09-12-2006, 10:29 PM
Pyrrhic victory for US Hindus
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->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. Why should Hindu children be taught that âHindus worship talking monkeys and throw widows into fires?â Why should the primordial stories in Hindu scriptures be branded as âmythsâ when the scriptures of monotheistic traditions are said to come from Only One (mutually exclusive) God(s)? Why should later-day social evils like untouchability and rigid caste divisions be linked falsely with Indiaâs ancient civilisation, when they are products of the medieval encounter with Islam?
The judgeâs refusal to order revisions in the textbooks has had the effect of officially promoting a negative projection of the Hindu faith 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.
The judgement also tacitly ignores the violation of the constitutional requirement of State neutrality towards religion in general, especially towards different religions. The California Department of Education indirectly endorsed the monotheistic faiths by accepting the changes they wanted, while denigrating Hindu dharma by portraying it incorrectly. It remains to be ensured, therefore, that the textbooks eventually incorporate a fair representation of Hindu faith and culture, rather than fashion cosmetic legal standards for judging textbooks. California needs to respect and enforce the guideline which states that a child should feel proud of his/her heritage. This is an issue of Hindu Civil Rights.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->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. Why should Hindu children be taught that âHindus worship talking monkeys and throw widows into fires?â Why should the primordial stories in Hindu scriptures be branded as âmythsâ when the scriptures of monotheistic traditions are said to come from Only One (mutually exclusive) God(s)? Why should later-day social evils like untouchability and rigid caste divisions be linked falsely with Indiaâs ancient civilisation, when they are products of the medieval encounter with Islam?
The judgeâs refusal to order revisions in the textbooks has had the effect of officially promoting a negative projection of the Hindu faith 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.
The judgement also tacitly ignores the violation of the constitutional requirement of State neutrality towards religion in general, especially towards different religions. The California Department of Education indirectly endorsed the monotheistic faiths by accepting the changes they wanted, while denigrating Hindu dharma by portraying it incorrectly. It remains to be ensured, therefore, that the textbooks eventually incorporate a fair representation of Hindu faith and culture, rather than fashion cosmetic legal standards for judging textbooks. California needs to respect and enforce the guideline which states that a child should feel proud of his/her heritage. This is an issue of Hindu Civil Rights.
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