2016–17 California textbook controversy over South Asian topics

[4] The California Department of Education runs a public process to update the history and social sciences curriculum frameworks, which help guide the textbooks that publishers develop for students.

Over 2016-2017, they sent letters, joined petitions, and published articles, working towards a claimed goal of making educational content within California inclusive and accurate.

[11][non-primary source needed] Many academics and American Hindus who were critical of the HAF's involvement accused the organization of pushing Hindutva ideologies within their proposed changes.

There were two primary sets of academics providing comment on the issues: On September 28, 2017, the California Department of Education published a list of edits and corrections.

[13] The proposal to rename "Untouchables" as "socially ostracized and economically disadvantaged communities" was rejected by the Instructional Quality Commission, and the use of the word Dalit was incorporated into the curriculum framework.

[23] Dozens of Indian-American students spoke out against the South Asia Faculty Group's suggested edits, accusing them of Hinduphobia and robbing them of selfhood.