Hindu American Foundation

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Hindu American Foundation
Hindu American Foundation.org
HAF Logo 2019 color.svg
Formation3 September 2003; 18 years ago (2003-09-03)
FounderMihir Meghani
68-0551525[1]
Legal status501(c)(3) non-profit
PurposeHindu American advocacy
HeadquartersWashington, D.C.
Location
Region served
United States
Official language
American English
Executive Director
Suhag Shukla
WebsiteOfficial website

The Hindu American Foundation (abbr. HAF) is an American Hindu advocacy group founded on 3 September 2003 and headquartered on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.. HAF is involved in the areas of human rights, civil rights and education among others.

About[]

The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) was founded in September 2003 by Mihir Meghani, an emergency care physician, Aseem Shukla, an associate professor in urologic surgery, Suhag Shukla, an attorney, Nikhil Joshi, a labor law attorney, and Adeeti Joshi, a speech therapist.[2] The organization describes itself as a human rights and advocacy group, providing "a voice for the 2 million strong Hindu American community", that aims to educate the government and the public about Hinduism and the issues concerning the Hindus globally. It emphasizes the "Hindu and American ideals of understanding, tolerance and pluralism."[3] According to Harvard professor Diana L. Eck, the foundation has emerged as "the first major national advocacy group looking at Hindu identity."[4] Scholar Vinay Lal has noted that the organization draws on the claims of Hinduism being unique in its tolerance and religious pluralism as well as the enormous goodwill created by Gandhi in the West.[5]

Activism[]

During 2004–05, the organization held events to educate legislators about issues of concern to Hindu Americans. These included the abuse of Hindus in the Muslim majority regions of South Asia, including Kashmir, Bangladesh and Pakistan.[6] During the visit of Pervez Musharraf to the US in 2006, the organization issued a press release holding the Musharraf regime complicit in the "forced religious conversions, temple destructions and intimidation of Hindus" in Pakistan.[7][8]

In 2004, HAF challenged the public display of the Ten Commandments in Texas, where it appeared as amici curiae (friend of the Court) in Van Orden v. Perry in the United States Supreme Court. It argued that the display represented an "inherent government preference" for Judeo-Christian religions over others and the state must be reminded of its obligation to maintain religious neutrality.[7][8] In 2005, HAF, along with the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, the Association on American Indian Affairs and the Interfaith Alliance, was involved in the Simpson v. Chesterfield County case regarding legislative prayer.[9] In 2008, HAF along with a coalition of other religious groups, filed suit and blocked the issuance of Christian themed license plates in South Carolina.[10]

The organization supports strong ties between India, Israel and the US to create an axis of countries aiming to fight Islamic terrorism. In 2005, it joined the American Jewish Committee (AJC) to jointly sponsor a program at Stanford University on "countering biases against Hindus and Jews on the College campus."[11]

In 2010, the Foundation launched a Take Yoga Back campaign as a reaction to the cultural appropriation[12] and secularization of yoga. It contended that Raja Yoga is an integral part of Hinduism and cannot not be practiced independently, inviting criticism from Deepak Chopra and Meera Nanda.[4][13][14]

In 2013, HAF joined a coalition of Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim organizations urging the Justice Department investigate the New York City Police Department for discriminatory surveillance of American Muslims.[15] The organization also joined the National Religious Campaign Against Torture in expressing concern over the existence of and hunger strikes by detainees at Guantanamo Bay, and the torture of suspected Muslim terrorists.[16] In 2014, HAF held joint protests for the genocide of Yazidis under the Islamic State in Iraq.[17] In 2015, as a part of the Hate Crimes Coalition, HAF participated in the drafting and submission of the edits to an FBI manual to specifically track hate crimes against Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims.[18]

In 2016, HAF along with Indiaspora and other organizations successfully convinced the United States Postal Service to issue a stamp commemorating the Hindu festival of Diwali.[19]

In 2019, the HAF along with the American Civil Liberties Union and various Jewish religious and civil rights organizations filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the United States Supreme Court in support of a constitutional challenge to a government-sponsored 40-foot cross as a war memorial in Bladensburg, Maryland in the American Legion v. American Humanist Association case.[20] HAF also joined a coalition of interfaith and civil rights groups opposing Project Blitz, a coordinated national effort to enshrine Christian nationalism in state laws in the United States, which could undermine civil rights protections and healthcare access for women, LGBTQ people, those of minority faiths, and the nonreligious.[21][22] On 12 May 2019, HAF along with the AJC, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and other interfaith groups held a solidarity vigil for the 2019 Easter Sunday terrorist bombings in Sri Lanka.[23]

In September 2019, the HAF published a letter, co-signed by "a record number of 230 Indian-American organisations", asking congressman Ro Khanna to withdraw from the Congressional Caucus on Pakistan and criticizing him for a tweet where he had stated that "it is the duty of every American politician of Hindu faith to stand for pluralism, reject Hindutva, and speak for equal rights for Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhist and Christians."[24]

