Harvard Ethics: An Oxymoron

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Here is another woman making a mess of the other TFTA Aryan stud.. Pretty sad really. First one sees a tiny dark-skinned woman (hindutva nut surely) make mess of blue-eyed TFTA aryan stud at the hearing, then Radha another dark-skinned heathen does it all over again and now this (thank god she is not dark-skinned atleast)..

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianCivili...n/message/87031

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Dear Professor Witzel et al,

  Thank you for cc’ing your letter to me. I am returning the favor to point out
that your math is fuzzy: over 70% of the edits requested by the Hindu
educational foundations were approved. 70% is not a rout or a "Crushing
Defeat"…30% is not a victory to gloat over. The changes that were approved were
the ones that practicing Hindus felt were the most important, which included
these four:

   1. Wherever the words 'gods' or 'goddesses' are used in the textbooks, they
will be replaced either with 'deities', or with 'Gods' and 'Goddesses' (with
upper case G). This establishes that the Board now recognizes the fact that
Hindus believe in one Supreme Being within and beyond creation... one God that
manifests in many forms.

  The Hindu citizens who requested changes to their children’s textbooks did not
ask that Hinduism be labeled a monotheistic religion. Hinduism is not
monotheistic. We all know that. Monism is a more apt label…transcendent and
pervasive. It is an error on Prof. Witzel's part as well as a great source of
humor for him, when he says that HEF and VF asked that Hinduism be described as
monotheistic. They did not.

   All anyone has to do is read through the suggested edits, issued by the SBE,
to see that the Hindu groups have never claimed that Hinduism is monotheistic.
We all know that practicing Hindus believe there is one transcendent pervasive
“God” behind the "multiple manifestations of the Infinite". You may call it
polytheism in the Ivory Towers, but in their hearts, Hindus understand it as
Monism--not polytheism or monotheism. Why persist in calling Hinduism
polytheistic when it is really monistic?

  2. Regarding the AIT, the Hindu parents did not ask that this theory be erased
from the textbooks. To infer this is another error. As can be seen from the
official documents published by the State Board of Education, HEF and VF only
requested that another sentence be added which states “AIT is a controversial
theory that is not accepted by many scholars.” Glee Johnson, the president of
the SBE, directed all publishers to add that sentence. [more victory than
"defeat", eh?]

  The Aryan Invasion Theory is very controversial, and the textbooks should
reflect the dynamism of changing historiographical paradigms. Since this issue
has been bandied about, once and for all, please take note that the Hindus in
California only requested that their children's textbooks include current
historiographical research, and that they are multi-perspectival and inclusive.
Ironically, Prof. Witzel wrote in Outlook India: "The Hindutva lobby will
undoubtedly persist in their efforts even if they are stopped in California. The
fact that there are very culturally biased and insensitive passages regarding
Hinduism in many textbooks provides their alibi."  [Kristallnacht anyone?]
(Please note: I am Jewish, I am Hindu, I am Black, I am a Sufi... to go after my
brother, you'll have to go through me first....)

  3. Another important SBE approved change included:
  In all sentences where 'poems', 'stories', and "myths" are used to describe the
sacred texts of Hinduism, instead, as requested, they will be modified, and the
word 'scripture' will be used.

  4. Glee Johnson, the SBE president, acknowledged that there were contradictions
on the recommendations made by the Board, and these will be resolved.

  Re: Crushing Rhetoric:

  Please note that Dr. Bajpai had earlier accepted more than 90% the Hindu edits.
During his hostile intervention, Dr. Witzel accepted only 37%. However, on Feb
27, the SBE accepted completely or adequately 71-75% of Hindu edits. In sum, Dr.
Witzel accepted only 46% of HEF edits whereas SBE has accepted 80%. Dr. Witzel
accepted only 27% of VF edits whereas SBE has accepted 62%. Overall, Dr. Witzel
accepted 37% Hindu American edits, but SBE has accepted 71%. Where is the
"Crushing Defeat"? Entangled in rhetoric...

  Significantly, though the narrative about Hinduism in secondary level textbooks
has been full of errors and stereotypes for generations, at a public meeting
with a Dharma group at Harvard, Professor Witzel admitted that this was the
first time that he has involved himself in correcting the biased textbooks that
have been full of mistakes for decades. Why didn’t he care? Please see:
http://www.mssu.edu/projectsouthasia/tsa...Rosser.htm

  The venomous attack mode that Professor Witzel employed precluded any
collaboration. Rather than an alarmist professorial attack on Hindu-Americans,
cooperation between practitioners and scholars would certainly be more
productive in solving the glaring problems regarding how Hinduism is described
in Junior High and High School textbooks. The bias and errors are pervasive.

