December 18, 2022

More than 90 participants gathered virtually last night to celebrate Hindus for Human Rights’ (HfHR) third annual gala, the Celebration of Hope. This event celebrated HfHR's many accomplishments in the advocacy for pluralism, civil and human rights in South Asia and North America in 2022.

The gala was co-emceed by HfHR board members Shanti Raman and Sravya Tadepalli. Ms. Raman also leads HfHR’s Australia and New Zealand chapter. The event showcased performances by professional composer and Carnatic vocalist Shruthi Rajasekar, Carnatic vocalist mother-and-son duo Asha Ramesh and Rohith Jayaraman, and Portland-based DJ, DJ Anjali. 

The event raised over $50,000 dollars from ticket sales and a live fundraising auction anchored by the emcees.

Prizes auctioned at the gala included: access to the entire filmography of Anand Patwardhan; lunch with Swara Bhaskar; and lunch with musician and activist T.M. Krishna.

All proceeds from this event will support HfHR’s 2023 goals of doubling its budget to $600,000, expanding its staff and strengthening its impact. Deputy executive director Nikhil Mandalaparthy gave an overview of HfHR’s achievements in 2022:

• Hired 3 full time staff and 9 part time staff

• Had 2 television appearances, published 21 articles in 16 different media outlets, including the Nation, Foreign Policy, and Religion News Service

•  Brought together 18 Hindu organizations and 42 Hindu religious leaders from 6 countries to issue a historic statement of solidarity against Hindutva and Islamophobia

• Saw an 243% increase in Instagram followers, 193% increase in Twitter followers

• Held 20 Congressional briefings on human rights issues in India with 19 other human rights organizations, featuring 96 frontline activists from India and the diaspora

• Made 1,806 people take action by sending 3,786 letters through HfHR online petitions

The gala also featured several special messages from staff and supporters about the impact HfHR’s advocacy has had over the past year.

Sunita Viswanath: Executive Director, Hindus for Human Rights

“We at Hindus for Human Rights see the whole world as one. We tirelessly try to add a Hindu voice to every domain of social justice, and continue our messaging of love, harmony, peace and justice wherever we go. In 2022, as we strengthened our work against rising Hindutva in the U.S. and India, we hope that in 2023 more voices will join us in this journey to embodying and building the best version of our faith traditions, and resolutely opposing all forms of hate including caste and Hindutva.”
 

Rep. Andy Levin, U.S. representative for Michigan's 9th congressional district 

"Like the United States, India is facing severe challenges to its democratic spirit, so we need to stick together. I am so proud to be working with Hindus for Human Rights because groups likes yours (HfHR) are vital so that india and Unites States alike, maintain our commitment to democracy."

Swara Bhasker: Indian Actor and Advisory Board Member, Hindus for Human Rights

"It is very important for progressive Hindus to build a community together and have a movement against this bigotry and Hindutva nationalism. Hindus for Human Rights is a group that is doing just that."

Hindus for Human Rights announced the second annual Swami Agnivesh Memorial Awards in honor of Swami Agnivesh (1939-2020), one of the few Hindu religious leaders to speak out against Hindu nationalism and caste. Swami Agnivesh was inspired by the Hindu teaching of vasudhaiva kutumbakam: “the world is one family,” and he fought for the rights of communities who were not necessarily his own: bonded laborers, religious minorities, Adivasis and caste-oppressed communities. Swami ji was very close to many members of Hindus for Human Rights and HfHR continues to carry forward his legacy through its work. 

Hindus for Human Rights presented the 2022 Swami Agnivesh Memorial Award to Khudai Khidmatgar and Mirza Ghalib Victor Begg. 

Victor Begg has founded a number of organizations focused on serving and representing the voice of Muslims in Michigan and promoting interfaith dialogue, including the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan (CIOM) and the Muslim Unity Center mosque in Bloomfield Hills. 

Begg has already been the recipient of several awards, including the Community Peacemaker award from Wayne State University, “Michiganian of the Year” by the Detroit News, the Excellence Award from the American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin, and the Niagara Foundation’s Niagara Peace Award. These awards were given to Begg in recognition of his tireless advocacy for interfaith dialogue and the Muslim community.  In the 2000s, Begg led several interfaith efforts to unite religious leaders. In 2007, Begg  organized Sunni and Shi’ite leaders in Michigan to sign a peace pact affirming their commitment to speak out against conflicts between the two sects. Then in 2009, Begg collaborated with Jewish community volunteers in metro-Detroit called “Mitzvah Day,” where non-profit Islamic and Jewish groups collaborated to feed and clothe local residents on and around Christmas.In 2019, Victor Begg published his moving memoir, Our Muslim Neighbors: Achieving the American Dream, an Immigrant’s Memoir, which details his own faith and interfaith journey, including his beautiful interfaith relationship with Shahina.
Begg has been a trusted mentor and a loving partner of HfHR, and HfHR is deeply inspired by all his monumental work on civic and interfaith dialogue in the United States. 
 

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan – a freedom fighter and close friend of Mahatma Gandhi, known also as Badshah Khan, or Sarhadee or Frontier Gandhi – founded Khudai Khidmatgar (Servants of Humanity) in 1929. His contributions to India’s Freedom Struggle and propagation of the values of non-violence and egalitarianism are immense. Khudai Khidmatgar was revived by activist Faisal Khan with his team in New Delhi in 2011. For the past decade, Khudai Khidmatgars have been working across the length and breadth of India on many salient issues including communal harmony, youth leadership, women’s empowerment and education access.
Khudai Khidmatgar worked relentlessly on COVID relief work in several districts across India, serving the poorest communities with ration kits, food, medicine, and oxygen. This year, it opened the Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan library in Mewat, Haryana. Just last month, Khudai Khidmatgar organized an 11-day 'Save Our Constitution' cycle yatra from Nagapatnam to Chennai. These are just a few of the innumerable communal harmony initiatives undertaken by Khudai Khidmatgar’s local teams across India. When HfHR Faisal Khan and other Khudai Khidmatgars in India in 2019, when HfHR was just a few months old, Faisal Khan immediately agreed to join HfHR’s advisory board. Faisal Khan has since then been a relentless supporter of HfHR's work. 

As HfHR wraps up another year of our arduous fight for religious pluralism, human rights, and civil rights, HfHR appreciates the continued support of its well-wishers. HfHR also takes this moment to recognize that the fight against Hindu nationalism isn’t over yet. The amplification of progressive Hindu work becomes even more critical as unprecedented levels of violence against minorities (Muslims, Dalits, Adivasis, and women) consume India, and as increasing numbers of Hindus in the diaspora appear to support India’s alarming shift to majoritarian Hindu rule. 

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