The California State Board of Education has voted unanimously to approve changes in textbooks that more accurately depict Hindus and Indian Americans.
More than 75 interfaith and community groups, 17 federal and state officials, and 38 academics formed a coalition encouraging the board to reject textbooks that inaccurately portray Hinduism, Jainism and Indian history at large, according to the Hindu American Foundation, which spearheaded the collaborative effort.
The Board met Thursday to review textbooks, Publishers were allowed two minutes each to plead their case, Edsource reports.
In a similar vote held in September, the California Department of Education suggested revisions to some proposed drafts and rejected two others in the face of mounting pressure from the community.
“Hindu Americans specifically asserted that the submitted textbooks demonized Hindus and Indians by promoting Orientalist narratives and including denigrating pictures of Hindu Deities, slums and poverty to represent ancient Indian civilization and Hinduism,” the Hindu Education Foundation reports.
Hindu American Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has expressed her support for a more accurate representation of Indian Americans in school textbooks.
“At a time of great division in our country and around the world, the importance of ensuring that the next generation is brought up respecting religious and cultural diversity, equality, and pluralism is critical,” Gabbard tweeted.
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