HEF Youth Appeal
Most of us know that Hindus are labeled as weak by the Western community. We are smart because we work hard, but otherwise we are unorganized, have a bad sense of hygiene, and come from a third world country. This is what we are in this Western world. But, Hindu Education Foundation has taken the initiative to stop such negative judgments on Hindus, by educating the future of this nation. Hindu Education Foundation is making a strong effort to revise our history textbooks so that they reflect Hinduism more fairly, compared to other faiths. In a nation where equality and justice is promised, sounds like nothing big to expect that one faith has an equally fair coverage in history textbooks as do others. Well, according to the media, we are not fighting for a fair representation in history textbooks, but are causing problems for petty reasons. KGO-TVs ABC 7 (Bay-area, CA) six 'o clock news covered our efforts, and thats when I got a taste of the real world.
If you've been keeping up, you may know that HEF has caught statements in the textbooks claiming Hindu men have more rights than women, that Hindus worship cows, that Hindi is written with the Arabic alphabet. One of the textbooks even said, Hindus believe that anytime the Ramayana is read, Hanuman is present. Look around, do you see any monkeys? One Hindu parents child even came home claiming he didnt want to be Hindu anymore, because his peers taunted him after reading the Hinduism unit of their textbook in school. This is just a small look into the disrespectful wording and pictures used to describe this age-old culture.
On January 27th, ABC 7 News released their report on this story. This is when I finally understood what people were talking about when they accused the media of twisting stories. The news report, maybe 5 or 6 minutes, made a proper introduction, claiming that many Hindu parents were upset over the textbooks portrayals of Hinduism, and that efforts were being made with thestate board of education to revise these inaccuracies. Then, it went on to show interviews. Of all the examples which would have been given, the report showed one in which a Hindu parent was expressing her concern over an image in which a Hindu man and woman were holding hands. She claimed that this was not common in Hindu history, and another person backed that up. That was the only example presented. According to me, this makes our efforts seem as though they are for silly reasons.
| "The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible, and achieve it, generation after generation." Pearl S. Buck |
Even though Professor Michael Witzel, the leading activist opposing our work, has called us NRIs as lost or abandoned people, has taunted our practice of chanting Aum, has called us Nazis and untouchable scavengers,has mocked our efforts, and continues to indulge in anti-Hindu efforts, the media could find no better use of their air time than belittling the efforts of concerned Hindus in making more accurate the lessons taught to the future of this nation, which stands on justice and equality.
Today, if you type in California textbooks in Google, youll find lots of sites opposing our efforts. Two main sources of information for the general public, the television media and the search engine, are not reflecting our views fairly. As Hindu teens, we have to change this. In the end, its going to affect our classrooms. Many of us have a Myspace. Well, we can take our myspace skills, and use them to each create a blog, and write a little or a lot applauding HEFs efforts. By linking these blogs, we can change what you first see when researching about our activities. We can also create powerpoints for HEF, we can organize booths for HEF during community events. Such efforts in a national movement to revise history textbooks would also be impressive on a college application. Below are a few must read links by which you can educate and motivate yourself to join this movement. And, not join it alone, but motivate your friends and fellow swayamsevaks to contribute to these efforts as well. Let us make the following slogan our motivation for all our kishor projects. Sanghatan Mein, Shakti Hai! In Unity, there is Strength. I have noticed that at our age, its difficult to make changes alone when it involves adults, but in numbers, we are truly the heart of society.
Focus: Witzels Inappropriate Comments
http://www.indiapost.com/members/story.php?story_id=5264
Focus: Suggested Changes and Results
http://www.hindueducation.org/ca/SecondCRPAnalysis.pdf
Focus: Suhag A Shukla (HAF legal counsel) Interview
http://ia.rediff.com/news/2005/dec/29inter1.htm?q=np&file=.htm
Focus: Blog Understanding the Whole Situation
http://www.sulekha.com/blogs/blogdisplay.aspx?cid=40019
