Coalition Calls on Montgomery County Public Libraries to Cancel April 12 Event Over Concerns About VHPA Partnership
Montgomery County, MD — A coalition of community organizations and civil rights advocates is calling on Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) to cancel an upcoming April 12 event at the Germantown Library, citing concerns over the library’s partnership with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA).
The event, described as a celebration of Hindi language and literature, is part of a broader initiative involving contributions from VHPA-affiliated entities. While the coalition emphasizes its support for cultural and linguistic programming, it raises concerns about the appropriateness of partnering with VHPA in a public institution.
“Libraries are expected to carefully review their collections and programs,” said Susan Kerin of Peace Action Montgomery and a county resident, representing the coalition. “When there are concerns, the right approach is to pause, review, and have an open discussion.”
The coalition stresses that its concern is not about Hinduism, the Hindi language, or cultural expression, but with the involvement of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA).
“Partnering with the VHPA, an overtly anti-Muslim group, sends the message that the Germantown Public Library does not care about its Muslim community members,” said IAMC President, Mohammad Jawad. “We urge the library to drop the VHPA as a collaborator and work instead with groups that value and celebrate the diversity of the Hindi-speaking community,” he added.
“This is not about Hindi, and it is not about Hinduism,” said Rev. Abhi Janamanchi. “It is about a public library partnering with an organization with documented ties to Hindu nationalist networks linked to religious violence and the persecution of minorities in India.”
Hindus have also expressed alarm over the collaboration with the VHPA. Sravya Tadepalli, Deputy Executive Director of Hindus for Human Rights, said, “The Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America has platformed multiple anti-Muslim hate mongers, and as Hindus, we are very alarmed. We demand that the library put an end to this partnership, and that the Montgomery County leaders responsible – including County Executive Marc Elrich – explain why they let a right-wing extremist group decide what books they are offering to Montgomery County residents.”
Scholars and civil rights organizations have identified VHPA as part of a broader network aligned with Hindutva, a political ideology associated with exclusionary narratives toward religious minorities and marginalized communities. VHPA is linked to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in India, which is part of a larger movement led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Reports, including those by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), have raised concerns about the role of organizations within this network in contributing to the persecution of religious minorities. According to a report by the Savera coalition, “In the United States, the VHP-A has played a harmful role in multiple spheres: through their collaborations with other supremacist organizations and ideologies; their attacks on US civil society organizations; their role in moving Indian American communities to the right, and their unvarnished Islamophobia and bigotry. Actors in US civil society, politics and society must see the VHP-A, despite its claims to be the representative of a minority community, as a key part of a global far-right ecosystem.”
“The concern over the rise of Hindu nationalism—just as its counterpart Christian nationalism—has increased exponentially at the state and county level across our nation,” said the Reverend Neal Christie, Principal, The Religious Nationalism Project. “It is urgent that our community leaders in Montgomery County exercise due diligence and their conscience and not to give public affirmation, space and voice to any group that perpetuates hate in the name of religion…doing so challenges the trust we place in a library’s public mission,” he added.
“When a public library chooses to partner with an organization driven by an exclusionary ideology that misrepresents Muslim communities and spreads the scourge of caste, it ceases to be a safe space,” said Jebaroja Singh, President at Dalit Solidarity Forum. “True inclusion requires accountability, not enabling attacks on the marginalized.”
VHPA-affiliated groups have also been involved in efforts to influence educational content and public narratives, often referred to as “textbook wars,” in states such as California and Virginia. This history of attacks on academic inclusivity raised concerns among Maryland-based activists.
The Rev. Abhi Janamanchi, Senior Minister, Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Congregation, said, “Montgomery County has built its identity on pluralism – on being a place where every resident regardless of faith, background, or origin, is genuinely welcome. That commitment has to mean something in the partnerships our public institutions choose. We are asking MCPL to reconsider [partnering with VHPA].”
“Public libraries are palaces of learning in which not only critical thinking is born but resistance to fascism and ignorance as well. To partner with an organization notorious with its ties to a far right movement is contradictory,” said Robert Stubblefield, an activist with No Hindutva Maryland.
“A library that only shares one story, and government officials who honor and celebrate hateful and violent organizations and authors, are not reflective of our community values, nor the purpose of our sacred houses of shared knowledge,” said Scott Webber, a Montgomery County-based activist. “Selective diversity that vilifies, marginalizes, and excludes entire segments of our community is little more than hate propaganda, entirely incompatible with the mission of the Montgomery County Public Libraries to be safe spaces. Montgomery County cannot claim to value its diversity while providing safe haven for hate and division.”
Coalition’s Requests
The coalition is calling on MCPL and county officials to:
- Cancel the April 12 event at Germantown Library
- End any partnership with VHPA and affiliated organizations
- Establish clear vetting standards for external partners in public programming
Community Outreach Underway
Coalition members have begun outreach to county officials, including library leadership and elected representatives, and are engaging community stakeholders across faith and civic groups.
About the Coalition
The coalition includes local and national organizations working on civil rights, religious freedom, and community advocacy, including:
- Ambedkar King Study Circle
- Boston South Asian Coalition
- Dalit Solidarity Forum
- Equitas Forum USA
- Great Truths
- Hindus for Human Rights
- India Civil Watch International
- Indian American Muslim Council
- International Christian Rescue Mission
- International Society for Peace & Justice
- Maryland Poor People’s Campaign
- No Hindutva Maryland
- Peace Action Montgomery
- Save America From Hindutva
- The Religious Nationalisms Project
- The Sikh Coalition
- Ambedkar King Study Circle
