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Something I've also noticed in Western media is that when covering issues about other cultures (ie India, Middle East, etc), the bar for evidence is pitifully l

Something I've also noticed in Western media is that when covering issues about other cultures (ie India, Middle East, etc), the bar for evidence is pitifully low, especially if the story matches existing confirmation bias. For instance, when there was a major rape in India, the media was scrutinizing Indian attitudes towards sexual violence. As evidence of such attitudes, they mentioned a BJP politician who said that "rape is sometimes right, sometimes wrong" https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-india-rape/mp-minister-babulal-gaur-says-rape-sometimes-right-sometimes-wrong-idINKBN0EG1EX20140605 https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-india-rape/mp-minister-ba... In the actual video where he says it, (in Hindi), he says that the "rape allegations are sometimes correct, sometimes wrong". I don't agree with the assessment (I think all allegations should be taken seriously), but it COMPLETELY different fromwhat is reported by Reuters (and other news sources). There are many instances of this. This is why I typically don't trust Western media coverage of other countries. Best source would be a local English language newspaper.

alisonkisk 6y ago
John Oliver claims (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qVIXUhZ2AWs#t=12m10s https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qVIXUhZ2AWs#t=12m10s 12m10s) that India has (at least some) public school textbooks that explain that Africans are god's burnt toast, and Caucasians are underdone, and Indians are the proper color. I found that suspicious. Have you heard about that? Is the translation accurate?
- pratik661 6y ago
  This sounds like perfect example. The story isn't 100% false but it probably needs some context. I've actually heard the oven story before. Its an absurd (and very racist) aphorism, but I think calling it a "lesson" from a textbook would be a stretch. What likely happened was that the school selected anthologies that kids could read to develop their reading skills. It probably included that absurd story. I think the American equivalent would be if a 2nd grade reading book included an old fairy tale with some outdated racist undertones (ie Zwarte Piet), and then the media ran with "American textbooks claim a black elf will kidnap children if they misbehave". PS. I'll need to check of the textbook story.
  - iamshs 6y ago
    The books are written by Dinanath Batra, a well known history revisionist and Hindu supremacist. Let's not try to cover them up as "absurd aphorisms", these books are targeted at children and their intended purpose exactly is to show India and Indian civilization as a pinnacle during ancient times.
    - pratik661 6y ago
      The context behind the specific passage referred to in the show (about the races baked in the oven) is that it is a conversational exchange (banter, if you will) between an Indian and a Briton. I believe the protagonist of that passage was "throwing shade" at the Briton after he makes a haughty statement. This entire exchange sounds ridiculously stupid and implausible to us now. However, in the 1940s (I think thats when the protagonist of the passage is from), casual racism towards Indians made that a plausible situation. I think this aphorism dates back to the 1930s/40s as a standard reply to casual racism from Europeans. Its obviously outdated (and racist) in today's context. However to claim that this is a "lesson taught in Indian schools" is a mischaracterization.
- Arnavion 6y ago
  The video doesn't show that part of the textbook. I found some pages from the series but they're pretty innocuous. [1] But it's probably accurate. It's not a history textbook but a literature textbook for primary school students. It was probably meant to be used in Hindi classes. So this kind of bullshit would fly under the guise of "it's just a story". [2] [1]: hxxps://www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/lamps-of-inspiration-set-of-4-volumes-NZE671/ The "Look Inside the Book" section. The first few pages are just a preface talking about how the book has collected tales to bolster moral values and duties in the reader. Then there are a bunch of contents pages. The third contents page does match the two short scenes from the video that show the titles of the stories - "8. Nirlobh adarsh jivan" and "17. Parishram ka koi vikalp nahin" (though the latter in the video is titled "Parishram ka vikalp...", no "koi"). So presumably this is the contents page for Prernadeep 3. I can't tell just from the contents page which story might be the one in question, though. The video says it's on page 22 but the contents page doesn't have page numbers. It might be #36 - "Bahin, ham bhaaratiya hain" "Sister, we are Indian" - or #53 perhaps - "Kya aapne ishvar ko dekha hai?" "Have you ever laid eyes on God" ? The last page has one story and the start of another one (listed in the very first contents page, so preumably from Prernadeep 1 rather than 3), but they're pretty innocuous. [2]: The larger context around that story is even more amusing, because it's being "told" by Dr Radhakrishnan (President in the 50s and well-known for liking teachers; his birthday is celebrated as "Teacher's Day") to a white person who claims to be very "close to God".
  - pratik661 6y ago
    Thanks for looking this up. My hindi is really bad and I could not decipher the name of the book from the video.
  - iamshs 6y ago
    Only people on here can justify books written by Dinanath Batra as "pretty innocuous".
    - Arnavion 6y ago
      Don't put words in my mouth. I was talking about the one-and-a-half stories I could read on that website, not the books or the author as a whole.
- Bhilai 6y ago
  I have studied through the curriculum of one of largest board of public school education system in India (CBSE) and I can attest that I have never read such a thing in any of text books. That does not mean it does not exist, but its definitely not a prevalent notion.

