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Fri 1 Oct, 2004 01:55 pm
Quote:School texts heil Hitler, slam GandhiHARIT MEHTA
TIMES NEWS NETWORK - THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2004
AHMEDABAD: If you want to see history through coloured vision, refer to the social science textbooks taught in Gujarat schools.
In what should alarm parents of children in these schools, authors of social studies textbooks published by Gujarat State Board of School Textbooks have found faults with the freedom movement and glorified Fascism and Nazism.
So, while a class VIII student is taught the 'negative aspects' of the non-cooperation movement led by Mahatma Gandhi, class X social studies textbook has chapters on 'Hitler, the Supremo' and 'Internal Achievements of Nazism'.
In the chapter on 'Gandhian Era and National Movement', a subheadline 'The Negative Aspect' goes on to read: "The resolution to start the non-cooperation movement was passed with a thumping majority in the annual session of the Congress held in 1920. According to that resolution, as a part of the struggle against the government, people were asked to boycott government functions, titles, schools and colleges, legislatures, courts local selfgovernment institutions and foreign goods."
It further says, "Gandhiji undertook a tour of the whole country for the propagation of the struggle. A large number of students left schools and college teachers resigned their jobs in large numbers."
It also states that "Chittaranjan Das, Motilal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, Rajgopalachari, Rajendra Prasad and many others left their legal practice and devoted the remaining years of their lives to the service of the nation." The para ends with "Students voluntarily organised protest rallies against those who co-operated with the government. They held tribunal courts.Workers in tea gardens in Assam and in coal mines went on strikes." The silver lining is that under the headline 'The Positive Aspect', constructive programmes of Hindu-Muslim unity during the freedom movement gets a mention.
Quite on the contrary, the class X textbook gives a frighteningly uncritical picture of both Fascism and Nazism .
The strong national pride that both these phenomena generated, the efficiency in the bureaucracy and the administration and other 'achievements' are detailed, but the violent, uncivilised and uncritical results of the politics of exclusion ?- of Jews, trade unionists, migrant labourers, any section that did not fit into Mussolini or Hitler's definition of rightful citizen ?- just do not find any mention. "They committed the gruesome and inhuman act of suffocating 60 lakh Jews in gas chambers" is all the book says about the Holocaust.
Surprisingly, unlike the Indian freedom movement, there are no "negative aspects" underlined. Section 'Ideology of Nazism' reads: "Hitler lent dignity and prestige to the German government within a short time by establishing a strong administrative set-up....He instilled the spirit of adventure in the common people."
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Gawd. So 6 million dead Jews and millions of other Gypsies, Communists, homosexuals and other "undesirables" isn't as bad as boycotting government functions?
It boggles the mind. Is some guy named Goebbels in charge of writing these text books?
Mmm, this is really interesting. I just finished my senior year in high school, some of my classes being with a student from India. He is, in fact, from Ahmedabad, Gujarat. We had a loose friendship for some time until the end of the year -- he just became too arrogant in AP Calculus-- but more on topic, I recall an incident that occurred perhaps a month after I met him.
In a discussion about history, the Indian boy -- I'll call him Dishant, because that's his name -- began to talk about the Third Reich and Hitler's views on the ridiculous and mythical Aryan. Dishant told me how India stresses that they are Aryans, and then, gesturing towards me, declared, "We are Aryans... just like you."
It was funny. Really. Because I'm Jewish. Granted, I don't believe in the "Aryan race" to begin with, but to imagine that a proponent of it is including a characteristically excluded group amused me. I told Dishant of my proclivity, and it confused him. He told me that it made no difference and that I am still an "Aryan".
So, frustrated and embarrassed, I showed Dishant the Indo-European language tree and told him that Aryan is simply a linguistic grouping. The racial theory has been disproved. No links have been found between modern Europeans and the ancient people known as Aryans. He didn't really buy it -- I think they really pound this Aryan drivel into their heads, judging by his reaction. Not in a superiority sense, like the Nazis, but just linking Indians to the ancient people.
Anyway, bottom line, he didn't even know WHY Hitler's false theories isolated Jews, despite believing them. Today, he has a swastika on his bumper. I **** you not. I saw it when a large group of my friends drove to the movies when school was getting ready to let out for summer. I think he understands now that "Semitic" has different roots than "Indo-European", he just doesn't understand that it's linguistically based and not racial. Ethnically speaking, Semitic is a sub-group of Caucasian.
Anyway, my proud Aryan friend was, for the most part, friendly to me. He's misguided, but not dangerously so.
Well actually, your friend is right about him being "Aryan" but not about Europeans being Aryan. The Aryan race is not a myth but an extremely misunderstood race thanks to the Nazis. Aryans weren't a "master race", and didn't have blonde hair and blue eyes like the Nazis lead us to believe, they were far from it. "Aryan" is in fact what the ancient Indo-Iranian race used to call themselves, which is clearly evident in ancient Sanskrit and Avestan texts. Iranians (Persians) and North Indians (Indo-Aryans) are descendants of the Aryan race. The Iranians are the closest to what the Aryans would have looked like (the word "Iranian" was derived from "Aryan" in the ancient times).
It wasn't until the 19th Century, when people began discovering the Indo-European language links, that people started coming up with the theory of there being a master race that all Europeans, Indians and Iranians originate from. This theory has never been proven (yet?)
Hitler and his Nazis, despite being racist against all things Jew and non-white, borrowed from Indian and Iranian culture. Under false propaganda, they declared Germans to be the only true Aryans, totally ignoring the Indians and Iranians. The "swastika" was a holy symbol used in Hinduism, and throughout Asia to represent love & peace until the Nazis tarnished the image of what it means by using it for their regime. There's nothing wrong with your friend having a swastika symbol on his bumper since its always been part of Hinduism.
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