Besides aiming to provide information, one of the main purposes of an
educational system and the textbooks used therein is to mould students'
worldviews in a particular fashion. This is what educationists refer to as the
'hidden curriculum' of education. Through it, the educational authorities of a
state seeks to frame a certain perspective through which students are trained
to understand society, the social relations of power therein, the place of the
state and of the citizen as well as the notion of the ideal citizen or 'normal
person'. In other words, textbooks (particularly for the social sciences), and
the education system as such, have a certain very distinct political role and
purpose. They aim at 'normalising' unequal relations of power that exist in a
given society by presenting certain class/caste-based notions of the ideal
person or citizen as normative.
This remarkable study, a well-researched critique of government-prescribed
textbooks used for social sciences in the state of Rajasthan, seeks to uncover
the notion of an ideal Indian that these books propagate. The author, a noted
Delhi-based social activist, argues that a principal purpose of these books is
to propagate the notion that Indian culture is roughly synonymous with
Brahminical Hindu culture, and that its ideal representative is the 'upper'
caste Hindu male. Consequently, he argues, non-Hindus, non –'upper' caste
Hindus as well as women in general are seen and projected in these texts in
negative terms, and sometimes in very lurid colours. That being the case, these
texts can hardly be considered socially inclusive and gender just.
Consequently, they can be said to represent a complete violation of the spirit
of the Constitution. They represent a fit case of the state itself seeking to
subvert its Constitutional values which it is actually duty bound to protect
and promote.
Apoorvanand highlights sections from these texts to prove his point. One of the
books prominently quotes, without any critique whatsoever, Anne Besant as
having declared, 'You must not remain in any sort of doubt. There is no future
for Bharat without Hindutva. Hindutva is the soil in which Bharatvarsha is
deeply rooted. If we remove this soil, then the tree of Bharat will dry up.' It
unabashedly repeats the standard Hindutva dictum about 'true' Indian
nationalism in the following words: 'According to Lokamanya Tilak, all Indians
who live on the land between [the] Sindhu and the Indian Ocean and consider it
their motherland and holy land are Hindus and their religion is Hindu religion
or Hindutva'. Likewise, another book preaches, 'Let us build the building of
Sanskrit of which [...] the top is of the unity of Hindus [...].' Further
appearing to equate all Indians with Hindus, and deliberately excluding
non-Hindus, a textbook claims, 'Ram, Krishna, Hanuman, Durga, Sita, Saraswati
etc. are worshipped by all people'. Another book repeats this facetious claim
in a different way, announcing, ''Hindu religion is the path bearer of Indian
society.'
It is particularly, though not only, in the History textbooks prepared by the
Rajasthan state educational authorities where these flagrant communal biases
are amply evident. Not only do they hail the Hindu religion, and, implicitly
denounce or seek to marginalize other faiths, they claim the sanctity of the
caste system, which forms the basis of the ideology of Brahminism. Notably,
Dalits, Adivasis and Backward Castes, who together form the majority of the
Indian population, are almost wholly unmentioned in these texts, this being a
subtle form of discrimination against them. At the same time, the books
brazenly support the caste system, and completely ignore the oppression on
which this system is based by giving it a completely unrecognizable sanitized
image, which its 'low' caste victims would vehemently reject.
'Hindu life was given a solid continuity through the religious basis of the
caste system,' proclaims one social science text. 'The caste system provided to
different people opportunities of living together in contentment and this
enabled the maintenance of stable and fraternal relations between them', it
goes on. 'Though India is home to innumerable ethnicities, religious and
linguistic communities, yet the caste system reduced struggle between different
communities', it adds. 'Because of the caste system', it continues, 'a strong
unity in community and a sense of responsibility developed in all castes, the
members of castes and sub-castes used to help each other on all occasions of
marriage, death rituals and festivals etc. In this way, members of different
castes come close to each other and stable soc relations develop between them,
through which they feel a sense of collective security and unity.'
This is, needless to say, a wholly untenable and highly romanticized and
apologetic view of the caste system from the point of view of its 'upper' caste
beneficiaries. The undeniable oppression that this system has meant for its
many hundreds of millions of victims for over five thousand is totally ignored.
Some of the textbooks surveyed here openly laud the Manusmriti, that Bible of
Brahminism which reduces 'low' castes to slavery or worse. Thus, one book
presents Manu, the putative author of the Manusmriti, as the 'original
economist'. Class twelve students of Economics are made to believe that 'The
personality of Manu is great among all smriti givers. He is rich in
multifaceted talents. In Indian literature, Manu is known as the originator of
the human race. Manu has been called as father of humanity in the Rig Veda. He
is descended from the line of mortal sons of lord Brahma'. The social science
text for class 9 adds, 'After Brahma created the universe, Manu created
theology, Vrihaspati created economics and Nandi created Kamashastra, the
science of desire.'
