -- and so on. 

I don't understand why Harvard professor and unemployed farmer is interested in Indian election?
What is their agenda?
They are neither Indian citizen nor Indian origin or married to Indian?
This is very serious and we should watch what their agenda is and who is supporting them?
Who are their bosses? Or hidden hand?
Are they part of some sort of conspiracy against India and its democratic process?

agnivayu · (This post was last modified: 05-02-2006, 03:27 AM by agnivayu.)

This is good, Hindu power is rising, it's causing these racist pigs to panic.
California can expect continuous lawsuits until the edits are acceptable to Hindus. Witzel and his lot will eventually burn out and give up, because this issue is not nearly as important to him as it is to Hindus.

The FOSA Paki's will become too busy dealing with the FBI for their terrorist links to have the time for this issue.

04-27-2006, 07:33 AM

QUOTEHindu American Foundation Reacts to False Media Reports after Court HearingWashington, D.C. (April 26, 2006) â The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) reacted quickly today to errors in media coverage of a hearing for a preliminary injunction filed by the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) against the California State Board of Education (SBE) in Superior Court on April 21.Â The injunction sought to stop the printing of textbooks containing inaccuracies and an unbalanced presentation of Hinduism.Â In denying the injunction, presiding Judge Patrick Marlette did not pre-judge the merits of the case, indicated that he was "troubled" by the SBE process in approving the contentious textbooks, and encouraged the parties to discuss resolution of the case before the start of the school year.

No journalists were present at the hearing, and according to HAF, several media reports relied on the motivated and biased interpretations of an amateur writer who gained recent notoriety for his anti-Hindu blog.Â This individual, with no previous experience reporting on legal proceedings, detailed that he attended the hearing and did not rely on official transcripts in his widely circulated report.

"While HAF's legal team would have preferred that the preliminary injunction had been granted, they were pleased that the judge suggested the process followed by the SBE to be problematic," said Ishani Chowdhury, Executive Director of HAF. "It is sad that one individual's musings that were patently false at best, and blatantly racist at worst, were accepted as truth by too many."

Based on the writer's account, that variously intimated gratuitous comments as to the race and ethnicity of HAF's legal team and of those present in the courtroom, some media reports erroneously stated that a preliminary injunction hearing requires a "lower showing" on the merits. In fact, such a hearing requires the court to balance a number of factors, including any harm that could be caused by granting or denying an injunction.Â Here, presiding Judge Marlette twice indicated that he was "troubled" by the process used to approve these texts, but in denying the injunction request seemed concerned that even if the books were poorly written, "harm" wouldn't occur until the children actually had the books in hand -- something that is currently several months off.

Judge Marlette also appeared to be concerned that he could not evaluate how "bad" these texts were in the contexts of a preliminary hearing, as that decision would require a lengthy analysis of the texts, comparison with the treatment of other religions and possibly expert testimony. Preliminary hearings are, by contrast, limited. The court rules impose limitations on both the length of the papers that can be submitted and the amount of time available for the hearing.Â

"Some accounts report that the judge rejected HAF's claims 'on the merits,' when the judge never decided such a thing," said Suhag Shukla, Esq., legal counsel of HAF. "Clearly there is a fundamental lack of understanding as to the standard of proof required for preliminary injunctive relief.Â It's difficult to obtain -- particularly against the government.Â More importantly, this particular denial has no bearing on the ultimate outcome of the case."

HAF leaders reaffirmed their commitment to their legal action to ensure that California school textbooks accurately and equitably depict Hinduism

"It is bewildering that these activists will oppose equal treatment of all religions in school textbooks, the lack of which is what led to the lawsuit," said Chowdury.Â "Hindus are merely seeking parity with other religions in sixth-grade textbooks, where social problems of other religions are not given the same prominence, even as the redeeming features of Hinduism are ignored."

The Hindu American Foundation is a non-profit 501Â©(3), non-partisan organization, promoting the Hindu and American ideals of understanding, tolerance and pluralism


One can guess who is these new anti-hindu jokers in town.
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05-02-2006, 01:56 AM

QUOTEBiblicists target Hindus 
Pioneer.com
Sandhya JainÂ
Unknown to most Indians, the raging controversy over the California school textbooks being challenged by Hindu American parents is rooted in the staunch commitment of certain academics to the Biblical version of Creation. Herr Michael Witzel, whose professional reputation is linked to the Aryan Invasion Theory, which derives from a Biblical perspective, denies the decisive scientific evidence to the contrary.

His devotee, Mr Steve Farmer, is equally convinced that "Genesis 1:28 contains god's words". Mr James Heitzman, the 'expert' secretly hired by the State Board of Education (SBE), has famously claimed that the non-decay of Francis Xavier's body is a true miracle. Mr Stanley Wolpert, another expert, insists the Aryan Invasion happened even though there is no proof for it.

It will be surprising if Harvard University, which made president Larry Summers step down for his controversial opinions, retains Herr Witzel on its rolls for long. Not only is he a Creationist; he reportedly teaches his doctoral students the Sanskrit alphabet! Does Harvard teach the English alphabet to doctoral candidates in English? A decade ago, Herr Witzel's Sanskrit Department was mired in a lawsuit, and it seems matters have hardly improved since. Professional worries could explain why his friends have launched a mis-information blitzkrieg about the Hindu American Foundation lawsuit against SBE, when hearings have not even begun.

Prof Witzel's claim that his letter of December 7, 2005 to the California Department of Education (CDE), which checkmated the reasonable corrections sought by Hindu parents in the schoolbooks, was signed by "world specialists on ancient India - reflecting mainstream academic opinion," does not stand scrutiny. Far from being "world specialists," many signatories are not academics at all; many are linguists (the dubious discipline on which the Aryan Invasion rests) or Sanskrit professors, rather than historians or archaeologists with expertise on India. Many are Marxists; others have controversial theories about South Asia.

