Innocent Error, or Something Else? Textbooks in India Printed with References to Christ as a Demon

Christians in Ahmedabad, India are understandably upset these days.

It seems that class nine (roughly equivalent to American ninth grade) Hindi-language school textbooks in use in that community refer to Jesus Christ as a ���demon.���

According to reporting by The Christian Post, the government is saying that the appearance of the adjective ���hevaan,��� or ���demon,��� before the name of Jesus in the schoolbooks was absolutely an error. The responsibility for the printing of the books is that of the Gujarat State School Textbook Board.

In the textbook at issue, Chapter 16 reads, in part, ���Is sambandh me hevaan Isa ka ek kathan sada smaraniya hai;��� the English translation is: ���one statement of demon Jesus is always memorable.���

What has particularly irritated so many Christians in Ahmedabad is that the government appears to have dragged its feet in addressing the matter, leaving open the question as to whether the supposed misprinting was really an error. At the very least, many question how seriously the government views the offense. It turns out that the description of Jesus as a demon was first brought to the attention of the government over a month ago, but nothing was done. Recently, the Catholic Church of Gujarat stepped up the pressure a bit. Church spokesman Fr. Vinayak Jhadav:

���When we did not hear from the textbook board, we took the matter to the Gujarat United Christian Forum and decided to represent the case before the state education minister for an explanation, correction and disciplinary action against those responsible for the error. This is not about religion, it is about quality of education.���

Well, with all apologies to the good Father, referring to Jesus as a demon is at least a little about religion.

Anyway, the government is now saying the ���error��� will be fixed forthwith.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large