Hindus for Human Rights Membership Program
Member Resources
Welcome to Hindus for Human Rights—we’re so glad to have you here! This guide contains all the information you need to know about HfHR and your role as a member.
If you have any questions that aren’t covered in this guide, you can email membership@hindusforhumanrights.org!
Wear your values with Hindus for Human Rights apparel — members get 15% off with hfhrmember-15-off at checkout!
Join Our Whatsapp Community!
Join our WhatsApp community to connect with other HfHR members and stay up to date with what’s going on!
Ideas for HfHR Chapters
Advocacy
Conduct 1:1 meetings with prospective HfHR members.
Organize a public fundraising event for HfHR.
Organize house fundraisers for HfHR.
Hold a “Know Your Rights” training.
Distribute “Know Your Rights” cards and materials to local mandirs.
Nominate progressive Hindus for positions on local and state Asian American boards and caucuses.
Organize meetings with local and state elected officials to discuss Hindu nationalism and caste.
Visit your state Capitol and meet with legislators to discuss issues that are a priority to your local chapter.
Write letters to the editor about how Hindu nationalism is showing up in your local community.
Organize a protest.
Join as a “Hindu” contingent in a local protest already happening (such as No Kings, Palestine, Pride, etc.)
See whether your local/school/university library has books about Hindu nationalism and caste. If not, advocate for them to acquire books you recommend (Coming Out as Dalit, Annihilation of Caste, Modi’s India, etc.)
See whether your local bookstore has books about Hindu nationalism and caste. If so, advocate for them to acquire books you recommend.
Identify local and state legislation that you think HfHR should support and work with our policy team to get it passed.
Identify local and state legislation that you think HfHR should oppose and work with our policy team to get it passed.
Introduce resolutions honoring various Diwali, Holi, Sankranti, etc.
Introduce other legislation/resolutions at the local and state level and work with HfHR’s policy team to get it passed.
Write letters to entities platforming Hindu nationalist groups in your community (HSS, HAF, etc.) explaining what Hindu nationalism is and asking for Hindutva groups to be deplatformed.
Hold meetings with entities platforming Hindu nationalists to explain your concerns with these groups.
Join local coalitions working on issues your chapter members care about.
Sign petitions to support causes your chapter supports (please check with staff first!)
Start petitions to support causes your chapter supports (please check with staff first!)
Community Building
Hold a potluck/picnic.
Go to happy hour together.
Sign up as a chapter for your local Adopt-a-Road program.
Work on a service activity together–volunteer at a soup kitchen, organize a food drive, or find some other project to participate in.
Work with your local chapter of Asha or AID to organize a fundraiser for these organizations.
Get your local college or university to start an HfHR Club.
Religious/Cultural
Hold satsangs (prayer and religious discussion meetings).
Have progressive Hindu bhajan nights.
Go to art/museum exhibitions together.
Have an art/craft making session.
Organize a South Asian devotional music/arts night with other religious communities from South Asia.
Take Hindu scriptures/songs that have casteist/sexist texts and rewrite them to be inclusive.
Write inclusive retellings of Hindu stories.
Organize a prayer vigil for a tragic event (Pahalgam, genocide in Gaza).
Hold an interfaith celebration (Holi/Purim, UgadiEidSter).
Organize a progressive Diwali (or other holiday) celebration.
Hold a Diwali celebration in partnership with your local city government.
Start a progressive Hindu balavihar.
Start a Hindu liberation theology reading group (use the Sadhana Syllabus for ideas!)
Put on a play, dance, or music performance that showcases progressive Hindu/anti-Hindutva themes.
Volunteer for the local mandir.
Join the leadership of your local mandir.
Organize a performance for your local cultural show (Diwali celebration, India Night, etc.) that highlights values of interfaith harmony, social justice, etc.
Join your community’s interfaith organization.
Sell HfHR’s progressive Hindu calendars.
Education
Organize a discussion on a particular topic: for example, interfaith harmony in India, the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, or caste in Hinduism.
Hold an open house about Hindus for Human Rights and its work.
Read and discuss The Annihilation of Caste by B.R. Ambedkar.
Host a movie screening for members and the general public.
Organize a panel discussion and invite the general public.
Create potential responses to WhatsApp messages that spread Hindu nationalist propaganda.
Start a book club.
Hold a discussion on a report or article (Carnegie Indian American reports, news articles, etc.)
Talk to your local school/school district about giving a presentation on Hindu nationalism.
Do a teach-in for community members about Hindu nationalism, caste, Hindutva/Zionism, etc.
Watch HfHR baithaks together and discuss them.
Write explainers/one-pagers on Ekal Vidyalaya, Sewa International, and other groups that are regularly fundraised for in the Indian American community to explain their connections to the RSS and suggest alternatives.
Do a media misinformation training for your local Hindu community.
Organize a book talk.
Invite a local university lecturer to give talk on a subject related to Hindu nationalism, caste, or India.
Ways to Take Action
Organize an HfHR Event in Your Local Community!
Film screenings, reading groups, teach-ins, happy hours, and even a good old-fashioned potluck are all great ways to build community and connect with other HfHR members and supporters in your area! If you’re interested in helping to organize an HfHR event in your local community, email membership@hindusforhumanrights.org!
Become an HfHR Organizer!
The way we grow our movement is by meeting people where they’re at through outreach, conversations, and intentional relationship-building. As an organizing volunteer, you can play a crucial role in supporting that work by:
Holding 1:1s to onboard new members into the organization
Being a point of contact for new members who join in your area
Serving as a ‘chapter lead’ and being a point person for coordinating HfHR chapter-building efforts in your community
If any (or all!) of the above interest you, email membership@hindusforhumanrights.org!
Write a blog post, op-ed, or letter to the editor!
Whether it’s a post on the HfHR blog or an article in your local paper, written pieces by HfHR staff and members are a crucial way to spread our message and introduce HfHR to a wider audience. If you’re interested in writing something about an issue that’s related to HfHR’s work, email our Communications Director David Kalal at david@hindusforhumanrights.org!
Suggest a Project or Working Group!
Have an idea for an initiative that HfHR could take on? Suggest it, and we’ll try to make it happen! We can’t promise that every suggestion will work out right away, but if your idea aligns with HfHR’s strategic priorities and there’s sufficient interest and capacity from other members to take it on, we’ll do our best to support you in making it a reality! The best way to raise a suggestion is to email membership@hindusforhumanrights.org!
Monthly Membership Call Recordings
2024
2025
Hindu Liberation Theology Lecture Series
with Professor Anantanand Rambachan
LECTURE 1
Lecture 1 of Professor Anantanand Rambachan’s Hindu Liberation Theology Course is all about the basics -- what Hindu Liberation Theology is, where it comes from, and what its central themes are.
LECTURE 2
Hindu Liberation Theology & Its Social Implications
Learn from renowned theologian Prof. Anantanand Rambachan on how Hindu liberation theology can help overcome hierarchies like caste, gender, and patriarchy.
LECTURE 3
Hinduism & Overcoming Social Hierarchies
This lecture focuses on the meaning of liberation in Hinduism, and especially on its social implications. Additionally, Professor Rambachan takes a look at some of the historical figures who can serve as exemplars of Hindu liberation theology.