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The rewritting of American History
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fiveeagles



Joined: 19 May 2005
Location: Vancouver

PostPosted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 6:39 pm    Post subject: The rewritting of American History Reply with quote

The rewritting of American History is taking place now! Hopefully as awareness increases, this travesty can be changed. Human secularism continues to erode the values that America was built upon.

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laogaiguk



Joined: 06 Dec 2005
Location: somewhere in Korea

PostPosted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 8:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

`Beef' cut from India's history textbooks

Quote:

`Beef' cut from India's history textbooks
Victory for Hindu fundamentalists
Education council unhappy with move
Jun. 20, 2006. 01:00 AM
SHAIKH AZIZUR RAHMAN
SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Calcutta�References to the beef-eating past of ancient Hindus have been deleted from Indian school textbooks following a three-year campaign by Hindu hardliners.

For almost a century, history books for primary and middle schools told how in ancient India, beef was considered a great delicacy among Hindus � especially among the highest caste � and how veal was offered to Hindu deities during special rituals.

"Our past" chapters in the texts also detailed how cows used to be slaughtered by the Brahmins, or upper caste Hindus, during festivals and while welcoming guests to the home.

The passages that offended the Hindus, who now shun beef, have been deleted from new versions of the books delivered to schoolchildren last week.

However, the National Council of Educational Research and Training, which is responsible for the texts, now seems unhappy with the changes that were agreed to by a former council director.

Council lawyer Prashant Bhushan said ancient Hindus were indeed beef-eaters, and the council should not have distorted historical facts by deleting the chapters.

Noted Calcutta historian Ashish Bose added: "NCERT has committed a mistake by dropping those facts from the textbooks. It is a victory for Hindu fundamentalists who have lodged a misinformation campaign. Historians should unite against this cowardly move by the council."

Hardline Hindu activists, who consider cattle holy and have been seeking a ban on slaughter by Muslims and Christians, said the beef-eating references were meant to insult Hindus.

In 2003, when the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party held federal power, the educational council decided to delete the references. Congress and leftist opposition parties protested, but the move was approved by Jagmohan Singh Rajput, then council director.

The process took longer than expected, however, and Hindu fundamentalists alleged last year that the council was dragging its feet.

Two activists asked the Delhi High Court to order the immediate deletion of the chapters from new textbooks, but the court has not ruled on the suit.

When the litigation was filed, firebrand Hindu leader Praveen Togadia, general secretary of the World Hindu Council, declared: "Most of the facts in the chapters are not true. Some low-caste dalit (untouchable) Hindus used to eat beef. Brahmins never ate it."

Accusing textbook author Ram Sharan Sharma of shoddy research, Togadia said: "The chapter is poisoning the minds of little children. They will not respect their own religion in future. They will not turn out to be good Hindus and it will cause harm to the nation."

Dwijendra Narayan Jha, a history professor at Delhi University, says there is plenty of evidence showing ancient Hindus, including the Brahmins, slaughtered cows and ate beef.

"There are clear evidences in the Rig Veda, the most sacred Hindu scripture (from the second millennium BC), that the cow used to be sacrificed by Hindus during religious rituals. Ancient Hindu text Manusmriti lists the cow as one of several animals whose meat can be eaten by Hindus. The great epic, the Mahabharata, too speaks of beef being a delicacy served to esteemed guests," he said.

Jha's 2002 book, The Myth of the Holy Cow, presented historical evidence that Hindus ate beef long before the Muslim invasions in the 10th century, and provoked such a furor it was banned. The professor, himself a Hindu, feared attacks by fundamentalists and was given police protection.

The slaughter of cattle is banned in most Indian states, but not in Kerala, West Bengal and seven northeastern states. However, Muslims � the largest minority in the country � sometimes ignore state bans and slaughter cattle, which can spark communal tension.

Shaikh Azizur Rahman is a freelance journalist based in India.
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happeningthang



Joined: 26 Apr 2003

PostPosted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 8:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The rewritting of Religious History is taking place now! Hopefully as awareness increases, this travesty can be changed. Human secularism continues to erode the values that the Western world was built upon.

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canuckistan
Mod Team
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Joined: 17 Jun 2003
Location: Training future GS competitors.....

PostPosted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 9:07 pm    Post subject: Re: The rewritting of American History Reply with quote

fiveeagles wrote:
The rewritting of American History is taking place now! Hopefully as awareness increases, this travesty can be changed. Human secularism continues to erode the values that America was built upon.

Click here


Of course the churches were upholding the values America was built upon when they looked the other way while the molestation of all those little boys continued for decades and decades.... *slaps head* Such travesty that we dare question the role of religious "values" in America.
I say we go back to giving them unquestioned carte blanche "moral" authority over us hey Confused
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Ya-ta Boy



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994

PostPosted: Wed Jun 21, 2006 2:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I watched about 10 minutes of the program. There was nothing specific. Just allegations expressed in inflamatory language, with no specific example except that Noah Webster's first dictionary explained words using Biblical verses. For some reason beyond me, that that is no longer the case is appalling.

