IAMC co-organizes panel discussion on Hindutva at the University of Michigan

On April 18, IAMC partnered with the Indian Muslim Students Association (IMSA) and other student organizations at the University of Michigan to host a teach-in and panel discussion on Hindutva in the United States. Speaking at the event were Safa Ahmed, IAMC Associate Media Director, and Dr. Dheepa Sundaram, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Denver.

Over 50 students attended the teach-in, which focused on identifying Hindutva’s defining myths and talking points, the groups and individuals pushing the Hindutva agenda in the United States, and ways to combat Hindutva propaganda.

Students learned about the history of Hindutva, its founding ideologues’ admiration for Nazism, its parallels with Zionism, atrocities committed against Indian minorities, and Hindutva actors’ alliances with white supremacists and far-right elements in the US. During an interactive discussion portion, speakers unpacked the ways in which Hindutva ideology has infiltrated progressive spaces, adopted the language of anti-racism, weaponized allegations of ‘Hinduphobia’ against critics, and seeks to crush criticism of both Hindutva and Hinduism alive by targeting academics, students, journalists, and activists through legal, online, and sometimes physical harassment.

IAMC plans on hosting several such teach-ins at universities across the country.