Joint release from the New York State Council of Churches & The Religious Nationalisms Project
Washington, D.C. / Albany, NY (June 28, 2025) - Over 30 church and Christian leaders from across the United States and India signed a joint statement by the New York State Council of Churches and The Religious Nationalism Project, condemning an upcoming Hindu supremacist event in Dallas featuring Kajal Singhala, also known as Kajal Hindustani. Singhala is a prominent figure in India’s Hindu nationalist movement and has repeatedly called for violence and exclusion against Christians and Muslims. The Dallas event, organized by extremist groups with a history of anti-Christian and anti-Muslim rhetoric, threatens not only the safety of religious minorities, but also undermines the American values of religious freedom and dignity.
As the statement outlines, Hindutva ideology has fueled attacks on churches, the criminalization of religious conversion, and the persecution of clergy across India. Allowing its proponents a platform in the U.S. sends a chilling message of tolerance for religious hatred. The statement reflects a rising number of Christian organizations, spanning denominations, races, and regions, who are speaking out against the issue of Hindu supremacy in the United States and India.
“Within 24 hours we have gathered well over 30 signatures of support from a broad-based and ecumenical group of Christian laity and clergy who agree that hate speech, especially when disguised in the form of religion, is antithetical to the gospel of Christ,” said Rev. Neal Christie, Principal of the Religious Nationalisms Project. “We represent Congregational, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Baptist, United Methodist, Anglican, Evangelical expressions of the body of Christ. We know that mutual respect, collaboration and investment in the common good cannot coexist with any hate speech perpetrated by any person.”
The text of the full letter is below:
We, the undersigned coalition of multiracial Christian organizations across denominations, strongly condemn and urge the cancellation of an upcoming Dallas event organized by Hindu supremacist groups featuring Kajal Singhala, also known as Kajal Hindustani, a prominent Hindu extremist figure with a history of inciting violence against our Christian and Muslim brothers and sisters in India.
Described by Indian publication The Quint as a symbol of “hate politics,” Singhala is a hardline supporter of Hindu nationalism, also known as Hindutva. This hateful ideology, which has been mainstreamed over the past decade by the Indian government, proclaims that India should be a Hindu theocratic ethnostate, where minorities - especially Muslims and Christians - should be reduced to second-class citizens and subjected to mass violence. Under this ideology, Christians in India have been relentlessly targeted: churches attacked, prayer gatherings violently disrupted, conversion to Christianity effectively criminalized, and clergy arrested on false allegations of forced conversions. In many parts of India, simply practicing Christianity has become dangerous.
Under the current Indian government, the NCC said in its statement, “Churches have been burned and mosques destroyed; Muslims have been beaten in public; Christians have been subject to sexual violence; and Sikh leaders have been assassinated, all of this justified by Hindu nationalism… We call upon individuals to contact their elected officials to bring awareness of the human rights atrocities in India and the fundraising that takes place in local US communities to support such acts of hate and terror.”
In line with this ideology, Singhala is known for delivering hateful speeches targeting Indian Christians and Muslims, frequently using slurs and calling for violence, economic boycotts, and social exclusion of religious minorities. According to the research group India Hate Lab, Singhala gave more hate speeches in 2023 than any other Hindu supremacist figure, frequently using anti-Christian slurs and calling for violence against the vulnerable minority group. In one instance, she explicitly called on Hindus to take up arms against Christians and Muslims—a statement made even more alarming by her April 2023 arrest for a hate speech that incited anti-Muslim violence in Gujarat.
The event, scheduled for June 29, 2025, is being organized by the Global Hindu Heritage Foundation (GHHF) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, both of which are designated as anti-Christian and anti-Muslim hate groups. In particular, GHHF has a long track record of anti-Christian activity, including a 2022 fundraiser that sought to finance the demolition of churches in India.
As people of faith, we maintain that hosting Singhala on U.S. soil—particularly in a city as diverse and faith-rich as Dallas—sends a dangerous signal that religious hatred and violent rhetoric are welcome here. This is not only a betrayal of American values like religious freedom and equal dignity—it also endangers the safety of Indian American Christian and Muslim communities.
We call on the venue and event organizers to cancel this event without delay. We also urge elected officials, interfaith coalitions, and community leaders to speak out forcefully and clearly: hate has no home in Dallas. Together, we must draw a firm line against religious bigotry and violence—at home and abroad.
Signed,
The Rev. Neal Christie, Principal, The Religious Nationalisms Project
The Rev. Peter Cook, Executive Director, New York State Council of Churches
Mr. Martin Padeti, Director, Texas Indian Christian Coalition
Mr. Daniel Mutyala, Director, Bible Believers Fellowship of Dallas
Mr. Jensen John, Chairman, Church of The Way Frisco
Mrs. Emmanuella Okeke, MorningStar Ministries
The Rev. Cece Jones-Davis, The Prophetic Convening
Mr. Jorge Parrott, President, CMM.world
Mr. Andy Swarna, President, Great Truth
Pastor MDaimai, World Road Church
Pastor Paul Sunkari, Indian Christian Church of Sacramento
Mrs. Elizabeth Mangalwadi, RevelationMovement.com
Mr. John Brown, Lutheran Church
The Rev. Merle Showers, University United Methodist Church
Father Joshua Lickter, Anglican Priest, Incarnation Anglican Church
The Rev. John Berlin, Church of South India
The Reve. David Ketter III, Rector, The Gathering Place Lynchburg
Director Sagar Rose, Ambassadors Fellowship
The Rev. M. Bruce McKay, Pastor Emeritus, Pilgrim-St. Luke’s UCC
Mr. George A. Mason, President, Faith Commons
Mr. Arthur Katikala, Meadows
Mr. Robert Stubblefield, Organizer and Lay Minister, No Hindutva Maryland
The Rev. Eric Lundquist, First Baptist Church Waukesha
The Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell, Regional Executive Minister, American Baptist Churches of Wisconsin
The Rev. Phoenix Piazzisi, Pastor, Incarnation Anglican Church
The Rev. Dr. Cris Mogenson, President, New York State Association of Protestant Chaplains
The Rev. Martha Koenig Stone, Henrietta United Church of Christ
Mr. Kenn Speicher, Peace With Justice Coordinator, United Methodist Church – Virginia
The Rev. Susan Worrell, United Methodist Church
The Rev. Dr. Desmond Tully, The Gospel Centre, India
The Rev. Ivy Gauvin, St. Timothy Lutheran Church, ELCA
The Rev. Jim Ketcham, New York State Council of Churches
The Rev. W. James Kilinsky, Retired American Baptist Pastor & Member, First Baptist Church McMinnville, OR
Dr. Tarunjit Singh Butalia, Executive Director, Religions for Peace
