2016–17 California Textbook Controversy Over South Asian Topics
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In 2016 and 2017, there was a significant debate on how topics related to South Asia were represented in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
middle school textbooks—a follow-up to a related set of debates that took place from 2005 to 2009. These new debates were fueled by varying religious groups who felt the 2009 changes were incorrect, or pushed political agendas. The
California Department of Education The California Department of Education is an agency within the government of California that oversees public education. The department oversees funding and testing, and holds local educational agencies accountable for student achievement. Its s ...
runs a public process to update the history and social sciences curriculum frameworks, which help guide the textbooks that publishers develop for students. Starting in 2016, groups submitted textbook revisions dealing with a variety of issues related to histories of
South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
,
Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...
,
Dalit Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...
s,
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
s,
Ravidassias Ravidassia or the Ravidas Panth is a religion based on the teachings of Guru Ravidas. It was considered a sect within Sikhism until 2009. However, some Ravidassias continue to maintain Sikh religious practices, including the reverence of the Guru ...
, the
Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300  BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form from 2600 BCE ...
, and the
rights of women Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
, as taught in California 6th and 7th grade history and social science textbooks. The Department of Education made final decisions on the topics in 2017, retaining content on the caste system, and referring to all of historical South Asia as India, among many other decisions.


Groups involved


The Hindu American Foundation

Since 2005, the
Hindu American Foundation The Hindu American Foundation ( ) is an American Hindu non-profit advocacy group founded in 2003. The organisation has its roots in the Hindu nationalist organisation Vishwa Hindu Parishad America and its student wing Hindu Students Council ...
(HAF) has been involved in advocacy for changes within California textbooks. Over 2016-2017, they sent letters, joined petitions, and published articles, working towards a claimed goal of making educational content within California inclusive and accurate. In 2017, the HAF participated in the California Department of Education's textbook adoption process. Many academics and American Hindus who were critical of the HAF's involvement accused the organization of pushing ''
Hindutva Hindutva (; ) is a Far-right politics, far-right political ideology encompassing the cultural justification of Hindu nationalism and the belief in establishing Hindu hegemony within India. The political ideology was formulated by Vinayak Da ...
'' ideologies within their proposed changes.


Other advocacy groups

Another group was organized as "South Asian Histories for All", describing itself as an "inter-caste, multi-faith group of activists," which "cited inaccuracies regarding caste and other issues in the textbook material, and called for a delay on the books’ approval so that they could be submitted for further editing."


Academics

Academics also played an important role. There were two primary sets of academics providing comment on the issues: * According to ''The Caravan'', "Unified under the banner of the 'South Asian Faculty Group,' many professors signed a letter that detailed the reasons why many of the edits proposed by the Hindu groups were ahistorical and ideologically motivated. A similar letter, with over 90 signatories, was submitted this year, endorsing the specific edits requested by SAHFA." * Opposing many of these edits, according to ''The Caravan'', "The Hindu camp, too, assembled a team of academics…who submitted their own letter. It was written primarily by
Jeffery Long Jeffery D. Long (born 1969) is a religious studies scholar who works on the religions and philosophies of India, particularly Hinduism and Jainism. He is a professor of religion and Asian studies at Elizabethtown College. Education and career ...
, a professor of religion and Asian studies at
Elizabethtown College Elizabethtown College (informally Etown) is a private college in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. History Founding and early years Elizabethtown College was founded in 1899 by members of the Church of the Brethren in response to an initiative by ...
…With almost 40 signatories, Long’s letter criticised some of the textbooks for their 'underlying Orientalist narrative' and their tendency to put forth 'inaccurate and unfavorable comparisons of Hinduism with other religions'."


2017 History-Social Science edits and corrections

On September 28, 2017, the California Department of Education published a list of edits and corrections. Some, but not all, changes include:


Dalits and the caste system


The debate

Advocates disagreed on whether and how the history of the caste system should be included in history books, and how Dalit communities should be named. * The Uberoi Foundation recommended removing the word "Dalit," and the Hindu American Foundation proposed removing the word "Untouchable." The Hindu American Foundation asked for the erasure of references to
caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...
and
untouchability Untouchability is a form of social institution that legitimises and enforces practices that are discriminatory, humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative against people belonging to certain social groups. Although comparable forms of discrimin ...
, asking that the phrase “communities outside the jati system, the 'Untouchables,'" be changed to "socially ostracized and economically disadvantaged communities." The Hindu Education Foundation opposed a suggested edit stating that Dalits were "forced to do work considered impure," writing “the suggested edit has political overtones." * South Asian Histories for All and Dalit American groups argued for inclusion of the word "Dalit," and for retaining the history of the caste system in history textbooks.


The result

The proposal to rename "Untouchables" as "socially ostracized and economically disadvantaged communities" was rejected by the Instructional Quality Commission, and the use of the word Dalit was incorporated into the curriculum framework. Commission members also rejected a suggestion that would describe jati groups as "self-governing." However, according to ''The Caravan'', "the final textbook matches HAF’s suggested edits more closely than it does the framework text. For example, while the framework had described the Dalit community by name, the approved
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
textbook fails to do so. It notes, 'At the bottom were slaves, laborers, and artisans…Many centuries later, another group developed that was considered even lower'."


