- Hindudvesha (or systemic Hinduphobia) is widespread globally, and alarmingly, many Hindus have internalized this prejudice, participating in the demonization of their own culture.
- Anti-Hindu sentiment is perpetuated through academia, media, and organized syndicates, legitimizing real-life hate crimes and attacks against Hindus.
- The anti-Hindu discourse is systematically developed in elite Western academic institutions and disseminated globally, influencing both international perceptions and local narratives in India.
- Despite acknowledging phobias against Abrahamic religions, the UN has yet to recognize Hinduphobia, highlighting a blatant double standard in its approach to religious discrimination.
- Hindu advocacy groups in the US and Canada are making strides in raising awareness and pushing for legislative measures to condemn Hinduphobia, setting a precedent for potential global recognition.
Part I: Understanding the Deep-Rooted Anti-Hindu Sentiment in Society and Media
In September 2023, a prominent politician from South India, Udhayanidhi Stalin, compared Sanatan Dharma with diseases like malaria and dengue and called for its eradication. [1] The political controversy aide, a comment from a prominent politician who also happened to be a sitting Minister, casually calling for the annihilation of Hindu Dharma, hardly elicited any outrage from the Hindu community in Bharat.
Unfortunately, comments calling for the eradication of Sanatan Dharma or Hinduism are not unusual in India. One routinely comes across violent rhetoric targeting practitioners of Hindu Dharma, not just from politicians but from scholars, academicians, and self-anointed intellectuals.
In 2023, Divya Dwivedi, an Associate Professor in Philosophy at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, made derogatory comments against Hinduism during an interview she gave to France 24. “There are two Indias – there is an India of the past and the racialized caste order which oppresses the majority population. Then there is an India of the future, an egalitarian India without caste oppression and Hinduism. That is the India which is not yet represented but is waiting, longing to show its visage to the world”, she said. She reportedly made these comments during a discussion on ‘India’s Moment: What Stakes at Delhi G20 Summit’. [2] [3]
Hindus – particularly the educated variety – have not only been brainwashed into ignoring this phenomenon of rampant Hindudvesha but are increasingly becoming enthusiastic participants in this burgeoning industry of collectively shaming and demonizing Hindus and Hindu dharma.
In 2021, a conference called “Dismantling Global Hindutva” was organized [4]. The conference, organized with the support of numerous prestigious US universities, had many Indian speakers, known for spreading anti-Hindu rhetoric, on its list. The timing of the conference is of special significance; at a time when the world should have been concerned about the takeover of Afghanistan by the radical Islamist jihadi group Taliban, the Western academia seemed more concerned with condemning “Hindutva,” which has no history of orchestrating violence.
Social media platforms like X are full of bot accounts abusing Hindus and Hindu Dharma. These are choc-a-bloc with memes calling Hindus pajeets (racial slur), cow piss drinkers, etc. Hindu Gods and Goddesses are routinely depicted objectionably in art in the name of freedom of expression, Hindu epics are twisted and subverted in literature again in the name of creative expression, and Hindu festivals are constantly problematized and viciously attacked on one pretext or the other.
What’s even more alarming is that Hindu society is increasingly internalizing this vicious phenomenon. Indeed, Hindus – particularly the educated variety – have not only been brainwashed into ignoring this phenomenon of rampant Hindudvesha but are increasingly becoming enthusiastic participants in this burgeoning industry of collectively shaming and demonizing Hindus and Hindu dharma.
Furthermore, Hindudvesha has become so internalized that international organizations like the UN do not feel the urgency to condemn the phenomenon, even though they have passed resolutions condemning hateful behavior against Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.
In Part I of this article, we will analyze the larger context within which Hindudvesha or systemic Hinduphobia operates, decoding the larger narrative that legitimizes the oppression of Hindus both materially (real-life incidents of attacks or hate crimes against Hindus) and discursively (perpetuating Hinduphobia through the academia, media, motivated syndicates, etc.). Part II will discuss the urgent need for the recognition of systemic Hinduphobia by international organizations like the UN.