  Please see the following newspaper article for a different view-point:

   Panel approves textbook changes
  Hindu groups satisfied with corrections to Vedas, Aryan invasion wording
  By Jonathan Jones, STAFF WRITER
  http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/ci_3584032

  The state Board of Education voted Wednesday afternoon to adopt proposed
revisions to the depiction of ancient India in sixth-grade history textbooks.
  In approving the changes, the board rejected further review of the descriptions
of women, the caste system and Hindu theology. But the board directed Tom Adams,
executive director for the Curriculum Commission, to contact publishers to
correct inconsistencies and change the wording with regard to the Vedas, the
oldest and most sacred Hindu texts.

  The board also instructed the commission to add lines in the textbooks stating
that the Aryan invasion — the controversial theory that traces the roots of
Hinduism to a migration of people from Central Asia — is disputed.
  After the meeting, members of the Hindu Education Foundation expressed
satisfaction that the board had made some concessions, though they did not
accept all of the proposed revisions.

  "Actually, I think we got a lot of things," said Sunnyvale resident Khanderao
Kand, a member of the foundation. "They're going to correct a lot of the
contradictions, clarify statements of the Hindu concept of deities, and add a
statement about the Aryan invasion. So we've made some progress since last
week."

  Shalini Gera, a spokeswoman for the Coalition Against Communalism, which
opposed many of the revisions, said her organization would reserve judgment on
how the directives affected the wording in the textbooks.

  But she said she was pleased overall with the board's action Wednesday,
especially with its decision to change the wording of God and Goddesses to
deities, which she said better reflects the diversity of beliefs within
Hinduism.
  Before the board's decision, Mihir Meghani, president of the Hindu American
Foundation, said his organization was close to filing a lawsuit against the
state seeking a detailed review of the board's approval process.

  In a March 3 letter to board members, Deborah B. Caplan, an attorney with
Olson, Hageland Fishburn retained by the Hindu American Foundation, said the
foundation was extremely disappointed by a state subcommittee's decision to
unanimously approve revised edits despite four hours of passionate debate among
scholarsand the Indian diaspora regarding the interpretation of Indian history.

  "It was apparent from the complete lack of deliberation, that the 'public
hearing' portion of the meeting was a complete sham and that the critical
decisions had been made in advance of that meeting," wrote Caplan, adding that
it is her contention that all actions taken since the Dec. 2 Curriculum
Commission meeting have been in violation of the law.

  Meghani could not be reached after the Wednesday meeting for comment on whether
the board's action may affect the Hindu American Foundation's decision to seek
litigation.

  Before the meeting, critics of the Hindu groups, including the Friends of South
Asia and Coalition Against Communalism, held a news conference to publicize a
letter from 17 state legislators urging the board to reject attempts by Hindu
groups to sanitize gender and caste inequalities from ancient Indian history.

  The board's decision is the culmination of 10 months of debate regarding the
historical accuracy of textbooks about ancient India.
  In late summer, the Texas-based Vedic Foundation and the Hindu Education
Foundation sent hundreds of proposed revisions.

  While many of the revisions corrected inaccuracies, others sought to soften the
language on polytheism, the caste system and the status of women. The Hindu
Education Foundation and the Vedic Foundation contend the revisions are
necessary to ensure that Hinduism is accurately described and not presented as
inferior to Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

  But critics, including various scholars, contend the groups are trying to put a
Hindu spin on history and whitewash India's past. Each side accuses the other of
deliberately distorting the truth.
  ----------------------------

  In conclusion, I would like to share this observation:

  I was stunned to read in his OutlookIndia.com article that Professor Witzel was
the founder of the indiatruth.com website. It is a hodge-podge of slanderous
assumptions that have no substance coming from nowhere and going down a nasty
mud-slinging path that does not address issues but denigrates and negates. On
the indiatruth website, Hindu is a four-letter-word.

  My name is listed on the indiatruth.com website as some sort of conspiratorial
murderess. I sent the following letter several times to the two email addresses
associated with that ridiculous website and no one ever responded. It seemed as
if whomever assembled the indiatruth.com website was intellectually challenged.
I figured that they were a bunch of politicized cranks trying to smear those who
are investigating alternative paradigms and/or are creating a milieu in which
Hinduism is more accepted and better understood. Then in Outlook India Dr.
Witzel wrote that he had founded that webpage. He is the crack?

  Witzel twists the facts and makes spurious analogies... really rather
frightening... He accuses the Hindus of North America of being Hiina (or lost
and confused) and he uses "furious if not predictable slurs" against Hindus,
such as "Nazi", "Hitler", "Racist", "Muslim hater", "Race Traitor", "Christian
hater", "Creationist", and "obscurantist murders".

