1/28/2024 0 Comments Avowed rep farmI later found out that Dedage is (or was) the Director of the HEF, a relevant fact that he did not divulge during his testimony. “Just as the regulation does not require textbooks to ignore unpleasant historical realities, it does not require them to present such realities in an unnaturally positive light…the texts…have satisfied the requirement of neutrality.” Those who are following the debate on Equality Act, passed by the House in 2019, would have no doubt seen similar arguments by opponents, who maintain that there is no need to explicitly add sexual orientation and gender identity to civil rights laws, because “sex” is already covered under the laws. Indeed, it appears to the court that to omit treatment of the caste system from the teaching of ancient Indian history would itself be grossly inaccurate. Nothing in the applicable standards requires textbook writers to ignore a historical reality of such a significant dimension, even if studying it might engender certain negative reactions in students. “The caste system is a historical reality, and indisputably was a significant feature of ancient Indian society. Some may remember this powerful ruling in 2006 by a Superior Court judge, as he threw out HAF’s (and HEF’s) challenge to the textbooks on the matter of caste: Having worked closely on the textbook issue in 2005-06, I know for a fact that it was the Hindu Education Foundation (HEF), a project of the Hindu Swayamsewak Sangh, and the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), which had attempted unsuccessfully to whitewash descriptions of the caste system and erase the very word “Dalit” from the textbooks. His objection to SB 403 reminded me of similar objections by conservative groups to laws protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ communities as a threat to “traditional values.”ĭedage also claimed that organizations supporting SB 403 had attempted to erase the contributions of Dalits from California school textbooks. SB 403 is a “weapon to butcher our cultural existence,” Dedage declared, leaving everyone wondering how a law designed to prevent caste discrimination could possibly hurt anyone’s cultural existence – unless, of course, he believes that caste discrimination is so central to Hindu culture that it shouldn’t be challenged. His hyperboles and dubious claims left me stunned and must have raised a few eyebrows even among the Senators. After talking to a few people, it became apparent that Hindu nationalist (Hindutva) organizations were fronting an avowed Dalit/Bahujan group, Ambedkar-Phule Network of American Dalits and Bahujans (APNADB), in their fight against SB 403.Īlas for them, their spokesperson, Sandeep Dedage’s “primary testimony” against SB 403 did not do justice to their large presence outside the room. As there was no chance of my making it into the hearing room, I decided to talk to people anxiously waiting outside, both supporters and opponents – with a bit of sadness, I might add, to see the Indian American community so polarized.Īs I surveyed the scene, I was surprised to see all the yellow banners in the name of Dalits and Bahujans, saying “NO” to SB 403. The line was already long, indicating that some people must have arrived there in the wee hours of the morning. But to my surprise, I could hear chants of “Stop…The… Hate” from several blocks away. I was there at 7 am, two hours before the scheduled hearing, hoping to get in front of the line. As expected, there was a large turnout from both supporters and opponents. I was in Sacramento on April 25th to testify at the California Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearings in support of SB 403 (California’s proposed anti-Caste Discrimination Bill), which would ban caste discrimination in the state.
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