Hinduphobia, Hindudvesha, or Hindumisia? Hate by any other name…
Terminology matters when it comes to condemning and countering anti-Hindu narratives and violence perpetuated through the academia, media, motivated think tanks, and oppressive and dictatorial regimes. The most common term used to describe this phenomenon is Hinduphobia. According to some sources, the term appeared in public usage as far back as 1883. In recent times, Rajiv Malhotra, the noted author and a pioneer in the research on civilizations, has popularized the use of this term.
A working definition of Hinduphobia was developed in 2021 at the Understanding Hinduphobia conference held at Rutgers University in the US:
Hinduphobia is a set of antagonistic, destructive, and derogatory attitudes and behaviors towards Sanatan Dharma (Hinduism) and Hindus that may manifest as prejudice, fear, or hatred. Hinduphobic rhetoric reduces the entirety of Sanatan Dharma to a rigid, oppressive, and regressive tradition. Prosocial and reflexive aspects of Hindu traditions are ignored or attributed to outside, non-Hindu influences. This discourse actively erases and denies the persecution of Hindus while disproportionately painting Hindus as violent. These stereotypes are used to justify the dissolution, external reformation, and demonization of the range of indigenous Indic knowledge traditions known as Sanatan Dharma. [5]
Another word, perhaps better equipped to convey the sense of abject anti-Hindu hatred operating in both material and discursive domains, is Hindudvesha. Dvesha is a Sanskrit word meaning “hatred,” repulsion,” and “aversion.” Thus, the proponents of Hindudvesha terminology argue that the term” Dvesha” is more effective in characterizing the systemic hatred and prejudice that Hindus are subjected to. The word “phobia” describes a fear of something, but there is nothing about Hindus to be feared. Unlike Islamophobia which is rooted in the context of people’s legitimate fears of radical Islam, the Sharia law, and Jihadi terrorism, Hindu Dharma has no such violent history or background to be fearful about. In the case of Hinduism, more than fear, it is a deep-seated hatred “that both presupposes and concludes that something about the Hindus and Hinduism is irredeemably bad and wrong, evil and demonic.” [6]
The purveyors of Hindudvesha pretend to pursue objective scholarship on Hindus while demonizing, denigrating, and stereotyping Hinduism and its practitioners. They turn the logic upside down by taking it as an axiom that Hinds are inherently evil and dangerous, and thus, the onus of proving themselves innocent is on them. That’s why the systemic Hinduphobia perpetuated through media, academia, think tanks, etc., follows a pattern of exaggerated attempts to portray everything associated with Hinduism as problematic.
Thus, Hindudvesha conveys the sense of systemic Hinduphobia, arguing its proponents more aptly than the term Hinduphobia, which, in line with Islamophobia, presupposes an acute fear of Hinduism and Hindus. In contrast, in the case of Hindus, that fear is carefully constructed by perpetuating Hindudvesha through the media, academia, motivated syndicates, etc.
Yet another term used by some to describe anti-Hindu hatred is Hindumisia. Hindumisia combines the word Hindu with the ancient Greek word “Misos,” which means hatred. Thus, the literal translation of Hindumisia is hatred for Hindus. The proponents of Hindumisia also argue that since the term Hinduphobia technically means “fear of Hindus,” it is more appropriate to use the term Hindumisia, “which indicates an aversion to Hinduism and Hindu culture.” [7]
Perhaps it’s best to use a combination of these terms to present an accurate view and perspective of systemic Hinduphobia, Hindudvesha, or Hindumisia.
What is important is that these terms should be widely disseminated in the global discourse through media, think tanks, academia, etc., eventually leading to a recognition of threats posed by systemic Hinduphobia by international organizations like the UN.
Academia – The Fountainhead of Hinduphobia
Academia is at the root of Hindudvesha. The anti-Hindu discourse is systematically formulated and nurtured using sophisticated mechanisms at the elite academic institutions of the West. This discourse then percolates to Bharat’s elite universities, which act as surrogates for the Western ecosystem regarding social sciences and humanities studies and research.
