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I still vividly recall the day I was pondering over my son’s 5th grade History quiz and the following True/False question caught my attention.
True/false?
Hinduism has no founder, no holy book, and no central set of beliefs.
While the “correct” answer for this as per the textbook was ‘True’, it got me curious as to what the textbook said about Hinduism. I began to peruse through it, and indeed, this very sentence was in it. While I agree that Hinduism does not have a founder as such, and no particular single holy book that Hindus follow (such as the Bible or Quran), I began to think about what this statement may convey to a Hindu child growing up in America. Particularly, the last part regarding a central set of beliefs. The statement almost seems to convey that anything goes in Hinduism..that it is lax by nature. I didn’t want my son or other students in his class viewing Hinduism in such a manner. So I wrote to the teacher detailing the thoughts that follow.
“There are many gods we worship in Hinduism..each of whom signifies different virtues that we choose to integrate into our daily lives. Hindu gods sometimes have animal-like features and multiple body parts. Again, there is a significance for each of these anomalies. Hinduism’s holy books include the Vedas, Upanishads, Mahabharata and Ramayana. The roles played by the gods and the decisions they choose to take during critical junctures in these stories serve as a moral code for us..for when we encounter difficult situations in life..when we need to distinguish right from wrong. Stories from these books have been published in a comic format by Amar Chitra Katha publishers. My own kids have devoured several books from the series over the years and I would be happy to do an Amar Chitra Katha book reading session in your class.”
The teacher was more than happy to accommodate a session wherein we discussed gods and traditions of Hinduism, and read a couple of Amar Chitra Katha comics together. And as for the question on the test, the teacher was also kind enough to re-word it so as to eliminate any misinterpretations. As for me, I was secretly relieved that I had made the right decision by exposing my kids to Indian comics from a young age.
Find Mallika’s Debut Book about Colorism Here
Mallika Thoppay is an educator, writer and social advocate. She is a volunteer English teacher to school-aged children residing in rural areas of Karnataka, India. She believes in women empowerment and standing up against social injustices. She was recognized as a volunteer champion for the year 2021-2022 by eVidyaloka, an organization that sets up digital classrooms in rural India. She is also an active volunteer with organizations such as the 100Books Initiative, Santa Clara County libraries and West Valley Community Services. She enjoys writing books that inspire social change and convey purposeful messages. Her book, Unfair & Lovely, is an effort to combat the issue of colorism in society. She is a Computer Science engineer by background and holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science from Kansas State University. She has worked at various tech companies in the Silicon Valley and has run a coding camps business. Website (for book): http://tinyurl.com/unfairlovely
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