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The Textbook Controversy: How History is Taught in School
Diganta
After Shankarmurthy, the Karnataka education minister, alleged that Tipu Sultan was a Kannada-hater, I tried to gather news about the state of Indian textbooks as a whole. Also, later I was involved in a research project on textbooks worldwide and the ways in which they are taught in schools.
A Pathfinder article tries to show how the BJP Govt tried to manipulate the history textbooks for their political gain. It went to the extent of denying a genetically and historically accepted fact that Aryans came to India from outside. Historian Romila Thapar pointed out correctly,
it wants to "project a unified, continuous Indian identity where Aryanism, encapsulated in the culture of the Vedas and the upper castes, is the major cultural expression of India."
For a little humourous touch, a Rajasthani textbookcompared a housewife to a donkey and concluded,
It has to toil all day and, like her, may even have to give up food and water. In fact, the donkey is a shade better, for while the housewife may sometimes complain and walk off to her parents' home, you'll never catch the donkey being disloyal to his master.
Such is the pathetic bias against women in Indian textbooks.
The best of them all was not surprisingly a Gujarat textbook promoting Nazis and went onto include a chapter on the "internal achievements of Nazism"! It rubbishes the Holocaust and projects Hitler as a true leader!
As the international case study illustrated, the list of biased and hateful text books are almost endless. The Japanese textbooks often present downplayed or vague historical accounts of events in which the Japanese were guilty of mass-murder.
The Saudi textbooks came under scrutiny after most of the 9/11 conspirators were found to be from Saudi Arabia. Saudi textbooks were shown to have a bias against non-Muslims and Jews in particular. The claim that the bias is due to the Palestinian conflict does not garner much support since the textbooks of Palestine does not contain anti-Semitic writings. In his blog, Mezba recounts the way of teaching as he found in Saudi.
Coming closer to home, I had already written about Pakistani textbooks. As SDPI wrote, the textbooks contained factual inaccuracies, religious and ethnic prejudices, gender stereotypes, glorification of war and lack of direction towards peace. The most prominent lie was that after the 1965 war India conspired with the Hindus of Bengal and succeeded in
spreading hate among the Bengalis against West Pakistan and finally attacked on East Pakistan in December 1971, thus causing the breakup of East and West
Pakistan.
However, the things are changing due to moderate views of President Musharraf (or under US-pressure?) with new textbook policies being brought about.
In Europe, the issue is to forget the World Wars and unite against USA. A new Franco-German joint textbook at least tries to promote European culture and denounces USA. I don't see any reason for denouncing USA to promote their own values. The British-Argentine spat over the Falklands continues to the pages of the textbooks as the latter accuses Britain of colonialising the island. An American organization also suggests changes in US-version of History books.
The ethnic spat is well demonstrated in Malaysian textbooks, which is accused of racial bias against Indians and Chinese people living in Malaysia. However, things are changing in positive direction.
I hope that everyone knows the role of upbringing in today's world. A better upbringing can definitely lead to a better world. To shape the mind of the children, whether we use these hate-materials or the books of peace will determine the future of the world.
The Textbook Controversy: How History is Taught in School
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temporal
URL
February 21, 2007
09:56 AM
very thoughtful
history is victor's retelling of past - more often than not!
Kannan
URL
February 22, 2007
01:28 AM
Please tell me who and when did genetic testing and found that upper castes were Aryans
Diganta
URL
February 22, 2007
01:38 AM
Romila Thapar wrote that "Aryanism and Upper Caste culture" are projected to be the major cultural expression of India. I do not understand why genetic testing is required for that.
blokesablogin
February 22, 2007
03:43 AM
Poorly researched and written article- highly one-sided viewpoint. As writers, we need to take a more equitable view to see all sides and then "pass judgement". Romila Thapar is not the only historian alive in India today. Further, the propounders of the non- AIT (Aryan Invasion Theory) establish a very strong case too as established in the book "In search of the cradle of civilization". As for "upper and lower caste in History- Puleaez- give me a break!
Diganta
URL
February 22, 2007
04:10 AM
I do not understand what could have been a "two-sided' view for Aryans originating from India. "In search of the cradle of civilization" does not cite any genetic proof (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeogenetics), the proof that is a must these days.
For details :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetics_and_Archaeogenetics_of_South_Asia
null
URL
February 22, 2007
08:43 AM
well whether the aryans came from other places or not, the fact is that there are distinctive cultures - one the universe of vedic and the other one distinctly different.
the lower castes culture and gods and names of gods do point to it!
null
URL
February 23, 2007
12:13 AM
How about genetic tests for thsi?
"It went to the extent of denying a genetically and historically accepted fact that Aryans came to India from outside"
Sanjay
February 23, 2007
10:55 PM
And let's not forget to complete the slander, by alleging that Nazism in textbooks is due to Narendra Modi!
When Jews are routinely slandered by blood-libel in our Islamic and Leftist media, I find it astoundingly hypocritical of these media (and you Diganta) to be opportunistically raising your slogans against Nazism. What a charade.
Because the Left and the Islamists believe in truth by repeated assertion (as demonstrated by Goebbels), they are looking to inject political labels from other continents (eg. Nazism) into SouthAsia to try and carve out for themselves some artificial moral mantle. That moral highground doesn't exist -- it's an illusion.
It is the Left and the Islamics who are against freedom of choice and progressive democratic pluralism. It's the RED-GREEN SHOW!
Sanjay
February 23, 2007
10:59 PM
Diganta writes:
"However, the things are changing due to moderate views of President Musharraf (or under US-pressure?) with new textbook policies being brought about."
Ohhhh, Musharraf is a moderate, is he? Surely you must remember this rather famous interview with him, from not so long ago:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/30/AR2005093001536.html
Diganta, you're just as much of a liar as Musharraf is.
Diganta
URL
February 26, 2007
01:04 AM
Jews are slaughtered by a lot of other regimes - Communists of Russia and Muslims in Arabs. However, in our schools do not teach how great these people were. So, why should we read how 'great' Nazism were?
Moderate doesn't mean he has to be moderate in all senses, Musharraf is certainly more moderate than all other Presidents appeared prior to him.
Chandra
URL
February 26, 2007
05:19 AM
Donkey item....
I understand that those chapters were part of a draft version and gotten rid off. Secondly, the same book also had a comparison of donkeys and politicians....that has been dropped too (in spite of a popular demand to retain them :-)
Chandra
URL
February 26, 2007
05:29 AM
Pathfinder article in Asiaweek....
I am not sure why you think the RSS is wrong about circumsicion? Afterall both Islam and Christianity are religions that believe all non-believers like us need to be converted....we are described as pagans..primitive people...who worship idols...poor chaps....
About the hitler article.....I dont care what hitler did or for that matter what churchill did....the same time that the Britts, Fremchies, Americans, Ruskies and the Dutch were fighting the Germans...they were in occupation of 80% of the rest of the world's countries.....The Great War was good for us because many of these countries had no moral and economic strength to continue occupying us after the great war........
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