The toxic anti-Hindu discourse created by the social sciences, humanities, and Indology departments of elite Western universities is further disseminated through multiple channels, such as the mass media, think tank ecosystem, motivated syndicates, social media, etc.
The toxic anti-Hindu discourse created by the social sciences, humanities, and Indology departments of elite Western universities is further disseminated through multiple channels, such as the mass media, think tank ecosystem, motivated syndicates, social media, etc.
In their seminal book, Breaking India: Western Interventions in Dravidian and Dalit fault lines, Rajiv Malhotra and Aravindan Neelakandan trace the early history of anti-Hindu scholarship from the period of colonial Indologists who sowed the seeds of venomous anti-Hindu and anti-Bharat discourse, peddling all kinds of conspiracy theories to divide Hindus along racial and ethnic lines. The book gives a detailed account of how the colonial Indologists manufactured the Aryan and Dravidian racial identities to create faultlines within the Hindu society. The ultimate aim of such scholarship was to create fertile ground for fostering large-scale conversions in India by fostering a Dalit identity that was antithetical to Hindu identity, argue the authors. [8]
The book further gives an exhaustive overview of the Dalit activism discourse developed in India during the post-independence period and its nexus with the missionary ecosystem and reliance on the anti-Hindu Indology scholarship shaped by the colonial Indologists and being further perpetuated by their academic-activist foot soldiers. [9]
The second part of the Breaking India series, Snakes in the Ganga: Breaking India 2.0, overviews the sophisticated ecosystem of the modern breaking India forces through which systemic Hinduphobia is perpetuated. The book gives an exhaustive account of how elite Western universities like Harvard shape the caste narrative and how, in the name of scholarship, the critical race theory is forcefully mapped onto “caste” in the Hindu context to prove that caste is the genesis of all kinds of structural inequality pervading the society including racism. [10]
‘Snakes in the Ganga’ uncovers and analyzes the root of academic Hinduphobia through numerous examples and case studies. It demonstrates the motivated funding trail for grooming social sciences and humanities scholars in elite Bhartiya universities in the tradition of Hinduphobic discourse. It also throws light on the disturbing trend of many Indian billionaires sponsoring Hinduphobic research and studies at various centers of elite Western universities, even though they might be unaware of the dangerous anti-Hindu narrative these academic centers foster. [11]
Yet another seminal book that gives an excellent overview of the trajectory of academic Hinduphobia is Ten Heads of Ravana: A Critique of Hinduphobic Scholars, edited by Rajiv Malhotra and Divya Reddy. The book features a collection of academic essays critiquing the scholarship of prestigious scholars like Romila Thapar, Sheldon Pollock, Michael Witzel, Devdutt Pattanaik, Irfan Habib, Shashi Tharoor, Audrey Truschke, Ramachandra Guha, Kancha Ilaiah, and Wendy Doniger. The essays, through a rigorous analysis of these scholars’ writings and main ideological postulates, demonstrate the inherent Hindudvesha in their writings. From Sanskrit studies to the studies of Hindu epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata and the study of Bharat’s ancient and medieval history, Hindudvesha systematically permeates the academic discourse, the book argues:
The title of this anthology – Ten Heads of Ravana – has been chosen carefully. The use of ‘Ravana’ is intended as a parody and not literally. The metaphorical resemblances are clear: The Historical Ravana disrupted society’s Hindu structures, and the ‘heads’ chosen for this book are considered by Hindus today to be individuals doing something similar but intellectually and not with physical violence. The historical Ravana was brilliant, a great scholar, hard-working, and with immense power at his disposal. The ten scholars featured in this book are powerful in the current academic discourse, have worked diligently most of their lives to develop their intellectual “weapons,” and their impact is not to be trivialized. [12]
How Hinduphobia Goes Mainstream
While the theoretical underpinnings of Hinduphobia are formulated in academia, its dissemination is eagerly and expertly handled by the news and social media, the entertainment industry, organized syndicates, and others of that ilk.
