California textbooks' guiding principles
The Californian Standards for Evaluating Instructional Materials for Social Content contain the guiding principles for the textbooks. They say: "The standards will be achieved by depicting, when appropriate, the diversity of religious beliefs held in the United States and California, as well as in other societies, without displaying bias toward or prejudice against any of those beliefs or religious beliefs in general."
They also say: "No religious belief or practice may be held up to ridicule and no religious group may be portrayed as inferior.", and "Any explanation or description of a religious belief or practice should be presented in a manner that does not encourage or discourage belief or indoctrinate the student in any particular religious belief."
Christian, Jewish and Muslim groups have done this for years, but the 2005 review was the first time Hindu groups participated.
Response to draft textbook
Upon release of a draft of the textbook, Christian, Jewish, Islamic and the two Hindu groups submitted their edits in autumn 2005. After intensive scholarly discussions, over 500 changes proposed by Jewish and Christian groups and around 100 changes proposed by Muslims were accepted by the California Department of Education (CDE) and the State Board of Education (SBE); these scholarly discussions extended to January 6, 2006. Some 170 edits proposed by two Hindu foundations were initially accepted, supported by the reviewer, appointed by the California's Board of Education, Dr. Shiva Bajpai, Professor Emeritus of History, California State University Northridge. However, 58 of the proposed edits by Hindu groups were challenged by various groups, including Professor Michael Witzel of Harvard University. The challenge created a procedural and legal conflict.
Accepted changes
According to the State Board of California, some accepted changes were:
| Original textbook draft: "The monkey king Hanuman loved Rama so much that it is said that he is present every time the Ramayana is told. So look around--see any monkeys?" Proposed correction: Delete "The monkey king" from the first sentence, and the entirety of the second sentence. |
Approve edit as written. | Confirm Ad Hoc action. | :107 |
| Original textbook draft: On page 149, a mosque was shown inside text about Hinduism. Proposed correction: Replace photograph with one having a temple in the background. This photo is of a mosque. |
Replace photo or crop out the mosque in the background. | Remove the picture. | :125 |
| Original textbook draft: "Hindus believed ... dharma of their class, society would be in harmony." Proposed correction: Replace class with varna. |
Approve edit as written. | Confirm Ad Hoc action. | :124 |
| Original textbook draft: "A group of people known as the Indo-Aryans arrived in the Indus Valley about 1500 B.C. These people developed a social structure called a caste system." Proposed correction: Add a sentence informing students that there is a lot of controversy concerning the category of people known as "Indo-Aryans" and their origin. |
Approve edit as written. | Confirm Ad Hoc action. Add sentence, "There is controversy concerning the category of people known as the Indo- Aryans and their origins." | 108 |
| Original textbook draft: A picture showed a Muslim offering prayer, was wrongly captioned as "A Brahman" Proposed correction: Replace picture, then correct caption to "A Brahmin." |
If the picture indeed depicts a Muslim, replace the illustration with an appropriate picture of a Brahmin. | Confirm Ad Hoc action. Publisher should replace the illustration. | :112-113 |
Opposed changes
According to the State Board of California, some opposed changes were:
| Original textbook draft: "Men had many more rights than women." Proposed correction: "Men had different duties (dharma) as well as rights than women. Many women were among the sages to whom the Vedas were revealed." |
Approve edit as written. | Defer to the original text. | 94 |
| Original textbook draft: "Once their society had merged with the local population, a late hymn of the Rig Veda described the four castes." Proposed correction: Replace with, "A late hymn of the Rig Veda describes the interrelationship and interdependence of the four social classes." |
Approve edit as written. | Defer to the original text. | 109 |
| Original textbook draft: A table was titled, "The Caste System" Proposed correction: Replace table header with, "The Varnas". |
Approve edit as written. | Replace "Caste" with "Class". | 109 |
| Original textbook draft: "... you'll learn about dharma and the other basic Hindu beliefs: Brahman, multiple gods, karma, and samsara." Proposed correction: Replace with "... Hindu beliefs: Bhagwan, Forms of God, karma and maya." |
CDE: are Bhagwan and maya explained in the text? If group's edit introduces new terminology without context, this may be confusing for students. | Defer to the original text. | 21 |
| Original textbook draft: "Around 1500 B.C.E., invaders called Aryans conquered northern India." Proposed correction: Replace with, "Around 1500 B.C.E., invaders called Aryans came to northern India." |
Publisher is directed to add a clarifying note that the "Aryan invasion theory" has been contradicted by scholarly evidence. | Change to, "In the second millennium B.C.E., invaders called Aryans came to northern India." | 111 |
Claimants
Both the Vedic Foundation (VF) and the American Hindu Education Foundation (HEF) are ideologically aligned with the Hindutva (Hindu nationalism) movement in India, specifically the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). The HEF operates under the auspices of the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, which professes adherence to the RSS's ideological principles; the VF does not claim affiliation with other groups, but cooperates closely with the VHP. Legal services for the textbook case were provided by the Hindu American Foundation.