Hindus for Human Rights is a US-based nonprofit organization that advocates for pluralism, civil rights, and human rights in South Asia and North America. Our advocacy is rooted in the values of our faith: shanti (peace), nyaya (justice), and satya (truth). We provide a Hindu voice of resistance to caste, Hindu nationalism, racism, and all forms of bigotry and oppression. Our vision is a world defined by lokasangraha (the universal common good), where there is peace among all people and our planet is honored and protected.

This year’s calendar features original art pieces inspired by Hindu deities and saints who are revered by immigrant, refugee, and diaspora communities. We are celebrating the diversity of Hindu traditions and experiences throughout history and around the world.

We also seek to commemorate the hardships faced by many of these communities: war, migration, religious persecution, indentured labor, discrimination, slavery, and more.

The calendar features Hindu festivals from a range of regions and traditions, as well as major holidays from other religions. It also includes historical events that have shaped modern South Asia and its diaspora, and birth and death anniversaries of notable social justice activists. We are grateful to Siddhesh Gautam (@bakeryprasad on Instagram) and initiatives like Dalit History Month for their work uplifting important moments from Dalit, Bahujan, and Adivasi history.

We hope this calendar can be used for both celebration and political education. Please write to info@hindusforhumanrights.org to suggest additional dates to include in future calendars.

For festivals based on a lunar calendar, there may be differing dates between North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Indian subcontinent. In most cases, we have gone with the festival dates according to North American calendars, which are often a day before or after South Asia.