July 25
Since the formation of a Hindu nationalist government in India in 2014, the condition of religious and social minorities has substantially deteriorated. Stories of Muslims and Dalits being lynched on the suspicion of eating beef and Christian churches being burned have regularly made international headlines. Today, right-wing Hindu politicians garland anti-Muslim vigilantes and actively obstruct the legal prosecution of religious fanatics. Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of India’s most populous state and head of a Hindu monastery, shares public stages with men who advocate digging up the graves of Muslim women and raping their corpses. Therefore, it is no surprise that India has been listed as the fourth most religiously intolerant country in the world by the Pew Research Center on Religion and Public Life.
The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) has decided to address the issue of religious freedom in India at an event it is hosting on July 26 in Washington D.C, where the organization will also be releasing its latest publication, ‘India: Democracy in Diversity.’
HAF aims to introduce US lawmakers, government officials, NGOs, and the general public to what it describes as the ‘most religiously diverse democracy’ in the world. The event will celebrate the Indian subcontinent’s long history of welcoming refugees and asylum seekers from around the globe and promotes India’s ‘civilizational perspective’ on pluralism.
When the event was first announced, the only speakers listed were from communities that HAF described as ‘key religious minorities’: Indian Jews, Zoroastrians, and Tibetan Buddhists. Although Muslims, Christians, and Sikhs are India's three largest religious minorities, HAF only added speakers from those communities yesterday, in what unfortunately seems like a hasty afterthought.
Sadhana agrees with HAF that a conversation about democracy, diversity, and religious freedom in India is urgent. However, this conversation cannot happen without representatives of those communities that have been the most targeted by religious violence and persecution. Thus, the omission of any Muslim representative, despite Muslims being India’s largest religious minority, until just yesterday was particularly glaring. So too was the absence of Christians and Sikhs. There is still no listed representative for Dalits or other caste-oppressed communities.
HAF’s event is timed to coincide with a conference organized by the U.S. State Department on religious freedom worldwide. HAF has been acutely critical of U.S. governmental reports on religious freedom in India. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has placed India on its Watch List since 2009, and listed Hindu nationalist organizations such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal as ‘extremist’ groups in past reports.
What kind of a message does HAF hope to send by holding a conference on religious freedom in India that does not prioritize marginalized communities? Unless every speaker openly acknowledges the fact that members of India's ruling party want to turn India into a Hindu rashtra (Hindu nation), this event is nothing but disingenuous.
Hindu nationalism is destructive to Indian democracy and society. Not only does it endanger the lives of India's minorities, it also targets Hindus who resist the hijacking of their religion by a violent minority, and often results in violence committed against Hindus living in other South Asian countries.
Sadhana means ‘faith in action’, and we at Sadhana will not stand by while we watch our holy symbols, religious beliefs, and sacred spaces converted into tools of oppression. Sadhana is a coalition of progressive Hindus who strongly believe in the values that lie at the core of our faith: ekatva (oneness), ahimsa (nonviolence), and seva (selfless service).
As progressive Hindus who are horrified at the brutal violence being perpetrated in the name of Hinduism, we demand that HAF ensures that this event addresses:
the well-documented increase in lynchings of Muslims and Dalits by Hindu fundamentalist mobs since the election of Prime Minister Modi in 2014,
the gang-rape of an 8 year old Muslim girl in Kashmir by Hindu men, inside a Hindu temple, to which thousands of Hindus responded by marching in support of the rapists
the fact that the current ruling party in India, the Bharatiya Janata Party, and many who support them are Hindus who hope to transform India from a secular democracy into a Hindu rashtra (Hindu nation)
HAF represents itself as a nonpartisan organization that is committed to combating bigotry and seeking greater inclusion of Hindus in mainstream American society. This September, the American affiliate of the VHP is organizing a ‘World Hindu Congress’ in Chicago, featuring Hindu nationalist leaders including Yogi Adityanath and Mohan Bhagwat (head of the RSS).
If HAF is serious about combating bigotry and addressing questions of religious freedom and minority rights, then they must take a public stand against organizations like the VHP, which are directly complicit in creating a hostile climate for Indian Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, and other minorities.
As Hindus, it is our dharma (duty) to speak up and oppose fundamentalism and violence committed in the name of our religion. Hindus must not be resistant to self-criticism; instead, we are called to embody para-dukha-dukhi -- feeling the pain of fellow living beings as our own. Will HAF find the courage to unequivocally denounce rising Hindu nationalism in India as well as the United States? How many more Indians will be lynched by Hindu fundamentalist mobs before HAF finds it important to discuss the problems of religious freedom in India? Or will HAF refuse to speak against those mobs, even as it claims to defend religious freedom?