All these agents of hate dissemination function in tandem in a hyperactive mode, constantly churning out anti-Hindu stereotypes. Thus, the lived traumatic experiences of Hindus and the heart-wrenching stories of their persecution are negated and silenced by the vicious demonization of Hinduism. The main function of discursive Hindudvesha spread through these multiple sources is to create legitimate grounds for justifying ‘material Hindudvesha,’ i.e., street-level violence, desecration of places of worship, persecution of Hindus, etc.
Ironically, many organizations that claim to represent the voice of Hindus work covertly to discredit Hindu Dharma and silence Hindu voices. Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR) is one such ‘false flag’ organization, presenting itself as a Hindu voice of resistance against Hindutva, caste, and other forms of oppression.
Caste is a standard trope used by many to discredit Hindu voices and indulge in heavy-handed propaganda against the Hindu ecosystem. Equality Labs is notorious for its caste-based vitriol against Hindus.
Social media is the customary vehicle for the anti-Hindu forces to spread their toxic narrative. The Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) 2022 report provides an eye-opening account of how social media is used to disseminate anti-Hindu disinformation. The report uses quantitative analysis to study the depiction of Hindus across social media platforms like X, telegram, etc. Its primary findings are:
- The portrayal of Hindus as fundamentally evil, dirty, tyrannical, genocidal, etc., in social media space by fringe web communities and state actors alike.
- Anti-Hindu disinformation is masked through the use of slurs, coded language, and ethnic pejoratives.
- Islamist extremist and white supremacist communities regularly disseminate violent and genocidal propaganda and memes against Hindus.
- Rise in anti-Hindus slurs on fringe web communities.
- The use of the racial slur “pajeet” in the context of Hindus rising significantly on mainstream social media platforms.
- State actors use Hinduphobic tropes as part of their large-scale information operations. Case study – Iranian state-sponsored trolls disseminating anti-Hindu stereotypes. [13]
Clearly, the discursive Hinduphobia spread through social media has a very specific purpose: To support and justify real-life acts of violence against Hindus and their places of worship.
Importantly, NCRI, through its various studies, has demonstrated that extremist content targeting vulnerable communities on social media is a leading indicator of real-world violence against those communities. One such study accurately predicted that threats to Jews in the social media space preceded real-life acts of violence against Jews. A similar study titled “Inauthentic Cyber Activity from Khalistani Extremist Accounts Precedes and Amplifies Attacks on Hindu Temples and Government Buildings,” released in 2023, established a strong correlation between online threats and offline violence in the context of Hindus.
Clearly, the discursive Hinduphobia spread through social media has a very specific purpose: To support and justify real-life acts of violence against Hindus and their places of worship.
Part II: Human Rights for All …Except Hindus
The 1971 Bengali Hindu genocide undertaken by the Pakistan military against the ethnic Bengali and Hindu religious communities in East Pakistan led to the displacement of 1.5 million Bengalis by the end of March 1971. Ten million Bengalis, the majority of whom were Hindus, had fled to India by November 1971. Although exact figures are difficult to obtain, an estimated 3 million people were killed and 2 million women raped during the 1971 Bengali Hindu genocide. [14]
Then there is the mass exodus and genocide of Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s, which has failed to elicit any response from international bodies like the UN. On the contrary, the anti-Hindu ecosystem tries to create the impression that all talk about the genocide of Kashmiri pandits is a conspiracy against Islam and that all was indeed well and peaceful. When Bollywood film director Vivek Agnihotri’s hard-hitting film “The Kashmir Files” was released, there was an immediate backlash against it by anti-Hindu lobbies, accusing it of peddling propaganda.
A significant breakthrough finally happened in 2022 when the US-based non-profit International Commission for Human Rights and Religious Freedom (ICHRRF) called upon the Indian government to recognize the 1989-1991 atrocities on Kashmiri Hindus as an act of genocide. The commission also urged other international bodies, governments, and human rights organizations to officially acknowledge the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s and the atrocities committed against them as genocide. [15]
Interestingly, the UN has entertained resolutions […] to censure India at various UN forums for the revocation of Article 370. However, this august body has shown no interest in taking up the issue of the Kashmiri Hindu exodus from the valley and the atrocities inflicted on them.
