untouchable caste and inferior status of women in ancient India 2,500 years ago
VognoDuut750
A tumultuous chapter in California textbook history reached a climax this
week when the state Board of Education rejected demands from some Hindu
groups for many changes in new textbooks' treatments of ancient India.
The 8-0 vote with two abstentions followed a passionate 90-minute public
hearing Wednesday and capped months of other hearings and intensive lobbying
by activists and scholars that attracted national attention.
"What is at stake here is the embarrassment and humiliation that these Hindu
children (in America) continue to face because of the way textbooks portray
their faith and culture," said Jihane Ayed of Ruder Finn, a New York-based
public relations firm representing the Vedic Foundation and Hindu Education
Foundation.
The foundations say Hinduism is tarnished by textbook portrayals of the
untouchable caste and inferior status of women in ancient India more than
2,500 years ago. They also object to depictions of Hinduism as polytheistic
and the inclusion of the theory that an Aryan migration played a key role in
the development of Indian civilization.
Other Hindu Americans applauded the Board of Education.
The conflict arose as the board of education underwent its
once-every-six-years textbook adoption process for history and social
science textbooks for grades K-8 in public schools.
"What one person considers historically accurate, another person views as a
racist text," board member Ruth Green told the packed hearing room in
Sacramento.
Janeshwari Devi, Vedic Foundation projects director, said the board's action
"leaves a lot of inconsistencies, distortions and negative slants in the
books."
The two foundations submitted about 500 proposed changes, and more than 80
percent were not approved, Devi said.
The Department of Education's curriculum director, Thomas Adams, told the
board that the approved changes included the ones that all parties agreed
to, such as removing "Where's the Beef" as the title of a section about
India.
Anu Mandavilli, a representative of Friends of South Asia, a group that
includes Hindus and that opposed the controversial changes sought by the
Hindu foundations, called the board's action "a big victory for secular
history."
"The board stood up to threats of lawsuits and voted in favor of historical
accuracy instead of strong tactics by community groups," she said.
Deborah Caplan, a lawyer representing the Hindu American Foundation, told
the board it violated the law during the approval process and would be sued
if it adopted the recommendations forwarded by the Department of Education
staff and a board subcommittee vote on Feb. 27. It is those recommendations
the board essentially adopted.
Caplan said Thursday that she expects to file the suit against the board of
education early next week.
California textbook battles are not new, but this year's dispute attracted
extra attention, and the process was delayed several months.
The Department of Education received more submissions than ever before, with
11 publishers in April offering history and social studies textbooks and
supplementary materials for sixth grade, when ancient India is usually
taught in California.
"We've literally been deluged with reams of comment," said Rebecca Parker,
an administrator for the Board of Education. "Schools need these materials.
Publishers are really worried about having time to do all the printing."
Nine publishers were approved to publish sixth-grade textbooks for next
fall. The two Hindu foundations sought changes in all nine textbooks offered
by the publishers.
California is closely watched in large part because it has a huge influence
on what other states use.
"What California adopts today will be sold across the nation tomorrow," says
a new report on California textbook adoption by the American Textbook
Council, an independent research organization based in New York.
But the groups that were most vociferous in the final stages were the Vedic
Foundation and Hindu Education Foundation, who say they speak for the Hindu
American mainstream, a claim that is disputed.
Critics, including many U.S. scholars and many American Hindus, say the two
foundations are linked to right-wing nationalist Hindu movements in India.
"The proposed revisions are not of a scholarly but a religious-political
nature," Harvard Sanskrit Professor Michael Witzel said in a Nov. 8 letter
to the Board of Education that was co-signed by 47 scholars of India.
"We have no political affiliation," said Devi of the Vedic Foundation, which
she described as the educational arm of Barsana Dham, a Hindu temple in
Austin, Texas.
Even though the board resisted many of the changes sought by activist groups
this time, the conflict could still impact future textbooks with publishers
being tempted to soften the content on their own initiative, said Stanford
University professor of education Sam Wineburg.
"Publishers will tread on this territory ever more lightly," Wineburg said,
noting that publishing companies are private, profit-driven multinational
companies.
Attempts to obtain comment from several of the publishers were not
successful.
Adding fuel to a long-running debate, adversaries battled over whether
historical accuracy is sacrificed on the altar of political correctness and
whether textbooks promote negative stereotypes of religious and ethnic
groups.
"The result," said Gilbert Sewall, director of the American Textbook
Council, "is textbook editors censor themselves. They fall all over
themselves to try to cater to one pressure group."
nkdat...@bigmailbox.net
> untouchable caste and inferior status of women in ancient India 2,500 years ago
>
http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/03/08/d60308060667.htm
Daily Star, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
Vow to resist acid attack
A unique rally was held at the Central Shaheed Minar in the city
yesterday where teachers, lawyers, businessmen, journalists, artists,
and students -- all of them are males -- made a vow to resist acid
attacks and expressed their solidarity with the campaign against acid
violence.
Victims of acid violence also attended the rally and narrated their
plights through drama, recitation and songs.
The Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) organised the rally to mark the
International Women's Day.
Wearing white T-shirts and caps, carrying banners, festoons and
placards and chanting slogans against acid violence, around 5,000
people converged on the Shaheed Minar and lit candles to raise social
awareness.
Speakers at the rally called on the government to form a separate
monitoring committee to keep the track of all criminal cases under the
acid law.
The acid law came into effect in March 2002, but the retail sale of
acid could not be contained as expected, they said.
