September Newsletter: Dismantling Global Hindutva Conference, G20 Interfaith Forum, Voices of Peace, Hindutva 101 campaign and much more!

October 1, 2021

HfHR's Monthly Newsletter serves as your guide to our progressive Hindu advocacy over the past month! Read on to learn about our webinars, podcasts, articles, advocacy updates, anti-caste initiatives, and more.

Namasthe Dear Friend,

The month of September can perhaps be called the "Month of Protests"--the month marked one year of the passing of Farm Laws and brought to significance the strong ongoing Farmers' Protest in India, and as PM Modi visited the US, we at HfHR protested against the injustices propagated by his government against the minorities, by holding rallies in New York and Washington DC. As September comes to a close, inspired by the Sikh community's crucial role in the Farmers' protest which has been the foundation of unity, courage and humility of the movement, we turn to the Guru Granth Sahib. The verses lucidly illustrate the attitude of the current Indian government where lynchings against Dalits and Muslims are taking place in broad daylight, those who speak truth to power are silenced, and where the annadata (farmers) are being made to leave their farms to come to the border to speak up for their rights which are falling onto deaf ears. In such dark times, all of us may wonder, "how will we be saved?" As we read the shabad further, we are told that the answer lies in standing firmly with the Lord, the Truth, come what may.

As part of our continous endeavour to stand with truth and justice, this month we have strongly advocated against the Hindutva ideology through our participartion in the Dismantling Hindutva Conference and rallies against PM Modi on his US visit, attended G20 Interfaith Forum, launched videos as a part of the Voices of Peace series, rolled out the Hindutva 101 campaign, published articles/op-eds, organized Congressional Briefings and much more!

Dismantling Global Hindutva Conference

The much anticipated event of the month, Dismantling Global Hindutva conference was successfully held virtually between 10-12 September with no participant/participant university backing out despite the extensive backlash it received from the right-wing groups. The multidisciplinary conference had a wide-ranging participation of academics, practititioners and others of different ideologies. HfHR Co-founder Sunita Viswanath and HfHR Advisory Board Member TM Krishna were also invited to be a part of the panel on Hinduism and Hindutva.

Sunita eloquently spoke about the need to bring her 'faith to the streets' so as to reclaim the inclusive and progressive aspects of Hinduism which have unfortunately been politically manipulated by the vested interests of the right-wing. Her speech was published in The Scroll titled, "Opinion: Why I feel the need to bring my Hinduism to the streets". TM Krishna spoke about how to hold conversations with three broad categories of people: those equating Hinduism with Hindutva, those who believe Hinduism and Hindutva are completely unrelated and thus aren't bothered by the latter, and those who too think Hinduism and Hindutva are completely unrelated but have the fear of erasure of Hinduism and thus end up supporting Hindutva.

HfHR Board Member Dr. Bidisha Biswas wrote an article in Indica News 'The “Dismantling Global Hindutva: Multidisciplinary Perspectives” conference shed light on the fight against Hindutva ideology' summarizing the entire event and writing about the success of the event despite the death threats and severe push back.

Further, HfHR Co-founder Raju Rajagopal wrote an op-ed in The Print "The gains of Dismantling Global Hindutva conference will help reclaim Hinduism" talking about the success of DGH inadvertently caused by the believers of Hindutva who publicized the event and even intently listened to the entire conference!

HfHR Co-founder Sunita Viswanath at the DGH conference on the "Hinduism and Hindutva" panel

HfHR Advisory Board Member TM Krishna at the DGH conference on the "Hinduism and Hindutva" panel

G20 Interfaith Forum

HfHR Advocacy Director Nikhil Mandalaparthy attended the G20 Interfaith Forum in Bologna, Italy as one of 48 youth delegates selected from 29 countries. Nikhil gave a presentation about HfHR's work fighting Hindu nationalism and promoting pluralism, titled "Confronting Your Community: Fighting Extremism From Within." The fact that HfHR was one of the only Hindu organizations present at this global forum speaks volumes to the impact we've been making, not just in the U.S. or in India but on the international stage!

Hindutva 101

HfHR started a new social media campaign called 'Hindutva 101': 12 days, 12 messages to remind Indian Americans that Hindutva defines itself today by its words and actions on the ground, not by any textbook definition by Savarkar or anyone else.

Here's a glimpse into the campaign:

Protests against PM Modi in NYC and DC

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the U.S. to meet with President Biden in Washington D.C. on September 23rd and attended the UN General Assembly on September 25th. Along with its diverse coalition, HfHR protested at both theses sites and registered opposition to the Modi government's assault on human rights, secular democracy, and persecution of religious minorities, Dalits, and farmers in India. Read our blog on the protests.

Watch HfHR Advocacy Director speak at the #ProtestModiDC

Watch HfHR Co-founder Sunita Viswanath and Board Member Deepak Gupta at the #ProtestModiNYC

Grassroots Media Advocacy: Voices of Peace

HfHR in collaboration with PAIGAM launched the trailer of "Kashi, not Kyoto" short video series on the people of Kashi, their stories of co-existence, and what recent attempts to bring 'modernity' could do to the ancient city.

Further, another video called Concerned citizens of India was rolled out where citizens of India were seen freely expressing about what they really feel about our country and its future.

On Bharat Bandh (27th September) marking one year anniversary of the Farm Laws, Voices of Peace video on the Farmers' Protest was released--a protest which in all its forms turned into a movement--a movement for communal harmony, social justice and human rights.

Trailer of 'Kashi, not Kyoto' video series

Concerned Citizens of India speak about their ideas of India

किसान आंदोलन है भारत की नई क्रांति (Farmers' Protest is India's New Revolution)

HfHR Blogs, Articles, Webinars and Podcasts

HfHR Co-founder Raju Rajagopal spoke at an inter-faith conversation on 9/11. Read his remarks here.

HfHR and its partners organized Congressional Briefing on Hindu Supremacist Attacks on Academic Freedom on September 8th with an esteemed panel of scholars and activists: Prof. Deepa Kumar (Professor of Journalism and Media Studies, Rutgers University), Prof. Apoorvanand (Professor of Hindi, Delhi University), Prof. Thomas Blom Hansen (Reliance-Dhirubhai Ambani Chair of Anthropology, Stanford University), Prof. Audrey Truschke (Associate Professor and Asian Studies Director, Rutgers University) and Aman Abhishek (Volunteer Researcher, Scholars At Risk).

Further, HfHR and its partners organized another Congressional Briefing on September 22 with USCIRF chair Nadine Maenza, activist Harsh Mander, scholar Angana Chatterji, John Sifton of Human Rights Watch, and Govind Acharya of Amnesty International USA to talk about human rights violations in India being on the agenda of Biden-Modi meet.

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.

Donate to HfHR

By now you would have realized how busy we have been this month! We want to keep the intensity of this enthusiasm and passion going forward. Your support energizes us to build a bold and radically inclusive Hindu platform which opposes Hindutva and caste, and prioritizes the rights of marginalized communities.

Once again, thank you for your continuous support and well-wishes!

With our love, gratitude and solidarity,

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

Please Join Us

As Always, Get Involved. We would love to hear from you — write to us. Volunteer. Start a chapter. Hold a birthday fundraiser and raise both awareness and money!

And please consider a donation to HfHR so that our platform and movement for a Hindu resistance to Hindutva can grow stronger and more impactful.