In February, Batra led a successful effort to pressure Penguin India to withdraw copies of a book by Wendy
Doniger, a religion professor at the University of Chicago, which he felt insulted Hinduism. Then, in June, the Gujarat government directed that
several of Batra's own books be
added to the state's curriculum.
Batra's teachings range from the trivial to assertions that simply cannot be taken seriously. His books advise students not to celebrate
birthdays with cakes and candles, a practice Batra considers non-Indian.
More troublingly, they instruct
students to draw maps of "Akhand Bharat," a greater India, presumably restored to its rightful boundaries, that include Bangladesh, Sri Lanka,
Tibet, Nepal, Pakistan and
Afghanistan.
Batra also believes that
aircraft, automobiles and nuclear weapons existed in ancient India, and he wants children to learn these so-called facts.
m.timesofindia.com/india/Modis-educational-reform-may-promote-ideology-of-Hindu-right-NYT articleshow/44742331.cms
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