If your child is going to attend the 6th grade in California next year, they will not only learn that Mahabharata happened before Ramayana, but will also learn that Shri Ram, Laxman and Sita used to dress up like Persian prince and princess, King Dashratha as Mogul King, Goddess Durga and Kali will be described as "terrible and extremely bloodthirsty". They would also learn that Hinduism is termed as Brahmanism.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. The Hinduism as whole has been described in such a derogatory way; one would wonder what impression little children would have of Hinduism?

We need not wonder. Just ask Madhulika Singh, one of the parents, who had first hand experience. One day her son came home and declared, "I do not want to be a Hindu." Further prodding revealed that the child thought Americans hate Hindus and what he learned in school was diametrically opposite to what he learned about Hinduism at home.

Similarly, Anjali Patel also felt that her kids were feeling uneasy about their Hindu identity and that something had to be done. Many parents felt this way and often attempted to communicate with their local school officials, but things were getting nowhere.

Like minded parents like Anjali Patel and Madhulika Singh took the initiative to volunteer for the Hindu Education Foundation and participated in the textbook review initiative. In various states HEF has been working to correct representation of Hinduism and India in American schools through Seminars on Hinduism, and presentations on Hindu festivals.

The HEF (http://www.hindueducation.org) followed the Education Department’s guidelines, which stipulate that "religions and cultures of minority groups be taught in such a manner as to instill a sense of pride in every child in his or her heritage and to remain secure in any religious beliefs he/she may already have" and to tackle the issue at the root rather than just complain. They assembled a team of experts to review the proposed textbooks for the sixth grade. Other religious groups (Muslims, Jews, Christians, Sikhs and others) had similar initiatives.

The HEF documented not only major flaws in textbooks’ coverage of Hinduism and Indian history but a systematic denigration of Hinduism. The textbooks also failed to mention any positive contribution of Hindus in different fields such as Mathematics, Science, art and literature.

The HEF media coordinator, Mr. Khanderao Kand, revealed to India Post that in this endeavor, they received overwhelming support from over 25 California based Hindu/Indian organizations. The list of organizations presented by HEF includes Indo-American Organizations cutting across regional and linguistic groups, and most of the Hindu organizations. He indicated that they were also working with the Texas based Vedic Foundation (VF) to clean up these books.

Dr. Srinivas Tilak (PhD History and Religion), one of the reviewers, further summarized that the areas of concern include but are not limited to false portrayal of women’s rights, historicizing the origins of Hinduism using outdated, much disputed colonial Aryan Invasion Theory (Christianity and Islam are historicized according to their respective beliefs) and finally, over all depiction of Hinduism which included wrong timeline, wrong depiction of Gods and Goddesses and religious icons in general.

Prof. Lathi (Prof. Emeritus Cal. State Univ. Sacramento) said "We want Hinduism to be treated in the same manner as other religions. It should be taught from the believer’s perspective as per the CDE guidelines."

Anjali Patel, coordinator of the HEF also spoke to India Post. She indicated that she had attended all the board meetings held in Sacramento and that the HEF was working with the CDE and publishers and proposed over 150 changes. Because of their efforts, the CDE decided to appoint an ad hoc committee to look into the matter, which approved most of the changes (rest would require major rewrite, hence rejected) initially, indicating CDE was responsive to the Hindu community’s needs. But in the recent weeks, as the hearings were winding down, a cabal of academics, alleged to have Marxist and anti-Hindu ideological bias, opposed these changes (without even finding out what edits were proposed!). This has delayed the adoption of textbooks and frustrated many parents and volunteers.

A sampling of comments from parents and volunteers can be summed up thus. No other religious group had to endure such an uphill battle. Islam and Christianity are mentioned in positive light as per the believer’s views without any negative reference. Unfortunately, Hinduism is referenced only negatively.

A sampling of review of these textbooks by this reporter revealed that not only there are inaccuracies, but often the language used is questionable to say the least. The topics covered in these textbooks also are way above the 6th grade level. Many of these topics of discussion belong in Universities and not in the 6th grade.

In coming weeks, we will bring more on this issue, including the views of those who oppose these changes.