April Newsletter: India's Covid Crisis and Building a Robust Resistance to Hate

June 1, 2021

Namaste Dear Friend,

As April transitioned into May, we witnessed India transcending into one of the worst phases of the second CoVID wave, becoming the new epicenter of the pandemic. We, especially our Indian HfHR members, have helplessly seen our near and dear ones suffer and even die due to lack of medicines/oxygen cylinders/hospital beds/proper treatment. This has been a time of mourning not only for those who left us behind but also for the healthcare system that has collapsed, both of which had a good chance of survival if only things had been better planned by India’s leadership. Nandini Sen Mehra’s poem poignantly ties the ends together of past trauma and a hopeful future that needs mindful action.

May, on the other hand, has also presented us with great hope—to fight against injustice, to stand up for the minorities, and above all to be practitioners of tapas (quality of being comfortable even in adversities). And we want to share this hope with all our readers through the following updates:

Recognitions and support

It is with great pride that we want to inform our readers that Sunita Viswanath, HfHR co-founder and Board Member, was recently featured by the Center for American Progress in the 21 Faith Leaders To Watch in 2021 list. This list features "diverse religious leaders on the front lines of defending U.S. democracy and working with elected leaders to build a more just and equitable world". This encouragement fortifies us in our commitment to justice for all!

Further, over 400 academics, scholars, and writers from across the world, including the likes of Noam Chomsky (linguist), Cornel West (philosopher), Deepa Mehta (filmmaker), and Lord Meghnad Desai (economist), have endorsed a statement expressing solidarity with two co-founders of (HfHR) and other individuals who have been targeted by the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) with a SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) lawsuit. We are immensely grateful for the outpouring of support which has been beyond our expectations. Each one of the endorsements is a vote of confidence in our important work in resisting Hindutva and working against racism and casteism in the diaspora. We are hopeful that this massive display of public support will galvanize others to stand with us as we successfully resist this case of intimidation and push back against efforts to curtail free speech. We offer a special thank you to all those who have supported us from India, where they are themselves facing unprecedented attacks on freedom of speech and press freedoms.

Covid-19 Crisis in India

In the distressful time of CoVID in India, when several NGOs and relief organisations have taken up the responsibilities of the government in providing essential medical and other basic services to the public. HfHR has been constantly working with grassroot NGOs to provide them support through fundraisers such as Indian Diaspora Washington DC Metro Event: Covid Relief Fundraiser titled "Saathi Haath Badhaana: A Call to Help the Pandemic Ravaged India'' and press conferences that highlight the real ground situation such as the one titled “Frontline Voices from India’s Covid-19 Crisis”.

Here is a directory of grassroots NGOs across India who are deeply engaged in life-saving Covid-19 relief work. These are all inclusive and pluralistic organizations known to and vetted by HfHR. Our friends at Ghadar have gathered various trusted resources for those who wish to help and support people suffering in India.

We hope you will support us generously!

Anti-Caste Initiatives

HfHR has been closely working with various collectives and coalitions to ensure justice for the laborers (mostly Dalit) who were allegedly exploited by the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha for the construction of a massive temple in Robbinsville, New Jersey. Sunita Viswanath has written about the issue in American Kahani, Shocking News From New Jersey: Hindu Temple is Accused of Exploiting Dalit Laborers in Temple Construction.

Alabama's Yoga ban Overturned

We are happy to share that our advocacy efforts on overturning the 28-year-old ban on teaching yoga in Alabama public schools have reached fruition with the state Republican Legislature and Governor signing the bill, brought for the third time by a Democrat, into a law. Individual schools now have the option of offering yoga lessons, which would help students choose yoga for physical and mental well-being.

HfHR Blogs, Articles and Webinars

Our board member, Raju has written a compelling piece, ‘Hinduphobia’ in America? Two Competing Narratives Coming From Two Very Different Motivations, that talks about how Hindutva-aligned groups have been appropriating the real personal experiences of prejudice by Hindus to buttress their own narratives, which have been incessantly promoting hatred against other religious minorities in India.

Sunita Viswanath’s article “My fellow Hindus sued me for raising alarms about Hindu supremacy” has been published in prominent news outlets namely Washington Post and Religion News Service, wherein she speaks about HAF's lawsuit against her and others, and the urgent need to speak truth to power. She has also written about the spread of weaponization of faith by Hindutva even in CoVID times and the need for Hindus to speak up for love against hatred, and for secular/democratic values against Hindutva’s hateful ideology in The Nation’s column ‘Where Are the Moderate Hindus?’. Further, her column titled “Modi’s Religious Nationalism Hurts India’s Hindus, Too” has been published in Foreign Policy, which asks readers to relook Modi’s nationalistic policies which serve only the Hindu elite, while the rest of the masses (including Hindus), especially the minorities are left to fend for themselves.

Arjun Raina's (HfHR Australia member) message for being a more tolerant and progressive Hindu

Arjun Raina's message was excerpted in a panel discussion called "Hindus across the diaspora resisting Hindutva" at the EU-India Peoples Summit, moderated by Nikhil, HfHR Advocacy Director. The panelists—HfHR Board member Sravya, Holland-based HfHR member Shawintala, from Australia, Canada-based HfHR member Vagisha, and South Africa-based HfHR member Brij—discussed how Hindus across the diaspora are fighting Hindutva in their communities.

Hindus Across the Diaspora Resisting Hindutva, May 8, 2021

Speakers: Vagisha Agrawal, Shawintala Banwarie, Brij Maharaj, Arjun Raina (HfHR), Sravya Tadepalli (HfHR), Nikhil Mandalaparthy (HfHR)

Further, Nikhil was interviewed by Prof. Alexander Hsu from the Ansari Institute as part of the “Engaged: Religion and the Common Good” Conversation Series where he very lucidly spoke about his personal understanding of Hinduism, his work with HfHR, and the need for a progressive Hindu voice of resistance against Hindutva.

Ansari Institute’s “Engaged: Religion and the Common Good” Conversation Series, May 8, 2021
Teaching professor Alexander Hsu in conversation with Nikhil Mandalaparthy (Advocacy Director, HfHR)

Donate to our Legal Defense and Advocacy Fund

Please consider making a donation of any amount to Hindus for Human Rights' Legal Defense and Advocacy Fund. You can donate here; make sure to write "Legal Defense and Advocacy Fund" as a comment accompanying your donation.

We need your support now more than ever.

The developments in the month of May have kept us really busy. The support coming from various channels has energized us from within to be able to remain steadfast in our mission to build a bold and radically inclusive Hindu platform which opposes Hindutva ideology and caste, and prioritizes the rights of the poor and underprivileged.

We would like to close this newsletter ruminating over verses from Nandini's poem:

...So let no powers again succeed,
to divide us at their will,
let love remain in our battered hearts,
the hope they could not kill.

With our love, gratitude and solidarity,

HfHR Board and Staff
Deepak, Nikhil, Punya, Raju, Sravya, Sunil, Sunita, Swati, Swathi, Urmila, Vijay

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