In January 2024, three UK members of Parliament, including Jim Shannon, Bob Blackman, and Virendra Sharma, tabled a motion in the British Parliament to commemorate the attacks and displacements of Kashmiri Pandits from Jammu and Kashmir in the 1990s. The motion condemned the desecration of their holy sites and expressed concern about the fact that Kashmiris who fled persecution still await justice and a recognition of the atrocities committed against them. [16] [17]
Interestingly, the UN has entertained resolutions over the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, and China and Pakistan have made repeated attempts to censure India at various UN forums for the revocation of Article 370. However, this august body has shown no interest in taking up the issue of the Kashmiri Hindu exodus from the valley and the atrocities inflicted on them. While this august international body has seen it fit to condemn Islamophobia and antisemitism and observes an International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Jewish Holocaust, it has shown no urgency to acknowledge the 1991 Kashmiri Hindu genocide.
Hindus in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh continue to be persecuted at an alarming rate. Over 700,000 Hindus and Sikhs reportedly resided in Afghanistan in the 1970s; the number has now dwindled to a few hundred. Under the Taliban regime, which has imposed Sharia law in Afghanistan, the non-Muslim minority in the country is less than 1 percent. [18]
Forced conversions, abduction, rape, and forced marriages of Hindu girls in Pakistan continue unabated. Hindus are routinely tortured and persecuted in Bangladesh, with Hindu temples being routinely vandalized and murtis broken. Yet, one doesn’t see any discussion on these issues in international forums. Not only is the widespread Hindudvesha overlooked by the international community, but it is also perpetuated through the dissemination of pre-emptive false narratives, suggesting that Hindus raising their concerns are merely engaging in propaganda. Thus, the voices of Hindus are doubly silenced, as discursive Hindudvesha is used to cover the reality of material Hindudvesha.
Furthermore, the story of the massive Hindu genocide by Islamic invaders over 1,200 years starting in the early 8th century has been silenced by motivated historians:
When one thinks of mass murder, Hitler comes to mind. If not Hitler, then Tojo, Stalin, or Mao. Credit is given to the 20th-century totalitarians as the worst species of tyranny to have ever risen. However, the alarming truth is that Islam has killed more than any of these and may surpass all of them combined in numbers and cruelty. The enormity of the slaughters of the ‘religion of peace’ is so far beyond comprehension that even honest historians overlook the scale. [19]
The Incredible Shrinking Hindu Demographics
A recent study by the Economic Advisory Council to the Indian Prime Minister (EAC-PM) has revealed an alarming decline in the Hindu population the world over. The study analyzes the shifts in religious demographics in countries worldwide from 1950 to 2015. According to this analysis, the population share of the Hindu population of India saw a sharp decline of 7.8 percent between 1950 and 2015, and the population share of minority religious groups, Christianity and Islam, witnessed a 5.3 percent and 43.15 percent rise, respectively, during the same period. [20]
The report further notes that the Hindu population in Bangladesh declined by 66 percent from 1950 to 2015; that is, Hindus, who constituted 23 percent of the country’s total population in 1950, dwindled to 8 percent in 2015. In Pakistan, the Hindu population declined by 80 percent from 1950 to 2015, with the Hindu population share in the country shrinking from 13 percent to barely 2 percent. According to the study, the Hindu population experienced similar declines in Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Nepal as well. [21]
The shockingly high percentage of decline in Hindu population share in countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh highlights the alarming rates of persecution and forced conversions of Hindus in these countries. This phenomenon hasn’t received any attention whatsoever from the international community.
UN’s Selective Outrage: Hindu Persecution Not Important
Despite the plethora of evidence regarding Hinduphobia, the UN has turned a blind eye to its existence. This stands at complete odds with its stance on hateful discourse on Islam and Judaism. While this global body strongly and actively condemns Islamophobia and antisemitism, one wonders why it has remained tone-deaf to Hinduphobia.
While this global body [the United Nations] strongly and actively condemns Islamophobia and antisemitism, one wonders why it has remained tone-deaf to Hinduphobia.
