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Mani Jacob, general secretary of the All India Association for Christian Higher Education, said that the curriculum document could lead "to misuse of the educational medium by fundamentalist groups to spread biased presentations or belittle other faiths." The association includes 230 Christian colleges in India.

Christian educators in India, Jacob said, are "very concerned about attempts to 'rewrite' history and other social sciences as it would lead to distortion of facts as we have already witnessed."

In spite of threats by opposition parties and state governments to boycott the curriculum when it is implemented next year, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has openly endorsed the plan, saying that if history is biased against Hindus, it should be "corrected."

Copyright © 2001 ENI

A summary or the full text of India's National Curriculum Framework for School Education is available online.

See World Report for more Christianity Today articles on India.

Recent Christianity Today articles on relations between Christians and Hindus in India include:

Christians Encouraged as 50,000 Dalits Leave Hinduism | Low-caste Hindus see conversion as their only escape from oppression. (October 11, 2001)

India's First Dalit Archbishop Holds 'No Grudge' Over Predecessor's Attack | Once "untouchable" Dalits make up bulk of country's Christians. (May, 11, 2001)

Plans to Resolve India's Interfaith Tensions Face Delays and Accusations | Did India's National Commission for Minorities plan a meeting to discredit Christians? (July 20, 2000)

India Election Results Rattle Ruling Nationalists | Hindu BJP "getting irrelevant day by day" say rivals. (June 13, 2001)

Despite Tensions, Indian Churches Agree to Talks With Hindu Groups | Mainline churches will join talks, but other Christians say "partisan" meeting is dangerous. (Apr. 11, 2001)

India Relief Abuses Rampant | Radical Hindus hijack supplies in quake intervention. (Mar. 20, 2001)

In Orissa, You Must Ask the Government If You Want to Change Religion | Christian church leaders say they're trying to ignore the controversial law, but police aren't doing the same. (Mar. 12, 2001)

Churches Angry that Indian Census Ignores 14 Million Christian Dalits | Only Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist members of "untouchable" caste being counted. (Mar. 2, 2001)

India's Christians Face Continued Threats | We must preach what we believe in spite of Hindu pressure, says Operation Mobilization India leader. (Feb. 15, 2001)

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December (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45