Two days after a Hindu politician Shri Thanedar submitted a resolution in the US House of Representatives condemning anti-Hindu bigotry, a controversial outfit named ‘Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR)’, with ties to George Soros, on Friday (12th April) dubbed it as an exercise in ‘Hindu supremacy’.
Amidst rising cases of attacks on Hindu places of worship, Shri Thanedar floated a resolution in the House of Representatives on Wednesday (10th April) to celebrate the contribution of Hindu Americans and condemn Hinduphobia.
The resolution (H.Res.1131), which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, read [pdf] –
- The House of Representatives celebrates the contributions of Hindus and Hinduism to the United States of America;
- The House of Representatives declares the United States as a place that welcomes the diversity brought by Hindu Americans;
- The House of Representatives condemns Hinduphobia, anti-Hindu bigotry and hate, and intolerance; and
- The House of Representatives makes appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the public and the press.
Shri Thanedar also underlined that Hindu Americans continue to face stereotypes, Hinduphobia, discrimination, bias-motivated crimes, and hate speech. The community is also subjected to bullying in schools and colleges.
Citing the FBI’s Hate Crimes Statistics Report, the resolution added that anti-Hindu hate crimes are on the rise in the US annually. Despite no controversial or malicious proposals, the anti-Hindu outfit ‘Hindus for Human Rights’ opposed the resolution submitted by Shri Thanedar on Friday (12th April).
In a press release, the outfit backed by far-left activist George Soros alleged, “Instead, it reflects a longstanding effort by the Hindu supremacist movement in the United States to divide South Asian communities, undermine hard-won efforts to advance the civil rights of Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh Americans after 9/11, and construct a politically motivated narrative of rampant ‘Hinduphobia’ to silence and censor anyone who criticizes Hindutva or speaks out against the violence of Hindu supremacy and caste oppression.”
“The term ‘Hinduphobia’ is designed to falsely equate anti-Hindu prejudice with Islamophobia and antisemitism, obscuring the fact that unlike Muslim and Jewish Americans, Hindu Americans do not face any such systemic discrimination or oppression. In many cases, instances of anti-Indian sentiment, general xenophobia, or even mistaken Islamophobia are misleadingly labelled as ‘Hinduphobic’ regardless of whether or not there is any evidence to support claims of religious motivation,” HfHR further alleged.
The controversial organisation left no stone unturned to negate the phenomenon of Hinduphobia. “Even worse, claims of ‘Hinduphobia’ have routinely been weaponized to smear anyone—including self-identifying Hindus—who criticizes the current Indian government or the Hindu supremacist movement,” Hindus for Human Rights brazened out.
“Perhaps most horrifyingly, dominant-caste Hindu supremacists deploy the term ‘Hinduphobia’ to describe legislation and policies that would end caste discrimination, including against fellow Hindu Americans. By explicitly invoking the rhetoric of ‘Hinduphobia,’ this resolution plays directly into the hands of Hindu supremacist groups, who have already seized upon its introduction as a victory for their cause,” it continued with its unsubstantiated claims.
Attacks on Hindu Mandirs in the US
In January this year, the Vijay’s Sherawali Temple in Hayward city in California state of the United States was desecrated with pro-Khalistani slogans. The temple was spray-painted with slogans such as ‘Khalistan Zindabad’ and ‘Modi is terrorist.’
In a statement, the temple administration said, “Jai Mata Di Bhakto’s. With deep regret, we would like to inform you (that) the Temple has been vandalized last week. We have informed the police and they have classified it as a hate crime.
“A few other Hindu Temple’s in the area have also been vandalized (most likely by the same culprits). We pray for those who wish harm and hatred on others that Mata Rani cleans their souls and gives them happiness and eradicates hate from their hearts,” it added.
On 22nd December 2023, the Swaminarayan Mandir Vasana Sanstha in Newark city of California, was defaced with pro-Khalistan, anti-Modi and anti-India slogans. The outer wall of the temple was defaced with slogans such as “Khalistan”, “Shaheed [Martyr] Bhindrawale”, “F$%k Modi Jindabad” and “Modi Is Terrorist”.
Similar attacks have taken place in the past, both in the United States and its neighbouring Canada, wherein Hindu temples have been attacked, vandalised and defaced with derogatory graffiti.
India has already voiced alarm over the increasing activities of Khalistani terrorists and has asked countries to cracked down on groups and people attempting to incite separatism in India.
Controversies surrounding ‘Hindus for Human Rights’
According to the popular OSINT handle ‘Disinfo Lab’, HfHR was formed in the year 2019 by the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) and the Organization for Minorities of India (OFMI).
Interestingly, the three organisations had formed another outfit called the Alliance for Justice and Accountability (AJA). As per an article in The Hindu, the Alliance for Justice and Accountability had been at the forefront of leading demonstrations against the visit of PM Modi to Houston on September 22, 2019.
Sunita Vishwanath, the co-founder of ‘Hindus for Human Rights’ had also tried to create hysteria and panic among Indian Muslims about the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in 2019.
“We are especially appalled by the most recent nightmare of the Kashmiri people, and the situation of 1.9 million people in India who are rendered stateless due to the imposition of the travesty called the National Register of Citizens”
She is also the co-founder of an organisation named ‘Women for Afghan Women’, which is funded by George Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF)/ Open Society Institute (OSI).
In 2021, ‘Hindus for Human Rights’ also endorsed the anti-Hindu event ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva’ conference. It also came up with a “special toolkit” to propagate against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his State visit to the US in June 2023.
In June last year, Congress scion Rahul Gandhi was seen sitting alongside Sunita Vishwanath during an event hosted by the Hudson Institute
In October 2023, the X (formerly Twitter) account of HfHR was withheld in India in response to a legal demand.