In January 2022, India’s then-UN envoy, T.S. Tirumurthi, highlighted this discriminatory posture on hateful discourse against Hindus, Buddhists, and Sikhs:
“Another trend which has of late become prominent is highlighting certain religious phobias. The UN has highlighted some of them over the years, namely those based on Islamophobia, Christianophobia, and antisemitism, the three Abrahamic religions. These three find mention in the Global Counter-terrorism Strategy. But new phobias, hatred, or bias against other major religions of the world need to also be fully recognized. The emergence of contemporary forms of religiophobia, especially anti-Hindu, anti-Buddhist, and anti-Sikh phobias, is a matter of serious concern and needs the attention of the UN and all its member states to address the threat”, he said. [22]
Tirumurti also observed how several UN member states had tried to categorize acts of terrorism based on religious and political motivations. He strongly critiqued the attempt by some member states to define terrorism through value-laden categories such as “right-wing extremism,” “violent nationalism,” “racially and ethnically motivated violent extremism,” etc. [23] As evident, this sort of labeling is a clear attempt to prepare a ground for underplaying and even justifying certain radical forms of terrorism while further perpetuating phobias against religions like Hinduism by peddling anti-Hindu conspiracy theories using phrases like “Hindutva nationalism,” ” saffron terror,” etc.
In March 2024, India again made its position clear by abstaining from voting on a draft UN resolution titled “Measures to combat Islamophobia”. The resolution introduced by Pakistan at the UN General Assembly and co-sponsored by China condemned the incitement to discrimination, and hostility, or violence against Muslims, it also requested the UN-Secretary General to appoint a United National Special Envoy to combat Islamophobia.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj, emphasized that while India acknowledged that the issue of Islamophobia was significant, adopting such a resolution exclusively condemning the phobia against one religion to the exclusion of others could result in a number of resolutions dividing the UN into religious camps. She pointed asked the UN to realize that such phobias extended beyond Abrahamic religions. “Clear evidence shows that over decades, followers of non-Abrahamic religions have also been affected by religiophobia. This has led to the emergence of contemporary forms of religiophobia, particularly anti-Hindu, anti-Buddhist, and anti-Sikh sentiments”, she said.
Kamboj provided documentary evidence regarding the phobias faced by people of Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist communities. “The destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas, violations of Gurudwara premises, massacres of Sikh pilgrims in Gurudwaras, attacks on temples, all the glorification of breaking idols in temples all contribute to the rise to contemporary forms of religiophobia against non-Abrahamic religions,” she said. [24]
Nevertheless, the resolution was adopted by the UN General Assembly with 115 nations voting in favor, none against, and 44 abstentions. It is a highly problematic development because the wording of the resolution is so vague and open-ended that it could classify anything as Islamophobia:
“[…]condemns the incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence against Muslims as manifested in the increasing number of incidents desecration of their holy book, attacks on mosques, sites and shrines and other acts of religious intolerance, negative stereotyping, hatred and violence against Muslims.” [25]
Islamists routinely conflate criticism of Islam with disrespect for Muslims, and that’s where the problem lies. They could easily misuse this resolution to justify a range of actions, from radical Islamic terrorism to demanding the implementation of Sharia law, further undermining women’s rights under the guise of “respecting Islam.” Additionally, it could be used to criticize a country’s decision to implement uniform laws for its population or to enforce standard dress codes in public institutions. Indeed, any attempt by Hindus to raise their voice against issues connected to radical Islam could be conveniently classified as “Islamophobia,” further silencing Hindu voices.
The Road Ahead
Although the UN has yet to pay attention to Hinduphobia, Hindu advocacy groups worldwide have made sustained efforts to raise awareness of the threats posed by it. Certain groups in the U.S. and Canada have been particularly vocal about addressing systemic Hinduphobia. These initiatives seem to be paying off.