  No one ever answered my letter to indiatruth, whom I dismissed as crack-pots
who winnow information until they satisfied their dubious theories:

  From: Yvette Rosser <yvetterosser@...>
  Subject: Please note my other significant associations
  To: info@..., press@...,

    To the people who created the indiantruth.com web site,

  I saw references about me on your website and I would ask you to please add
links to my other significant associations:

  http://www.pashtuninstitute.org/index.html

  I am a founding member of The Global Pashtun Institute for Peace and Democracy,
a nonprofit organization working for the realization of the following
objectives:

      *  Support and strengthen peace, democracy and stability in Afghanistan
initiated under the Bonn Process by the United Nations and the Coalition;
      *  Press for democratic, human rights and legal-administrative reforms in
the Tribal Areas of Pakistan;
      *   Support and conduct non-partisan research, educational, and
informational activities about the language, history, culture, economy and
politics of the Pashtun people;
      *  Impart skills, training and education to the Pashtun youth to avoid
their falling into the hands of extremists and militants propelled by
obscurantist ideologies;
      *  Raise awareness about issues of ecological and environmental concerns to
the Pashtun people and the international community;
      * Improve human rights situation among Pashtuns, particularly women and
children rights and;
      * Increase international understanding of the language, culture, history
and society of the Pashtuns.

  In addition, I am a founding member of The G M Syed Memorial Committee  http://
www.gmsyed.org/
  Objectives:
  •  To educate the international community about G. M. Syed's message of
non-violence, democracy, secularism, and the right to self-determination for
Sindhis and other oppressed nations.

  •  To sponsor the following programs:
  •  Organize community outreach events to celebrate the life and work of G. M.
Syed.
  •  Give awards recognizing the exceptional contributions of activists,
scholars, and leaders who are striving to achieve peace and justice for the
Sindhi nation, or who have promoted awareness about the Sindhi language, culture
or people.
  •  Promote the teachings of G. M. Syed through the publication of reports,
books, research articles, and other works, and the dissemination of these works
on a website.
  •  Establish G. M. Syed Memorial Centers around the world.
  •  To advocate and support other organizations promoting human rights,
religious tolerance, environmental responsibility, equal rights for women and
religious minorities, as well as conflict resolution and peaceful initiatives in
Sindh.

  I am on the advisory board of the Baacha Khan Research Centre in Baacha Khan
Markaz, Peshawar; and founder of the Badshah Khan Peace Initiative (BKPI), a
worldwide movement to promote the life's teachings of Abdul Ghaffar
Khan/Frontier Gandhi. The main priority of the BKPI is to correct the flaw in
standard historical treatments of the Subcontinent, in which Badshah Khan has
been expunged from history. Our goal is to amend the historical record so that
he is included along side Mahatma Gandhi in our children's textbooks.

  Friends at indiatruth.com, since you have taken the time to list my name,
please be sure to include my other very important associations supportive of
Pashtuns and Sindhis.

  I am also cofounder of the International Day Without Violence:
  http://www.infinityfoundation.com/mandala/..._peace_walk.htm

  Additionally, instead of links under my name that lead to articles by others in
which I am not even mentioned (duh, what it this?), please add links to my
actual writings:
  http://www.mssu.edu/projectsouthasia/tsa...Rosser.htm
  http://www.infinityfoundation.com/mandala/...s_rosse_EAA.htm
  -----

  Please update the information about me on your website. Perhaps, the broad
spectrum of my interests and commitments does not jive with your narrow,
negative view of me, but be brave and break the mold and add these links to
reflect my other activities. Thank you very much.

  All the best,
  Yvette Rosser

  PS On your web site I see that Hindu is a four letter word.

  -------------
  To whomever was cc’ed on this letter, thank you. An please note that South
Asianists and Sanskrit scholars cannot flood the moats and raise the drawbridges
to keep practicing Hindus at bay. There seems to be a fear in the Ivory Towers
that the academic study of Hinduism is being high-jacked by Hindus. The key
words to solve the dilemma are cooperation, collaboration, and respect.

  Move over, the future is here. Cease and desist the arrogant, academic battle
regalia and start the interactive dialogue.

  All the best,
  Yvette C. Rosser,
  PhD – Curriculum and Instruction
  MA & BA South Asian Studies

  PS Undoubtedly, my email will bouch from the yahoogroups in which I am not a
member such as Indo-Eurasian_research, RISA, and indology. In support of
fairness, if members of those groups, who receive this reply to Prof. Witzel's
letter, would please forward it to the group, I would be appreciative.

  Thanks again!
  Cheers!<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->