SACRAMENTO: Hindu groups lose fight to change textbooks
But decision by state Board of Education is supported by some Hindu Americans
Charles Burress, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, March 10, 2006

Sacramento -- A tumultuous chapter in California textbook history reached a climax this week when the state Board of Education rejected demands from some Hindu groups for many changes in new textbooks' treatments of ancient India.

The 8-0 vote with two abstentions followed a passionate 90-minute public hearing Wednesday and capped months of other hearings and intensive lobbying by activists and scholars that attracted national attention.

"What is at stake here is the embarrassment and humiliation that these Hindu children (in America) continue to face because of the way textbooks portray their faith and culture," said Jihane Ayed of Ruder Finn, a New York-based public relations firm representing the Vedic Foundation and Hindu Education Foundation. the rest