In April 2023, Georgia became the first US state to pass a resolution condemning Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu bigotry. The resolution emphasized that Hindu Americans had become victims of hate crimes over the past few decades and that Hinduphobia was institutionalized and exacerbated by a section of the academia that supports the dismantling of Hindu Dharma and accused the cultural practices and sacred texts of Hinduism of perpetuating oppression and violence. [26]
In April 2024, U.S. Congressman Shri Thanedar introduced a resolution condemning Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu hate crimes in the House of Representatives. The resolution celebrates Hindu Americans and condemns attacks on Hindu places of worship, Hinduphobia, and other forms of anti-Hindu bigotry and hatred. It also emphasizes that Hindu Americans face stereotyping and a barrage of disinformation targeting their heritage and symbols despite their immense positive contributions to the US. It further raises the issue of bullying of Hindu Americans in schools and university campuses on account of their cultural and religious practices.
It’s a first-of-its-kind resolution that draws attention to the issue of rising hate crimes against Hindu Americans in the US, an issue most mainstream media stays silent about. The resolution cites the US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Hate Crimes Statistics Report, which shows that anti-Hindu hate crimes targeting Hindus and their places of worship are annually on the rise in the US. The resolution raises the following demands concerning the condemnation of Hinduphobia:
- Celebrate the contributions of Hindus and Hinduism to the US.
- Declare the US as a place that welcomes the diversity brought forth by Hindu Americans.
- Condemn Hinduphobia and all forms of anti-Hindu hatred, bigotry, intolerance, etc. [27]
In Canada, the petition to recognize Hinduphobia as a form of discrimination was tabled in the country’s House of Commons in November 2023. Petition e-4507, tabled by the Member of Parliament Melissa Lantsman, garnered more than 25,000 signatures on November 2. Initiated by various Hindu organizations in Canada and endorsed by the Canadian Organization for Hindu Heritage Education (CoHHE), the petition highlights instances of microaggressions and targeted hate speech against Canadian Hindus. It also highlighted the issue of rising temple attacks. [28]
The Hinduphobia petition e-4507 was first launched in July by the CoHHE director Vijay Kumar Jain. Advocates for the petition argue that hate speech and various other hate crimes against Hindus in Canada have intensified in the wake of the rising diplomatic crisis between India and Canada following the murder of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. [29] Hindus in Canada are being increasingly targeted following Nijjar’s death. Videos threatening and abusing Hindus and asking them to leave Canada have become a commonplace occurrence. In one such video, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the general counsel of Sikhs for Justice, can be seen asking Hindus to leave Canada.
The recognition of the threat posed by Hindudvesha through legislative mechanisms in the US and Canada will go a long way towards leading other Western countries to introduce similar resolutions. Such measures might eventually lead the UN to acknowledge Hinduphobia, just as it recognizes Islamophobia, Christianophobia, and Antisemitism. It would be a long-overdue step towards fair and equal recognition of all forms of religious discrimination.
Citations
[1] Udhayanidhi Stalin, MK Stalin: MK Stalin’s Son’s “Eradicate Sanatana Dharma” Remark Sparks Huge Row (ndtv.com); https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/udhayanidhi-stalin-mk-stalin-sanatan-dharma-like-dengue-malaria-mk-stalins-son-triggers-row-4354704
[2] IIT-Delhi professor’s remarks on Hinduism spark row | Delhi News – Times of India (indiatimes.com); https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/iit-d-professors-remarks-on-hinduism-spark-row/articleshow/103563025.cms
[3] IIT Delhi professor Divya Dwivedi calls for wiping out Hinduism from India at G20 (opindia.com); https://www.opindia.com/2023/09/iit-delhi-professor-divya-dwivedi-speaks-of-eradicating-hinduism-from-india-at-g20/
[4] Hatred of Hindutva may lead to Hindumisia (newindianexpress.com); https://www.newindianexpress.com/opinions/columns/2021/Aug/25/hatred-of-hindutva-may-lead-to-hindumisia-2349292.html
[5] Hinduphobia – Hindu American Foundation ; https://www.hinduamerican.org/hinduphobia
[6] About Hindudvesha initiative – Hindu Dvesha; https://stophindudvesha.org/about-hindudvesha/
[7] Hindumisia in Indian Academia – Indiafacts; https://www.indiafacts.org.in/hindumisia-in-indian-academia/
[8] Breaking India: Western Interventions in Dravidian and Dalit Faultlines by Rajiv Malhotra & Aravindan Neelakandan,
[9] Ibid.