To begin with, Prof Witzel himself teaches Sanskrit and is no expert on ancient Indian History or Hindu dharma. He clearly lacks the credentials to determine how Hindu children should be taught their religion and history in a manner that does not demoralise them. Mr Steve Farmer's theories regarding Harappan scripts have been discredited by academics, including JM Kenoyer and Asko Parpola, who signed Witzel's appeal. The famous Marxist ideologue, Ms Romila Thapar, is an 'expert' on ancient India with poor knowledge of Indian classical languages, including Sanskrit.

Mr S Palaniappan holds a PhD in Engineering and works for a company in Houston! Prof Homi Bhabha teaches English and American Literature and Language. Prof Madhav Deshpande and Ms Patricia Donegan teach Linguistics; Dr Garrett Fagan teaches Roman History and Ms Joanna Kirkpatrick has done work on Anthropology, folk art and gender studies.

Then, Prof Hideaki Nakatani teaches Philosophy in Tokyo; Ms Sudha Shenoy Business and Law in Australia; Mr Lars Martin Fosse was a commercial translator; and Prof Wim van Binsbergen teaches African History at Leiden. Prof. Rajesh Kochhar did his Ph D in Astrophysics and worked for 25 years (1974-1999) at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore; Mr Dominik Wujastyk taught in the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology at the School of Oriental and African Studies; Dr JM Kenoyer teaches Anthropology and Prof Maurizio Tosi teaches Archaeology in Italy.

This worldwide signature campaign is not about sixth-grade textbooks. It is an issue of Hindu dignity and civil rights everywhere in the world; hence the decision of the California Parents for the Equalisation of Educational Materials (CAPEEM) to file a Federal lawsuit is remarkably bold and correct. Victory here will drastically curtail the Hindu-baiting industry in the West, with a trickle-down effect in India. This is the first time a Hindu community has filed a lawsuit against a state agency (California State Board of Education and California Department of Education) for violation of its civil rights, and against discrimination, defamation and mistreatment of their religion and people.

The California SBE initially followed due process, and recommended changes desired by the Hindu groups to the Curriculum Commission. At this late stage, however, it illegally entertained the baseless objections of Prof Witzel and ordered a revision of the whole process. A second expert panel was surreptitiously set up, comprising Professors Witzel, Stanley Wolpert and James Heitzman, all signatories of the Witzel Letter, thus openly violating Curriculum Commission criteria that experts should not be affiliated to groups suggesting or objecting to the proposed changes.

It is obvious that Hindus received unfair and unequal treatment in the matter of how sixth grade students in the public education system would be taught about the Hindu religion. Both the substance of the final edits and the procedure adopted by SBE and CDE was flawed.

This has the effect of officially promoting a Judeo-Christian conception of Divinity to the exclusion of other perspectives, with the result that the Hindu faith is projected in a negative manner as compared to other religions. This deprives Hindu students of an educational experience at par with that of their peers, and thus violates their rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution.

Even worse, the constitutional requirement of State neutrality towards religion in general and towards different religions, was discarded. The CDE thus tacitly endorsed certain faiths by accepting the changes they wanted, and denigrated Hindus by portraying their religion inaccurately.

The CDE justified its move to overturn the accepted amendments mooted by the Hindu community on the specious plea that some groups were associated with third parties deemed to be 'nationalist Hindu' or 'Hindutva supporters.' This is an express violation of the First Amendment and its promise of Free Speech, which protects the rights of individuals to express themselves free of government retribution, as also the right to associate with persons of their choice.

The worst aspect of the behaviour of the California authorities was their sudden decision to conduct private meetings without informing the known interested parties, and refusing to keep or release records of previous meetings. This inexplicable volte-face, which made them abandon their own procedures by establishing a second expert panel and adopting its recommendations in a non-transparent manner, requires an explanation. One hopes the Federal suit will expose these backroom manoeuvres.

05-02-2006, 07:21 PM

Mudy,

Stanely Wolpert's books are banned in India. One I think was 'Nine hours to Rama'. If it wasn't banned by Nehru govt in '62, I'd have firmly believed that it a "Hindutvadi" plot against Wolpert <!--emo& Big Grin

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Then look what Wolpert has to say about Nehru:
From Rediff link
QUOTEThe book, Nehru: A Tryst With Destiny, published by Oxford University Press, New York, is slated to be released in February. In the book, Wolpert has stated that Nehru had had several homosexual encounters during his childhood in Allahabad, and college days in Harrow and Cambridge. 

I wish Wolpert and Witzel along with Thappar and other experts at JNU and ICHR plead with Sonia Gandhi govt to have the ban lifted on his books <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/whistle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='whistle.gif' />

Did the California board know about Witzel and his friends before they wasted tax payer $ on such 'experts'?

agnivayu · 05-02-2006, 07:46 PM

Looks like this dude is just a plain vanilla racist. He just hates all Indians and not just Hindu Nationalists. These people help our cause more than anyone else, they add fuel to the fire from the other side. We need more racists like him.

05-02-2006, 07:47 PM

QUOTEStanely Wolpert's books are banned in India. One I think was 'Nine hours to Rama'. If it wasn't banned by Nehru govt in '62, I'd have firmly believed that it a "Hindutvadi" plot against WolpertÂ 

I call it freedom of speech and history <!--emo& Big Grin

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May be he is RSS mole in 45 idiots round table game.
They should add chapters from his book in NCERT and California text book.

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