Victors are said to write history. But in California, history is being written by a committee that finds itself at the center of a raging debate over how to tell the story of South Asia as it tries to update textbooks and revise curriculums for grades six and seven.
The dispute centers on whether the region that includes modern-day India, Pakistan and Nepal should be referred to as India or as South Asia, to represent the plurality of cultures there â?? particularly since India was not a nation-state until 1947. It also touches on how the culture of the region is portrayed, including womenâ??s role in society and the vestiges of the caste system.
It might seem somewhat arcane. But it has prompted petition drives, a #DontEraseIndia social media campaign, and a battle of opinion pieces.
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