[10] Snakes in the Ganga: Breaking India 2.0 by Rajiv Malhotra and Vijaya Viswanathan
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ten Heads of Ravana: A Critique of Hinduphobic Scholars Edited by Rajiv Malhotra & Divya Reddy, p. viii
[13] NCRI-Anti-Hindu-Disinformation-v2.pdf (networkcontagion.us); https://networkcontagion.us/wp-content/uploads/NCRI-Anti-Hindu-Disinformation-v2.pdf
[14] 1971 Bengali Hindu Genocide – Hindu American Foundation; https://www.hinduamerican.org/1971-bangladesh-genocide
[15] ICHRRF officially recognises the Kashmiri Hindu Genocide, 1989-1991 | Current Affairs News National – Business Standard (business-standard.com); https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/ichrrf-officially-recognises-the-kashmiri-hindu-genocide-1989-1991-122032800405_1.html
[16] Three British MPs table motion for Kashmiri Pandits’ cause (ptinews.com); https://www.ptinews.com/story/international/three-british-mps-table-motion-for-kashmiri-pandits-cause/1223592
[17] Three British MPs table motion for Kashmiri Pandits’ cause – The Week; https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/international/2024/01/18/fes30-uk-bill-kashmir-genocide.html
[18] Persecution of Hindus in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan – INSIGHT UK; https://insightuk.org/persecution-of-hindus-in-pakistan-bangladesh-and-afghanistan#:~:text=The%20persecution%20continued%20through%20the,just%20about%208%25%20in%202022.
[19] Mike Conrad, The Greatest Murder Machine in History; https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2014/05/the_greatest_murder_machine_in_history.html#ixzz5MlGTaPYS
[20] Share-of-Religious-Minorities-EAC-PM-Working-Paper.pdf (eacpm.gov.in); https://eacpm.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Share-of-Religious-Minorities-EAC-PM-Working-Paper.pdf
[21] Ibid.
[22] Acknowledge ‘Hinduphobia’, India urges UN | India News – Times of India (indiatimes.com); https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/acknowledge-hinduphobia-india-urges-un/articleshow/89028174.cms
[23] UN: India calls for recognition of hatred against Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs (opindia.com); https://www.opindia.com/2022/01/india-calls-for-recognition-of-hatred-and-bias-against-hindus-buddhists-and-sikhs-united-nations-ts-tirumurti/
[24] ‘Others also affected by religiophobia’: India abstains on vote in UNGA on Islamophobia | India News – Times of India (indiatimes.com); https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/others-also-affected-by-religiophobia-india-abstains-vote-in-unga-on-islamophobia/articleshow/108540113.cms
[25] https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/ltd/n24/065/18/pdf/n2406518.pdf?token=7TBm4K45i3yXOL6b72&fe=true
[26] Georgia first state to pass Hinduphobia resolution (newindianexpress.com); https://www.newindianexpress.com/thesundaystandard/2023/Apr/02/georgia-first-state-to-pass-hinduphobia-resolution-2561735.html
[27] Text of H.Res. 1131: Celebrating Hindu Americans, and condemning attacks on Hindu places of worship, Hinduphobia, and anti-Hindu … (Introduced version) – GovTrack.us; https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/118/hres1131/text#google_vignette
[28] Hinduphobia petition tabled and awaiting government response – New Canadian Media; https://www.newcanadianmedia.ca/hinduphobia-petition-tabled-and-awaiting-government-response/
[29] Canadian Hindu groups reinforce call for Hinduphobia bill amid escalating India-Canada standoff – New Canadian Media; https://www.newcanadianmedia.ca/canadian-hindu-groups-reinforce-call-for-hinduphobia-bill-amid-escalating-india-canada-standoff/