It was interesting to know that this (whatever it is) has been going on since 1930 and that the US has been taken over from within.

It is a good illustration of the sense of victimization that is characteristic of a certain type of religious thinking.
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igotthisguitar



Joined: 08 Apr 2003
Location: South Korea (Permanent Vacation)

PostPosted: Wed Jun 21, 2006 3:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

How does that old saying go: "History is written by the winners of wars"?

Frankly i'm all for critically revisiting historical events, characters, campaigns and the like. How can a free-thinking person not be? Bottom line of course is that history will long serve as one of the most contentious subjects there is.

For good reason as well. Lest we forget ...

�He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future.�

GEORGE ORWELL.

Politics, politics ... Idea
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daskalos



Joined: 19 May 2006
Location: The Road to Ithaca

PostPosted: Wed Jun 21, 2006 8:46 am    Post subject: Re: The rewritting of American History Reply with quote

fiveeagles wrote:
The rewritting of American History is taking place now! Hopefully as awareness increases, this travesty can be changed. Human secularism continues to erode the values that America was built upon.

Click here


Twaddle.
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Ya-ta Boy



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994

PostPosted: Wed Jun 21, 2006 1:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Frankly i'm all for critically revisiting...


However, the key point is thinking critically when you do it. This is your downfall.
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fiveeagles



Joined: 19 May 2005
Location: Vancouver

PostPosted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 6:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ya-ta Boy wrote:
I watched about 10 minutes of the program. There was nothing specific. Just allegations expressed in inflamatory language, with no specific example except that Noah Webster's first dictionary explained words using Biblical verses. For some reason beyond me, that that is no longer the case is appalling.

It was interesting to know that this (whatever it is) has been going on since 1930 and that the US has been taken over from within.

It is a good illustration of the sense of victimization that is characteristic of a certain type of religious thinking.


Come on, are you serious?
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Troll_Bait



Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Location: [T]eaching experience doesn't matter much. -Lee Young-chan (pictured)

PostPosted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 6:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Ya-ta Boy



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994

PostPosted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 2:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
are you serious?


Yes.
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Rteacher



Joined: 23 May 2005
Location: Western MA, USA

PostPosted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 4:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I also watched about ten-or-fifteen minutes of it and was not at all impressed by that lady's knowledge of American history. And the host of the show was eminently spooky, giving off weird vibes...

It is true, I think, that special interest groups often put forward historical theses slanting history to comform to their world-view (eg: fairly recent attempts by minority racial groups and feminists...) It is also true that most of the "Founding Fathers" were theists who worshipped God, and prayed to God to "bless America"...

Although they were Christians, they definitely did not want a state church, thus the doctrine of separation of church and state. That does not, however, preclude the promotion of non-sectarian theistic principles. There obviously are atheists and radical humanist secularists who want to eliminate any public, government-endorsed affirmation of God or religious principles. In my opinion, that would be unconstitutional...
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Rteacher



Joined: 23 May 2005
Location: Western MA, USA

PostPosted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 5:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Regarding that "Hindu" controversy regarding historical references to "beef-eating", let me unequivocally state that no qualified brahman has ever killed and/or eaten slaughtered cows (unless it was an extremely rare, emergency situation where there was no other food available...)

So-called "brahmans" born in brahman families but degraded by bad association may have slaughtered cows and tried to offer them sacrifically (thus prompting the advent of Lord Buddha...) but they were almost entirely lacking in brahmical qualities.

The qualities of a Brahmin are given in the Bhagavad-gita:

samo damas tapah saucam
ksantir arjavam eva ca
jnanam vijnanam astikyam
brahma-karma svabhava-jam


"Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, wisdom and religiousness--these are the natural qualities by which the brahmanas work." (Bhagavad-gita 18.42)
http://india.krishna.org/Articles/2000/07/00057.html
(The above link also discusses the Indian caste system in a nutshell - and how it came about by the widespread degradation of the brahminical class in India...
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fiveeagles



Joined: 19 May 2005
Location: Vancouver

PostPosted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 10:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think these are some of the points she was making.

American History is being systematically revised and this process has permeated not only schools, but the mass media as well. In virtually every venue where information is placed before the public, it seems these false views are commonly accepted. Abraham Lincoln stated that the philosophy of the schoolhouse today is the philosophy of government tomorrow. There are many topics in History that are not taught as they actually happened, but as some with an agenda wished they happened. Here are three that are particularly offensive:

First: Our Founding Fathers Were Not Deists.

Second; There is no such thing as the Separation of Church and State.

Third; Puritans were not "Puritanical."

http://www.faithofourfathers.org/essays/rewrittinghistory.html
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mindmetoo



Joined: 02 Feb 2004

PostPosted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 3:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

fiveeagles wrote:


First: Our Founding Fathers Were Not Deists.



I thought you were from Alberta?
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