US-Based Organizations Are Spending Millions To Push Hindu Rightwing Agenda, Report Finds
A 93-page report released by South Asia Citizen Web reveals that similar to white supremacist groups, Hindu supremacist groups are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to influence policy in the United States through extensive lobbying and political donations. The All India Movement (AIM) for Seva, Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of America, India Development and Relief Fund, Param Shakti Peeth, PYP Yog Foundation, Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, and Sewa International, were all highlighted as part of this problem.
The report, titled “Hindu Nationalist Influence in the United States, 2014-2021,” refers to these Hindu right-wing organizations as the Sangh Parivar, a network of groups that supports Hindu supremacism in India while pushing a Brahmin Hindu-centric view of India in the United States.
The top Sangh groups in the US, which are linked to fascist Hindu organizations in India, enjoy widespread influence. The Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, linked to India’s paramilitary Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has 222 US chapters, impacting over 45,000 families in 2019. HSS volunteers also visited 100 Congressional offices in 2018.
The report added that Sangh groups “spent at least $158.9 million on their programming [from 2001-2019], sending much of it to groups in India,” including “$13 million impacting US academic institutions” and over $117,000 donated to Congress member Raja Krishnamoorthi.
“Sangh groups in the diaspora are important to the enterprise because these entities operate as influence groups on the more powerful middle-class and wealthy communities, disseminating and amplifying shared supremacist worldviews,” said the report.
BJP Spokesperson Spews Hate Speech Against Prophet Muhammad, Muslim Beliefs
Nupur Sharma, spokesperson for Modi’s Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), spewed an anti-Muslim hate speech while appearing on a segment on the news channel TimesNow, going as far as to make disparaging comments about Muslim beliefs, the Quran, and Prophet Muhammad.
Sharma’s hateful comments were made seconds after she alleged that the Muslim community was insulting Hindus and Hinduism by defending the integrity of the Gyanvapi mosque, which Hindu extremists have falsely claimed contains Hindu symbols and therefore should be demolished.
A police complaint has now been registered against Sharma over the “charges of hurting religious feelings, promoting enmity, and causing public mischief.” However, due to India’s trend of offering Hindu extremists impunity regardless of their crimes, it is unlikely that Sharma will face consequences for making disparaging and inflammatory comments to stoke communal violence.
Muslim Minors Detained In Khargone Subjected To Assault, Food Deprivation
Muslim minors wrongfully arrested in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone city following last month’s outbreak of Hindu-instigated violence have reportedly been subjected to brutal conditions in juvenile detention centers. Mirza, 17, reported that he and other minor boys faced “physical violence, targeted harassment, and denial of food and water.”
“[Hindu devotional songs] were played on a mobile phone and we were made to sing those songs. We were given the Gita Gyan and were made to read it,” said Mirza. “There were 12 of us there and more boys in general, we had to make do by drinking water as we were not fed adequately. They made us do chores, asked us to sit like chicken and then beat us up too.”
He added that they were disparaged for their religious beliefs too, saying, “We told them about our practices, but we were told ‘you all eat on the same plate at weddings to conspire.’”
“Youth were kept in the correctional homes longer than the stipulated time period and the boys have also reported violence in custody,” said M.A. Khan, advocate for the minors.
Meanwhile, Hindu supremacists who were responsible for stone pelting, harassing Muslims, breaking into homes, and storming Muslim neighborhoods while armed continue to remain scott free.
Muslim Student Beaten For Wearing Skullcap In Karnataka College
A police complaint was lodged against seven Hindu extremists in connection with an incident in which Naveed Hasan Saab Tharathari, a Muslim student, was beaten and insulted when he arrived to school wearing a skullcap, a headwear commonly worn by Muslim men.
Naveed reported that on February 18, when he arrived at his college in Karnataka state wearing a skullcap, he was insulted and prevented from entering.
Anti-Muslim discrimination against students is ongoing in Karnataka state, where the BJP-controlled government seeks to police Muslim students’ dress, prayers, and religious expression.
7 Petitions Seeking To Lift Protection From Historic Mosques Filed In Supreme Court
Hindu supremacists have now filed seven petitions in the Supreme Court against the Places of Worship 1991 Act, which protects the religious integrity of structures, in an attempt to tear that protection away from India’s historic mosques over baseless claims that the mosques were once temples.
If the Supreme Court overturns the Places of Worship Act, mosques and monuments throughout the nation could be demolished and replaced with Hindu temples in an attempt to completely erase India’s Muslim history.
