New Delhi: A school board in California’s Fremont district last week voted to continue its ethnic studies curriculum that had been targeted by Hindu supremacists and Zionist groups.
The Fremont Unified School District Board took the decision following strong advocacy from Savera: United Against Supremacy Coalition.
The coalition, which includes the Ambedkar King Study Circle (AKSC), Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR), and the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), mobilised community members to support the curriculum.
Two weeks earlier, disinformation campaigns from far-right groups had delayed the vote, spreading claims that the curriculum was “anti-Hindu” and “antisemitic.”
Supporters attended the board meeting both in person and online, submitting 16 of the 19 live public comments in favour of the curriculum, the coalition said in a statement. Students, parents, teachers, and other community members defended the programme.
“As a Hindu American parent and teacher, I understand the critical importance of Ethnic Studies for our children,” said Lisa Adhikari, a Bay Area member of Hindus for Human Rights. “We cannot let right-wing Hindu supremacists prevent our kids from receiving the best possible education: one that is inclusive, accurate, and empowering. We need this in today’s political climate more than ever.”
Selva, a Fremont parent and member of AKSC, also voiced support for the programme. “For too long, some Hindu caste supremacists in Fremont have sought to intimidate the community, bullying them into following their exclusionary agenda. This week, Fremont showed that when we stand together and fight back, we win.”
Sangeetha Shankar, California regional director of the Hindu American Foundation, a right-wing Hindutva organisation which has increasingly aligned itself with the Trump administration and the MAGA movement, spoke against the curriculum.
Shankar objected to the use of terms such as “Bengali-American, Sikh-American, and Punjabi-American,” arguing they represented a single identity. She also criticised the use of “South Asian” rather than “Hindu-American” in references to hate crimes. A student later corrected her statement, providing historical context about the targeted violence.
