by Sunita Viswanath, Executive Director, HfHR

In recent days I have seen posts on social media about a billboard in Texas which has an Om sign, the words, “Celebrate Hinduism,” and a quote from the Rig Veda, “Unconditional love for all living creatures.”

I have seen several posts on social media celebrating this billboard with the captions: “Hindutva is coming!,” and “Jai Shri Ram.”

I’ve also seen messages in my WhatsApp feed from progressives, calling for the billboard to be taken down. 

The members of my organization, Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR), are progressive Hindus who believe in an egalitarian and inclusive vision of Hindu identity. We are opposed to caste and also the political ideology of Hindutva (Hindu nationalism) that is entrenched in many Hindu communities, both in India and the diaspora. We are working inside Hindu communities to propagate progressive and loving messages within our traditions and scriptures so that people see the folly of the hateful path of Hindutva. In fact, we believe that the only way caste can be annihilated and Hindutva defeated is if Hindus also wake up to these horrors and change their own beliefs and practices.

This billboard is most probably part of an effort in the Hindu American community to declare October 2021 as Hindu Heritage Month. October tends to be a very holy month for Hindus. During this month, Hindus often celebrate Navratri (the nine days and nights when Hindus pray to different avatars of the Goddess), Dussehra (the day after Navratri, celebrating the victory of good over evil), and Diwali. This year, Diwali is on November 4th.

We in HfHR are aware that the Hindu Heritage Month project was created by organizations like the VHPA, which are aligned with the political ideology of Hindutva. Our response is to embrace the concept of a Hindu Heritage Month, but to devote it to our radically inclusive and egalitarian interpretations of our traditions.

Many Hindus see Mother Earth as a form of the Goddess -- she is known to us as Bhudevi or Prithvi Ma. Thus, Navratri is a perfect time for us to focus on addressing our climate crisis. During this month, our Advocacy Director has joined hundreds of other faith leaders, Indigenous leaders, and frontline environmental activists outside the White House for the People vs. Fossil Fuels week of action, calling for an end to the use of fossil fuels.

Each day of Navratri is devoted to a different avatar of the Goddess, and each day we have meditated on that Goddess, lifting up one part of our quest for justice for all. For example, we devoted the first day to our commitment to protecting Mother Earth, and the third day to our commitment to the right to choose, to the right of each one of us to make our decisions in love and life.

If the creators of the billboard happen to be Hindutva-aligned -- which they probably are -- we can quote back to them the sacred words on their own billboard, that quotes the oldest Hindu scripture and calls for unconditional love for all creatures. We are inspired by this quote as well, which drives our advocacy for inclusive and secular societies in which all of us share equal access to rights and resources.

I fear that progressive people who are alarmed by the billboard and are calling for it to be taken down see no difference between the diverse traditions that make up Hinduism and the monolithic political ideology of Hindutva. If we do not recognize, and even celebrate such a distinction, there is not much hope for the project of mobilizing Hindus to reject Hindutva and thereby avert ongoing atrocities towards Muslims, Dalits and other marginalized groups in India.