The US state of Georgia became the first American state to denounce Hinduphobia. The House of Representatives recently passed a resolution condemning Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu bigotry. The resolution was introduced by Representatives Lauren McDonald and Todd Jones from Forsyth County in the Atlanta suburbs. It was built on a Rutgers University report from last year that revealed a noteworthy rise in misinformation against Hindus.
The ordinance read, “In July 2022, a report released by Rutgers University titled “Anti-Hindu Disinformation: A Case Study of Hinduphobia on Social Media” detailed how hate messages in social media translate into real-life threats for people of the Hindu faith.”
It noted that Hinduism is one of the oldest and largest religions in the world, with more than 1.2 billion adherents in over 100 countries and encompasses an array of diverse traditions and belief systems with values of acceptance, mutual respect and peace.
It highlighted that the American-Hindu community has made significant contributions to many different fields, including manufacturing, energy, academia, health care, research and engineering, information technology, hospitality, and finance. It also mentioned how the community’s contributions of yoga, ayurveda, meditation, food, music, and the arts have enriched American society, been widely adopted, and improved the lives of millions of people.
The bill acknowledged that there have been documented cases of hate crimes against Hindu Americans over the past few decades in many regions across the country and asserted that some academics who support the deconstruction of Hinduism and charge its sacred texts and cultural practises with violence and oppression have exacerbated and institutionalised Hinduphobia.
“We urged for their help in combating such bigotry which advances hatred and creates the idea that Hindus and people of Indian origin need special laws and monitoring due to allegations around some inherent propensity to discriminate,” confirmed CoHNA General Secretary, Shobha Swamy.
The Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) is a Hindu advocacy group which revealed that Forsyth County is home to one of the largest Hindu and Indian-American diaspora communities in the state.
Hindus’ safety is now in severe doubt after a recent wave of attacks on Hindu temples around the globe. Several instances of vandalism of Hindu temples have been reported from Canada to Australia since the year’s commencement.