Dear State Board of Education Members,
My name is Manisha Kapoor and I was born and raised as a Hindu. I feel blessed to have been brought up in the ethnically diverse city of Los Angeles. I am an attorney and was recently admitted to the State Bar of California. I am also the youngest Board Member of the San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council whose aim includes teaching the community about various religions and faiths. The international mission of my congregation, JKP Barsana Dham, is to educate the public about the true teachings of Hinduism and to clarify the misconceptions.

Even today as a working professional, people jokingly make stereotypical and derogatory remarks about Hinduism to me. However, they are not to be blamed. People only know what they are taught at school and believe what the media portrays as the truth.

Education plays a crucial role in shaping the lives and belief systems of the youth. According to the criteria of the California Board of Education, the instructional material must be accurate and should not include derogatory language about a religion or instill prejudice. Each of the texts being considered has some type of inaccuracy or derogatory connotation. Below is an example of inaccurate and derogatory information taken from a book that is being considered for adoption in the History-Social Science classes:

“Hindus worship many gods and goddesses. Unlike Vishnu, Shiva is not concerned with human matters. (Shakti) is both kind and cruel.”

Textbook: History Alive! Teachers’ Curriculum Institute, p. 115-116.

In actuality, Hinduism is a monotheistic religion. We believe in one God who takes on numerous forms. According to our sacred scriptures, God is described as eternal, omnipresent, all-Blissful, all-Gracious, all-kind and all loving Divine personality. These inaccuracies and demeaning remarks need to be addressed. I urge you to reconsider and reevaluate the material that is being adopted to educate the youth about Hinduism. I would be happy to provide any assistance that I can in the process of selecting material that would be appropriate and consistent with the guidelines that have been set forth by the California Board of Education.

Very truly yours,
Manisha V. Kapoor, Esq.