Human rights[]

Since 2005, the Hindu American Foundation has published annual reports entitled Hindus in South Asia & The Diaspora: A Survey of Human Rights on the status of human rights of Hindus worldwide. Past reports have covered the status of Hindus living in Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Fiji, the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as expatriated refugees from those regions. The reports provide detailed accounts of human rights violations such as violence against women, murder, ethnic cleansing, temple destruction, socio-political ostracization, disenfranchisement, discrimination, and forced conversions perpetrated against Hindus because of their religious identity. The incidents are documented, sourced from first hand accounts, media reports, and international and regional human rights agencies.[25] The reports have received endorsements and praise from various U.S. elected officials, religious leaders, human rights groups, and academics.[26]

In 2010, the organization issued a report on the caste system, asking Hindus to acknowledge that caste is not an intrinsic part of Hinduism even though it is a feature of the Hindu society and labeling caste-based discrimination as a major human rights problem. The report declares that only Hindus, through reform movements and education, can rid Hindu society of caste-based discrimination. It also castigates organizations like evangelical Dignity Freedom Network for arguing that Dalits are not Hindus.[27] The Hindu activist scholar Rajiv Malhotra has called the report flawed and pointed out that the jatis (birth groups) that have been relabeled "castes" in modern times are an integral part of the Indian social structure and that jatis have enabled collective bargaining of rights.[28]

HAF has spoken at or hosted congressional briefings related to human rights of Hindus in South Asia in 2007,[29] human rights of Kashmiri Hindus in 2009[30] and 2011,[31] minorities in Malaysia in 2008[32] and 2011,[33] the persecution of minority women in Pakistan in 2013,[34] Pakistani Hindu refugees in India in 2013,[35] religious violence in Bangladesh in 2015,[36] and India's diversity and democracy in 2018.[37] The organization also briefed the UK House of Lords on the human rights of Malaysian Hindus in 2008.[38]

HAF has organized film screenings and talks related to the human rights of Hindus including Refugees of Shangri-La: The Untold Story of Bhutanese Refugees,[39] The Human Boundaries,[40] A Day in the Life of a Pakistani Hindu by activists from the Pakistan Hindu Seva Welfare Trust, Thrust into Heaven,[41] and Plight of Hindus in Malaysia by Malaysian HINDRAF activist Waytha Moorthy.[42]

HAF also provides direct assistance to Hindu refugees such funds for the resettlement of Bhutanese Hindus in America,[43] medical care for Bhutanese refugees in Nepal,[44] and physical and mental care and aid for Pakistani Hindu refugees in India.[45]

Education[]

Main article: California textbook controversy over Hindu history

In 2006, HAF was actively involved in the Californian Hindu textbook controversy. On 16 March 2006, it filed a lawsuit contesting the California's Curriculum Commission's decision to reject many of the Vedic Foundation and Hindu Education Foundation's suggested edits to California's textbook curriculum on Hinduism and India. The proposed changes had been publicly opposed by Indologists organized by Michael Witzel, who renounced them as "politically and religiously motivated",[46] as well as by various Hindu groups.[47] The court ruled to retain the textbooks, noting the significant expense associated with reissuing the textbooks.[48]

In 2014, the Texas State Board of Education voted to adopt new textbooks that incorporated over 100 corrections submitted by HAF working in conjunction with scholars and historians. Some of the changes in the textbooks include coverage of Hinduism and Hindus in contemporary world history and geography, greater context in the explanation of caste, and the first-ever K-12 textbook mention of Hindu saint Adi Shankara.[49]

In 2015, the Virginia Board of Education approved new standards regarding the teaching of Hinduism and ancient India after working with HAF and other Hindu American parents in the state.[50][51]

In 2016, the Foundation released a report on the representation of Hinduism in classrooms and the bullying of Hindu American students. Among other findings, the report said that one in three Hindu American students had been bullied for their religious beliefs, and that one in eight students reported that their teachers made sarcastic remarks about Hinduism in front of a class.[52]

Main article: 2016–17 California textbook controversy over South Asian topics

In 2016, the HAF lobbied against the replacement of the word "Indian" with "South Asian" in middle school history textbooks in California, arguing that the change was essentially an erasure of India itself. These efforts were protested by South Asian academics and activists belonging to India's minority groups, who said that those on the side of the HAF sought to whitewash California's history textbooks to present a nativist, blemish-free view of how the Hindu caste system was enforced in India. They also argued that the term "South Asia" correctly represents India's collective history with countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh. A letter to the California State Board of Education about this issue, which garnered thousands of signatures, was spearheaded by the HAF.[53][54]

As of 2018, HAF reported having trained over 3,000 educators to date[55] on how to teaching Hinduism in what they term an accurate and engaging manner.[56]

Controversy[]

