Statement in Solidarity With Activists Targeted for Peaceful Protest at the 2018 World Hindu Congress
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In September 2018, over 2,000 Hindu individuals, leaders, and organizations from around the world gathered for the World Hindu Congress, which brought together Hindus from over 60 countries for a multi-day conference in Chicago. Among those involved in the Congress were members of groups such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)—far-right, Hindu supremacist organizations, active in both India and the United States, whose Indian wings have been linked to deadly violence against Muslims, Dalits, Christians, and other vulnerable minorities.
One of the conference sessions was headlined by none other than RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. Rather than allowing the leader of the world’s longest-running fascist movement to take the stage unopposed, a group of brave individuals took it upon themselves to conduct a peaceful protest of Bhagwat’s remarks, standing up during the speech to shout slogans protesting the RSS’ Nazi-inspired politics and the Modi government’s egregious violations against Muslims, Dalits, Christians, and other marginalized minorities.
In response to this peaceful protest, the VHPA—whose Indian wing, the VHP, was classified by the CIA World Factbook in 2018 as a “militant religious organization”—went after the protesters with an egregious and baseless lawsuit, seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. The lawsuit is ongoing to this day, and the protesters have been forced to pay thousands in legal fees and costs as a result.
The VHPA’s baseless attacks against peaceful protesters are nothing short of a brazen assault on the right to freedom of speech, intended to silence those who have the courage to speak out against the hateful, fascist politics of the Hindutva movement. As allies in the fight for global justice and democracy, we stand in firm and unyielding solidarity with the brave individuals who peacefully protested the hate politics on display at the World Hindu Congress, and urge anyone who is able to support the GoFundMe campaign to raise money for their legal fees and other costs associated with the lawsuit.
Donate to support legal fees and costs for the protesters:
SIGNATORIES
Organizations:
Hindus for Human Rights, USA
Rational Medicine Network, UK
Indian American Muslim Council, USA
Islamophobia Studies Center, USA
Parity, USA
Canadians Against Oppression And Persecution (CAOP), Canada
Dalit Solidarity Forum, USA
Friends of India, Texas, USA
The Humanism Project, Australia
India Civil Watch International, USA
The Boston South Asian Coalition, USA
Association of Indian Muslims of America, USA
South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), USA
Poetic Justice Foundation, Canada
International Commission for Dalit Rights (ICDR), USA
Americans For Kashmir, USA
Chicago Coalition for Human Rights in India, USA
Individuals:
Shagufta Hakeem, Interdisciplinary Researcher
Vikas Tatad, Project Manager
Anand Patwardhan, Award-winning filmmaker
Saeed Patel
Shakeel Tirmizi
Ania Loomba, Professor
Navjot Pal Kaur, Founder of Kaur Republic Media Group
John Dayal, Writer and Activist
Aminta Kilawan-Narine, Lawyer and Activist
Father Cedric Prakash, Human Rights and Peace Activist/Writer
Govind Acharya, India Country Specialist, Amnesty International USA
Dr. Raja Gopal Bhattar, Educator
Linda Hess, Senior Lecturer Emerita, Stanford University
Rev. Abhi Janamanchi, Senior Minister
Arjun Sethi, Human Rights Lawyer, Georgetown University Law Center
Swara Bhasker, Indian actor and human rights advocate
Aakar Patel, Chair, Amnesty International India
Alishan Jafri, journalist
Safoora Zargar, Student activist, Jamia Millia Islamia
Usha I, Academic
