The Discussion Map charts important debates from the pages of the EPW.

Does the caste system travel with us when we cross the seas?

In 2005, the United States-based Hindu Education Foundation (HEF) lodged a complaint against the “negative” portrayal of Hinduism in California school textbooks, specifically the description of the caste system and the status of Indian women. Further, in 2016, changes proposed by the California Board of Education, some of which included replacing “India” with “South Asia” and “Hinduism” with “religion of ancient India” in school textbooks, were met with strong resistance by Scholars for People, a multidisciplinary group of academics. The group claimed that such changes would misrepresent the subcontinent.

Against this backdrop, this feature maps the discussion beginning with Chinnaiah Jangam’s 2016 article, “What’s at Stake in Rewriting California State Textbooks?” which argued that since the Indian diaspora comprises primarily of caste Hindus, a bias towards a nostalgic and celebratory view of Hinduism is inevitable.

In response, Vamsee Juluri, a Scholars for People member, accused Jangam of misrepresenting facts and unnecessarily bringing caste politics into the picture, and argued that the group only seeks an honest representation of Hinduism. Jangam responded by asserting that caste identity was central to the issue as people’s perspectives are moulded by their cultural and social experiences.

Click on the icons to read excerpts from the articles.