alisonkisk 6y ago

John Oliver claims (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qVIXUhZ2AWs#t=12m10s https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qVIXUhZ2AWs#t=12m10s 12m10s) that India has (at least some) public school textbooks that explain that Africans are god's burnt toast, and Caucasians are underdone, and Indians are the proper color. I found that suspicious. Have you heard about that? Is the translation accurate?

pratik661 6y ago
This sounds like perfect example. The story isn't 100% false but it probably needs some context. I've actually heard the oven story before. Its an absurd (and very racist) aphorism, but I think calling it a "lesson" from a textbook would be a stretch. What likely happened was that the school selected anthologies that kids could read to develop their reading skills. It probably included that absurd story. I think the American equivalent would be if a 2nd grade reading book included an old fairy tale with some outdated racist undertones (ie Zwarte Piet), and then the media ran with "American textbooks claim a black elf will kidnap children if they misbehave". PS. I'll need to check of the textbook story.
- iamshs 6y ago
  The books are written by Dinanath Batra, a well known history revisionist and Hindu supremacist. Let's not try to cover them up as "absurd aphorisms", these books are targeted at children and their intended purpose exactly is to show India and Indian civilization as a pinnacle during ancient times.
  - pratik661 6y ago
    The context behind the specific passage referred to in the show (about the races baked in the oven) is that it is a conversational exchange (banter, if you will) between an Indian and a Briton. I believe the protagonist of that passage was "throwing shade" at the Briton after he makes a haughty statement. This entire exchange sounds ridiculously stupid and implausible to us now. However, in the 1940s (I think thats when the protagonist of the passage is from), casual racism towards Indians made that a plausible situation. I think this aphorism dates back to the 1930s/40s as a standard reply to casual racism from Europeans. Its obviously outdated (and racist) in today's context. However to claim that this is a "lesson taught in Indian schools" is a mischaracterization.
Arnavion 6y ago
The video doesn't show that part of the textbook. I found some pages from the series but they're pretty innocuous. [1] But it's probably accurate. It's not a history textbook but a literature textbook for primary school students. It was probably meant to be used in Hindi classes. So this kind of bullshit would fly under the guise of "it's just a story". [2] [1]: hxxps://www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/lamps-of-inspiration-set-of-4-volumes-NZE671/ The "Look Inside the Book" section. The first few pages are just a preface talking about how the book has collected tales to bolster moral values and duties in the reader. Then there are a bunch of contents pages. The third contents page does match the two short scenes from the video that show the titles of the stories - "8. Nirlobh adarsh jivan" and "17. Parishram ka koi vikalp nahin" (though the latter in the video is titled "Parishram ka vikalp...", no "koi"). So presumably this is the contents page for Prernadeep 3. I can't tell just from the contents page which story might be the one in question, though. The video says it's on page 22 but the contents page doesn't have page numbers. It might be #36 - "Bahin, ham bhaaratiya hain" "Sister, we are Indian" - or #53 perhaps - "Kya aapne ishvar ko dekha hai?" "Have you ever laid eyes on God" ? The last page has one story and the start of another one (listed in the very first contents page, so preumably from Prernadeep 1 rather than 3), but they're pretty innocuous. [2]: The larger context around that story is even more amusing, because it's being "told" by Dr Radhakrishnan (President in the 50s and well-known for liking teachers; his birthday is celebrated as "Teacher's Day") to a white person who claims to be very "close to God".
- pratik661 6y ago
  Thanks for looking this up. My hindi is really bad and I could not decipher the name of the book from the video.
- iamshs 6y ago
  Only people on here can justify books written by Dinanath Batra as "pretty innocuous".
  - Arnavion 6y ago
    Don't put words in my mouth. I was talking about the one-and-a-half stories I could read on that website, not the books or the author as a whole.
Bhilai 6y ago
I have studied through the curriculum of one of largest board of public school education system in India (CBSE) and I can attest that I have never read such a thing in any of text books. That does not mean it does not exist, but its definitely not a prevalent notion.