Loopholes in investigations and the lack of coordination among the
ministries concerned are creating obstacles to proper enforcement of
the acid law, said Matiur Rahman, editor of the Prothom Alo.
Barrister Rokanuddin Mahmud said strict enforcement of the acid law and
raising massive awareness are a must to curb acid violence.
Advocate Sigma Huda said 99 percent of acid victims are women and
girls, but men should come forward to stop such attacks.
Representatives from about 20 non-government organisations also joined
the programme.
Cultural personality Ramendu Majumdar read out the keynote paper while
Munira Rahman, executive director of ASF, conducted the programme.
Founder of Bishwa Sahitya Kendra Abdullah Abu Sayeed, Dhaka University
Vice-Chancellor Prof SMA Faiz, writer Anisul Huq, National Press Club
President Reazuddin Ahmed, The Hunger Project Country Director Dr
Badiul Alam Majumdar, Trade Union Kendra General Secretary Dr Wajedul
Islam Khan, dramatist Mamunur Rashid, artist Rafiqun Nabi, Group
Theatre Federation President M Hamid, FBCCI Vice-President Dewan Sultan
Ahmed and singers Ayub Bachchu, Fakir Alamgir, Shubhra Dev and Suja
Islam were also present.
Black Eyes, a music band, Udichi and singers Shubhro Dev and Fakir
Alamgir also performed at the programme.
================================================================
Torpedo
reconditioned virgins with the acid-wash commonly used in the Islamic dowry
industry.
"VognoDuut750" <VognoD...@zilmore.com> wrote in message
news:EtqdnVkwGZ06ubHZ...@comcast.com...
ranjit_...@yahoo.com
2500 years ago, eh? Megasthenes wrote 2300 years back and didn't
mention any untouchable caste and didn't notice that women had inferior
status. So, what DID Megasthenes notice? Try this, for size:
Of several remarkable customs existing among the Indians, there is one
prescribed by their ancient philosophers which one may regard as truly
admirable: for the law ordains that no one among them shall, under any
circumstances, be a slave, but that, enjoying freedom, they shall
respect the equal right to it which all possess: for those, they
thought, who have learned neither to domineer over nor to cringe to
others will attain the life best adapted for all vicissitudes of lot:
for it is but fair and reasonable to institute laws which bind all
equally, but allow property to be unevenly distributed.
Among the Indians officers are appointed even for foreigners, whose
duty is to see that no foreigner is wronged. Should any of them lose
his health, they send physicians to attend him, and take care of him
otherwise, and if he dies they bury him, and deliver over such property
as he leaves to his relatives. The judges also decide cases in which
foreigners are concerned, with the greatest care, and come down sharply
on those who take unfair advantage of them.
The inhabitants, having abundant means of subsistence, exceed ordinary
stature, and are distinguished by their proud bearing. They are also
skilled in the arts, as might be expected of men who inhale a pure air
and drink the very finest water. And while the soil bears on its
surface all kinds of fruits which are known to cultivation, it has also
under ground numerous veins of all sorts of metals, for it contains
much gold and silver, and copper and iron in no small quantity, and
even tin and other metals, which are employed in making articles of use
and ornament, as well as the implements and accoutrements of war.
http://www.mssu.edu/projectsouthasia/history/primarydocs/Foreign_Views/GreekRoman/Megasthenes-Indika.htm
Romanise
ranjit_...@yahoo.com wrote:
> VognoDuut750 wrote:
>
> 2500 years ago, eh? Megasthenes wrote 2300 years back and didn't
> mention any untouchable caste and didn't notice that women had inferior
> status. So, what DID Megasthenes notice? Try this, for size:
>
> Of several remarkable customs existing among the Indians, there is one
> prescribed by their ancient philosophers which one may regard as truly
> admirable: for the law ordains that no one among them shall, under any
> circumstances, be a slave, but that, enjoying freedom,
In Mricchakatikam Sharvilaka the revolutionary was at the end given his
heartthrob Madanika by Vasantasena. Madanika was Vasantasena's
possesion and was freed.
Mahabharata may have some references of horde of daasis given with a
marying princess. Dont know if Mathara is referred to as Kaikeyi's
daasi or not.
ranjit_...@yahoo.com
> ranjit_...@yahoo.com wrote:
> > VognoDuut750 wrote:
> >
> > 2500 years ago, eh? Megasthenes wrote 2300 years back and didn't
> > mention any untouchable caste and didn't notice that women had inferior
> > status. So, what DID Megasthenes notice? Try this, for size:
> >
> > Of several remarkable customs existing among the Indians, there is one
> > prescribed by their ancient philosophers which one may regard as truly
> > admirable: for the law ordains that no one among them shall, under any
> > circumstances, be a slave, but that, enjoying freedom,
>
> In Mricchakatikam Sharvilaka the revolutionary was at the end given his
> heartthrob Madanika by Vasantasena. Madanika was Vasantasena's
> possesion and was freed.
The Greeks might have had their own definition of slavery. Were Dasis
sold in bazaars? Did their masters gave away their children as gifts or
sell them as people do with puppies?
Romanise
> The Greeks might have had their own definition of slavery. Were Dasis
> sold in bazaars? Did their masters gave away their children as gifts or
> sell them as people do with puppies?
Apart from Harischandra and Taramati getting sold I have not read of
people getting sold. Indian slavery could be bonded labour which I
believe has not left India totally. Some Indians here in UK are found
practicing it. A Gujarati woman got jailed some time back for hurting
such labourer.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4350928.stm