Hindu mythological figures are thus presented as real historical personages and
presented as pioneers in various sciences. The aim seems to be to drill into
the minds of the students the belief in the superiority of Brahminical Hinduism
and the racist ideology of Hindutva over the rest of the cultures and religions
of the world. Thus, as the class eleven Sanskrit text claims, 'Whatever
sciences and education are there, their origin lies in our Vedas. Our religion
is the oldest religion in the world. Whatever religions are there in the world,
all have originated from the Vedas.'
Sections of textbooks which Apoorvanand quotes from read like exactly like RSS
propaganda pamphlets, making all sorts of bizarre and totally unsubstantiated
claims. The purpose is to instill in the students a deadening consent to the
false claims of Hindutva brigade. Thus, one text claims, 'Many sages of ancient
India were scientists. Many scientific discoveries were made in India but
later, due to a conspiracy, these scientific achievements were forgotten'. In
the 'Samhita code of sage Agastya, whether it be yantra shastra or metallurgy
or zinc, iron, mercury, gold, all of these were discovered first in India, as
also in the case of veterinary sciences, writing, aeronautics, shipping,
botany. Plastic surgery was already here, and an example of organ transplant is
present in the extremely old incident of transplanting an elephant's head over
Ganesha's body'
Quite predictably, the period of Indian history characterized by Turkish,
Afghan and Mughal political power is depicted in bloodcurdling terms, thus
clearly aiming to reinforce fiercely negative stereotypical understandings of
Islam and Muslims. One book claims:
'The Mughals fully exploited the stagnation in culture and society of medieval
India… [T]he first thing they did was to destroy whatever vestiges of religious
unity there remained….[T]he motive of education now was to educate Muslims, to
propagate Islam, to gain material facilities and to achieve political goals..
[T]he phase of harassment of Hindus by turning them into inferior, third grade
citizens, began with the Mughal period.'
Similarly, another text claims, 'Attempts were made consistently to destroy
Indian religion and culture during the period of slavery and foreign invaders.
The dignity of women suffered heavily due to the invaders'.
Equally predictably, India's freedom struggle is sought to be projected in such
a way as to make the claim for a central role in it of Hindutva forces, such as
the RSS. This, of course, has no historical veracity whatsoever, given that the
RSS and allied outfits worked to sabotage the joint struggle of Hindus and
Muslims against the British and thereby directly assisted the colonial power.
Thus, a textbook claims, 'Doctor Keshav Baliram Hedgewar established a
socio-cultural organisation named Rashtriya Swayamsevak Singh, to awaken a
nationalist spirit in Indian society… The activities of the RSS disseminated
the spirit of organisation, unity, brotherhood, patriotism, unity and
homogeneity in Indian society and on every occasion of national crisis the RSS
proved its utility beyond all debate'.
Some of the textbooks briefly discuss events in India after 1947, and even here
the clear anti-Muslim and unabashed Hindutva slant is evident. Thus, in a
veiled reference to Muslims, one book claims, 'On the border of Rajasthan the
people of a specific community are prosperous and politically influential.
Their relatives live on the borders with Pakistan who went there during
Partition and wars. These people successfully carry out smuggling, spying and
other anti-national activities. They get patronage easily from both sides.
Their to and fro movements, legal or illegal, remain [...].' The text claims
that this community earlier used to engage in 'smuggling of cows and minor
girls'.
The books clearly laud Hindutva-brand fascism and the political agenda of the
RSS. They call for 'strict laws to stop religious conversion and infiltration',
and for an 'end to all types of appeasement....immediate suspension of article
370...equipping army and security forces with modern means and giving them full
freedom to eliminate terrorism'.
A school Political Science text book devotes an entire chapter to Fascism, and
has this to say about what it calls its 'contribution': 'Fascism does away with
the demerits of democracy. In situations of crises, immediate decisions are
required and fascism is appropriate for it. Through fascism the spirit of
nationalism develops. Fascism prevents free competition. The nation remains
secure if the government is in the hands of an able person. Italy developed
economy and industry in the age of Mussolini. In this way, though fascism was a
short-term system, yet its significance will continue all times'.
It is thus amply clear that these books have been carefully doctored to promote
the political project of Hindutva fascism, which is based on the notion of
Brahminical supremacy and the continued suppression and marginalization of the
'low' caste majority as well as Muslims and Christians. Far from being
enlightening and informative, these books appear to be nothing less than crude
propaganda. Summing up the findings of his study, and noting that these books
are consciously geared to promoting the Hindutva fascist agenda, Apoorvanand
questions, 'Is there still courage and energy within us to initiate a campaign
to scrap these textbooks?' . 'Shall the Supreme Court and High Court of
Rajasthan not take into cognizance such an obscene, vulgar and crude distortion
of the right of the children of Rajasthan for availing good education?,' he
asks.
It is, of course, not just the Rajasthan textbooks that display such sinister
manipulation by Hindutva forces. Much has been said about the need for revision
of textbooks throughout the country to address their serious class, caste,
religious and gender biases. Studies like this one for each state are needed,
but then the crucial question is: Do our political parties have the political
will and sincerity to do anything substantial to even appear to address the
issue?