The Coalition Against Genocide (CAG) and others have alleged that the organization has links to Hindu nationalist organizations, namely the Vishva Hindu Parishad America (VHPA) and Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), the overseas wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Specifically, these critics cited that one of the organization's founders, Mihir Meghani, also founded the University of Michigan's chapter of the Hindu Students Council (HSC), a nationwide network of student societies affiliated with the VHPA, in 1991.[57] He is also known to have been a member of the HSS.[58]

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) credited Meghani as the author of an essay on their website titled Hindutva: The Great Nationalist Ideology, which claims that Hindus and Hinduism were denigrated by the Indian National Congress and that Hindus rose up to demand a "true secularism." The essay drew a parallel between the Hindu experience and that of Jews, African Americans and colonized groups, and defended the demolition of the Babri Masjid, terming it as the release of "thousands of years of anger and shame."[57] The essay also challenges Muslims to prove their commitment to India or else face the ire of Hindu nationalists: "The future of Bharat is set. Hindutva is here to stay. It is up to the Muslims whether they will be included in the new nationalistic spirit of Bharat. It is up to the government and the Muslim leadership whether they wish to increase Hindu furor or work with the Hindu leadership."[59]

Academics and journalists have provided more extensive documentation of links between the Hindu American Foundation and the Sangh Parivar, including the RSS. Georgetown University's Bridge Initiative notes that "HAF board member Rishi Bhutada served as the official spokesperson of 'Howdy Modi,' the RSS backed rally for India’s BJP prime minister held in Houston, Texas on September 22, 2020."[60][61] Both the Bridge Initiative and several journalists' exposes of HAF have documented anti-Muslim statements made by HAF board members, past and present, as well as by individuals invited to speak by HAF.[62][63][64] There is also an extensive money trail that links HAF to other Sangh Parivar groups via their donors.[65]

In April 2021, after following an Al Jazeera investigation, a broad coalition of Indian American activists and United States-based civil rights organizations has called on the US Small Business Administration (SBA) to probe how Hindu right-wing groups received hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief funds [66]


References[]

  1. ^ "Hindu American Foundation Guidestar Profile". Guidestar. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  2. ^ Lavina Melwani (April 2009). "Meet the Young Hindu American Foundation". Hinduism Today.
  3. ^ Prema Kurien, Place at the Multicultural Table (2007), p. 159.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Hindu Group Stirs a Debate Over Yoga's Soul". The New York Times. 27 November 2010.
  5. ^ Vinay Lal, The Other Indians (2012), p. 123.
  6. ^ Kurien, Prema A. (2007), "Who speaks for Indian Americans? Religion, ethnicity, and political formation", American Quarterly, 59 (3): 759–783, doi:10.1353/aq.2007.0059, JSTOR 40068449, S2CID 143780494
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  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Vinay Lal, The Other Indians (2012), pp. 122-123.
  9. ^ "Hindus Protest County Decision on Legislative Prayer". Hinduism Today. 23 September 2005. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  10. ^ Jon Hood (5 November 2009). "Religious License Plate Banned in South Carolina". Consumer Affairs. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
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  12. ^ Nadia Kadri (8 January 2016). "Cultural Appropriation of Yoga and the Search for Indian-American Yogis". India.com. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  13. ^ Sandip Roy (8 April 2015). "Taking back what's yours? Here's why Indians can't claim sole ownership over Yoga". Firstpost.
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  22. ^ Allen, Bob (1 February 2019). "Baptist groups join coalition opposing 'Project Blitz' playbook for pro-Christian legislation". Baptist News Global. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
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  34. ^ "Persecution of Hindu, Christian & Other Minority Women in Pakistan Highlighted at Capitol Hill". Persecution.org. 23 October 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
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  38. ^ "Briefing in UK House of Lords on M'sian Indians Plight". HINDRAF. 15 December 2008. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  39. ^ "Film Screening -The Refugees of Shangri La: The Untold Story of Bhutanese Refugees". Hindu American Foundation (HAF). 16 November 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
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  44. ^ "HAF Physicians Visit Refugee Camps in Nepal to Assess Needs of Bhutanese Hindus". Hindu American Foundation (HAF). 1 March 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
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  54. ^ "Tulsi Gabbard Is A Rising Progressive Star Despite Her Support For…". Honolulu Civil Beat. 6 January 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
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  56. ^ Padma Kuppa (31 July 2016). "Being a Hindu, Being an Ambassador for Hinduism". Patheos. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  57. ^ Jump up to: a b Prema Kurien, Place at the Multicultural Table (2007), pp. 145-146.
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  59. ^ "Link to original archived essay".
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  64. ^ Vishwanathan, Ram. "How the American Sangh hopes to win the 2020 US elections". The Caravan. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
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  66. ^ https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/8/call-for-us-probe-into-hindu-right-wing-groups-getting-covid-fund

Sources[]

External links[]

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