Calling on Sudha Raghunathan to Reject Hate

Written By HfHR

Recently, the Global Hindu Heritage Foundation (GHHF), a hate group operating out of Texas, announced that they would be hosting one of India’s most acclaimed vocalists, Sudha Raghunathan, for a Carnatic music concert on March 26, 2023.

Since December 2022, Indian-Americans from across religious backgrounds have been raising concerns about GHHF’s hate speech against Muslims and Christians, GHHF’s support of conspiracy theories, and GHHF’s collaboration with right-wing extremist groups in India.

On March 8, 2023, Hindus for Human Rights sent the following letter to Sudha Raghunathan and her co-artists.

Calling on You to Reject Hate

Dear Sangita Kalanidhi Vid. Sudha Raghunathan, Vid. Kamalakiran Vinjamuri, Vid. Akshay Anantapadmanabhan, and Vid. Sowmiya Narayanan:

My name is Nikhil Mandalaparthy, and I am writing on behalf of Hindus for Human Rights. We are a US-based nonprofit organization, founded in 2019. We advocate for pluralism, civil and human rights in South Asia and North America, rooted in the values of our faith: shanti (peace), nyaya (justice) and satya (truth). 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.

We are reaching out to you because it has come to our attention that on March 26, 2023 you are performing at a concert in Mesquite, Texas, organized by the Indian Fine Arts Academy, Lead America, and an organization titled Global Hindu Heritage Foundation (GHHF):

We realize you may be unaware of this, but GHHF is a prominent hate group operating within the Indian American community. We ask that you reconsider associating with this hate group, and release a public statement distancing yourself from GHHF and its politics.

GHHF was founded in 2006, and it has been operating out of Frisco, TX, for over 15 years, with a long track record of spewing hatred against Christians and Muslims.

Here is a selection of GHHF’s public statements about Christians:

  • “Jesus is angry, hateful, cruel, and jealous God.” (source)

  • “Christian pastors are like leeches who want to suck the Hindu customs and try to digest and pretend that Hindu customs and traditions are from Christianity” (source)

  • “the Christians in India … have no moral conscience, and no scruples, and with unlimited resources coming from European counties, with highly efficient planning and well organized administration, and with highly focused vision to destroy Hindu dharma…” (source)

  • “Christianity made many people illogical, irrational, and less objective.” (source)

Here are some of GHHF’s public statements about Muslims: 

  • “... Hindus are going to be condemned to hellish agony and persistent terror by Muslims.” (source)

  • Describing Muslims as “savages” (source)

  • “All religions are different, Hinduism is inclusive and other two major religions – Christianity and Islam – are exclusive. It is all about “We and THEY. ””  (source)

  • “O Hindus! Muslims are ambushing you! Where can you hide? Where would you GO?” (source)

  • GHHF’s website cites Robert Spencer, who the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as “one of America’s most prolific and vociferous anti-Muslim propagandists”

In 2014, GHHF called on India’s Minister of Education to change India’s educational curriculum to teach children about the “heroism” of Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi. 

GHHF advances conspiracy theories, such as that India’s “Hindu population is declining day by day.” This is contradicted by survey data, which shows that religious conversion is extremely rare in India, and in fact India’s Hindu population gains as many people as it loses.

GHHF has a team of nearly 30 full-time staff in India who try to convert Indian Christians and Muslims “back” to Hinduism, and their fundraising emails call on donors to sponsor a pracharak (missionary) for the cost of US $3,000 per year. GHHF’s missionary activities are accompanied by aggressive speech against Christians and Muslims. 

GHHF collaborates with right-wing organizations in India such as the Shiva Shakthi Sainyam, which attacks churches in Andhra Pradesh and is currently facing criminal charges. 

In November 2022, GHHF hosted an end-of-year gala dinner. The dinner’s agenda items included seemingly innocuous-sounding items like food distribution and COVID-19 relief, alongside more alarming topics: demolition of “illegal” churches in India and the conversion of Indian Christians and Muslims to Hinduism.

By performing at a concert hosted by GHHF, you are endorsing this organization’s hate speech and conspiracy theories. We urge you to reject the hate that is embodied by groups like GHHF. 

As the beloved composition Maitrim Bhajata, composed by Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamigal, urges us:

maitrīṃ bhajata akhilahṛjjetrīm 

ātmavadeva parānapi paśyata

yuddhaṃ tyajata spardhāṃ tyajata 

tyajata pareṣu akramam ākramaṇam

Cultivate friendship, 

which will conquer all hearts

Look upon others as thyself

Renounce war, forswear competition

Give up aggression on others

We hope you will agree that the mission of groups such as GHHF directly contradict these ideals. Please consider disaffiliating your name and image from this hate group, and release a public clarification distancing yourself from GHHF and their politics of hate.

Sincerely,
Nikhil Mandalaparthy

Deputy Executive Director

Hindus for Human Rights

Further Reading:

HfHR
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