Guru Nanak and caste


The debate

* Three Hindu groups, the Hindu American Foundation, the Hindu Education Foundation, and the Uberoi Foundation, all submitted edits that would remove references in the curriculum framework to
Guru Nanak Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also known as ('Father Nanak'), was an Indian spiritual teacher, mystic and poet, who is regarded as the founder of Sikhism and is t ...
, the founder of
Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...
, being "a social reformer who challenged the authority of the
Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
s and the caste order." * The
Sikh Coalition The Sikh Coalition is a Sikhism in the United States, Sikh-American non-profit advocacy group that defends Sikh civil rights founded in 2001 with offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Fremont, California. The Sikh Coalition, was origina ...
argued the need to "highlight Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s belief in universal equality and the rejection of the caste system as a core tenet of Sikhism."


The result

After debate, the Sikh Coalition praised the final textbook curriculum for retaining the language. However,
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
, one of the publishers who developed a textbook based on the curriculum, dropped references to Nanak’s opposition to the caste system. Sikh groups pointed to a Hindu American Foundation employee credited in the textbook as a "reviewer of religious content". According to ''The Caravan'', the Hindu American Foundation "affirmed that the foundation had worked directly with all the publishers except for Studies Weekly and McGraw Hill."


Dalip Singh Saund and Sikhism


The debate

* In a suggested edit, the Hindu American Foundation asked for the removal of the word "
Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
" in descriptions of
Dalip Singh Saund Dalip Singh Saund (September 20, 1899 – April 22, 1973) was an Indian-born American farmer, lobbyist, judicial officer, academic, and Democratic Party politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1957 to 1963. He wa ...
, describing him only as "an immigrant of Indian origin." * This edit was opposed by Sikh American groups.


The result

The Instructional Quality Commission agreed to retain language naming Saund's Sikh identity.


India and South Asia


The debate

* According to ''Scroll'', the South Asia Faculty Group submitted edits asking for the word "India" to be replaced with "South Asia" in 24 of 93 instances where there were references to historical "India" in the curriculum framework. They argued that "certain parts referred to as ancient India are now in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
, or
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
," according to a summary of their letter by ''
Quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...
''. * Groups like the Hindu American Foundation strongly opposed the use of the word "South Asia," and launched a "Don't Erase India" social media campaign. They were supported by a group of academics, "Scholars for People," who created an
online petition An online petition (or Internet petition, or e-petition) is a form of petition which is signed online, usually through a form on a website. Visitors to the online petition sign the petition by adding their details such as name and email address. T ...
that garnered over 25,000 signatures.


The result

The California Department of Education's Instructional Quality Commission eventually decided to use the word "India" in every instance within the curriculum framework.


Indus Valley civilization


The debate

* The Uberoi Foundation submitted edits changing every reference to the "
Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300  BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form from 2600 BCE ...
" to the "Indus–Sarasvati civilization" in reference to the "
Sarasvati River The Sarasvati River () is a Apotheosis, deified myth, mythological Rigvedic rivers, river first mentioned in the Rigveda and later in Vedas, Vedic and post-Vedic texts. It played an important role in the Historical Vedic religion, Vedic religio ...
" from Hindu mythology. * This was opposed by the South Asia Faculty Group and South Asian Histories for All.


The result

The Instructional Quality Commission rejected the edits, retaining the phrase "Indus Valley civilization." Subsequently, the textbook review panel flagged publisher
Pearson Pearson may refer to: Organizations Education * Lester B. Pearson College, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada * Pearson College (UK), London, owned by Pearson PLC *Lester B. Pearson High School (disambiguation) Companies * Pearson plc, a UK-based ...
's references to the "Sarasvati River," responding with comments like "This is a subject of controversy, not settled fact…Remove mention of ‘Sarasvati’ and refer to it as ‘Indus Valley civilization'". In response, a Pearson employee defended the usage, stating that the changes were requested by the Hindu American Foundation, the Hindu Education Foundation, and Hindupedia. The Instructional Quality Commission upheld the original request, and Pearson revised its textbook.


Representation of Hindus

A coalition led by the Hindu American Foundation and other community groups that included nearly 40 academics, about 74 interfaith organizations and elected officials like Congresswoman
Tulsi Gabbard Tulsi Gabbard (; born April 12, 1981) is an American politician and military officer serving as the director of National Intelligence, director of national intelligence (DNI) since 2025. She has held the rank of Lieutenant colonel (United Stat ...
and California State Senator
Steve Glazer Steven Mitchell Glazer (born August 10, 1957) is an American politician and former political advisor who is a former member of the California State Senate from the 7th Senate District, which includes most of Contra Costa County and eastern porti ...
urged the California Board of Education to review the draft to ensure fair representation of Hinduism, Jainism and Indian culture. Dozens of Indian-American students spoke out against the South Asia Faculty Group's suggested edits, accusing them of
Hinduphobia Anti-Hindu sentiment, sometimes also referred to as Hinduphobia, is a fear of, hostility towards or actions against the practitioners or religion of Hinduism. It exists in many contexts in many countries, often due to historical confl ...
and robbing them of selfhood.


See also

*
California textbook controversy over Hindu history A controversy in the US state of California concerning the portrayal of Hinduism in history textbooks began in 2005. The Texas-based Vedic Foundation (VF) and the Hindu Education Foundation (HEF), complained to California's Curriculum Commission ...
(2005 to 2009) *
Hindutva pseudohistory Hindutva is a Far-right politics, far-right political ideology that seeks to justify Hindu nationalism and the belief in establishing a Hindu hegemony. Hindutva ideologues and figures have engaged in numerous instances of disinformation since the ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2016-17 California textbook controversy over South Asian topics Textbook controversies South Asian American culture Indian-American history Dalit history Public education in California 2016 controversies in the United States 2016 in California Hinduism-related controversies Islam-related controversies Historiography of India Education controversies in the United States 21st-century controversies in the United States