Shri Thanedar (Photo: Wikipedia)
The US has recently seen a rise in Hinduphobia, which must be tackled as there is no place for hatred in this country, said Indian-American Congressman Shri Thanedar, as he joined a group of Hindu leaders and organizations calling out this growing want to fight. hate crime against the community.
Representatives from several Indian-American groups gathered at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday at a rally organized by HinduAction.
“We’re seeing a lot of Hinduphobia. We’re seeing California’s SB403 (the bill banning caste discrimination), and that’s just the beginning. The attacks on our temples and attacks on Hindus around the world. That’s one of the reasons I decided to to form the Hindu Caucus, Thanedar said.
For the first time in the US Congress, we have a Hindu Caucus. The number of initiatives we take to ensure that people have the religious freedom to practice their religion the way they want and not. We must fight this phobia, bigotry and hatred. Because there should be no place for hatred in America, no place for hatred of people’s religious rights. And so that’s what we’re focused on in Congress, said Thanedar, a Democrat.
Suhag Shukla of the Hindu American Foundation said college campuses in particular are experiencing rampant anti-Hindu prejudice and hatred. She also listed some of the major incidents of hate crimes against the Hindu community in the US.
In the last two years alone, we have seen a spike in anti-Hindu incidents, she said. There is unfamiliarity and complacency among law enforcement, she said.
The perpetrators captured on video in all the temple attacks I have mentioned, all the street attacks I have mentioned, the statements made while committing the attacks, the nature and content of the graffiti all We point to the Khalistan movement, she said. If there are people within the Sikh community who speak out against this movement, they are physically attacked, Shukla said.
Referring to SB403, she said there is institutionalized discrimination.
Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur Sunder Iyer, a victim of targeted hate, told participants he learned that a civil rights agency can racially profile and violently stereotype Indian Americans.
I respectfully ask Members of Congress to appropriate a budget within the Department of Justice to investigate the California Civil Rights Department and for the greater good of America. An institution that does not represent the truth harms all Americans. Several of my colleagues at Cisco and many other companies in California will be willing to provide testimony. They should not live their lives in fear and their voices should not be suppressed, Iyer said.
An increase in recent attacks on the temples is deeply emotionally disturbing for temple executives and the community at large, said Tejal Shah of the Hindu Temple Empowerment Council.
Temple priests face mental anguish, shock and trauma, she said.
While noting that the perpetrators of many of these attacks have not yet been found, Shah said in one case the police resisted registering a report. She listed the attacks on some temples.
Later, a joint statement by HinduAction and Namaste-Shalom Multifaith Alliance urged Congress to formally recognize the rising anti-Hindu hatred through a resolution.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: March 14, 2024 | 12:05 pm IST