LA Times: Part of the Hinduphobic Cabal

LA Times, like much of the Western media, has been pushing a Hinduphobic narrative for the past several years. Geeta Sikand, a voice of the Hindu community in the Los Angeles area, has written 17 letters to the editor over the last two years objecting to some of the most outrageous anti-Hindu articles that appeared in the LA Times. Not a single one of them has been acknowledged, let alone published!

On the other hand, this newspaper has no problem publishing this author’s material when the subject matter is other than calling out Hinduphobic content in the paper. See, for instance, [1-5]

Letter 17 – No Response

Date: Sun, Jun 19, 2022 at 9:41 AM
Subject: Los Angeles Times June 18th, 2022 by Sheikh Saaliq “A rallying cry for India’s Hindu nationalists” by Sheikh Saaliq
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>

Dear Editor

I, a Hindu-American, have been consistently calling out the LA Times for the past several years for its biased reporting that perpetuates Hindu phobia. Your newspaper is bent on pushing anti-Hindu propaganda at the cost of hurting the sentiments of the Hindu-Americans. Author Sheikh Saaliq (a Muslim) has cited author Audrey Truschke (a Christian Missionary), who is fully bent upon pushing her own Hinduphobic narratives. Of note, hatred for the tyrant Emperor Aurangzeb extends among both Sikhs and Hindus for the execution of their Guru Tegh Bahadur in 1675 because he refused to convert to Islam. Of note, prior to Modi’s rule, the teaching of India’s history was manipulated and distorted with an ecosystem of lies. Like the rightful resurrection of Black History by the Woke, there is a renaissance for the revival of Hindu history.

Geeta Sikand, Irvine, CA

Letter 16 – No Response

Date: Mon, May 23, 2022 at 8:43 AM
Subject: Re Los Angeles Times 5-22-2022 “India Rebuffs U.S. call for united front” by Noah Bierman
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>

Dear Editor

I and my fellow Hindu-American community members are hurting and seething because Noah Bierman repeatedly keeps on pushing a Hinduphobia anti-Modi false narrative that Modi’s government discriminates against people of other faiths. He has deliberately neglected to share with the Times readers the important findings of a new Pew Research Center report on “Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation.” Key findings were: 89% of Muslims felt free to practice their religion, as did 91% of Hindus, 89% of Christians, 82% of Sikhs, 93% of Buddhists, 85% of Jains, and 91% of the overall population in India. Of note, the Pew survey covered nearly all of India’s states, conducting face-to-face interviews with 30,000 adults in 17 languages during 2019 and 2020. False allegations by the LA Times must stop NOW!

Geeta Sikand, Irvine CA 92620

Letter 15 – No Response

Date: Wed, Mar 9, 2022, at 1:39 PM

Subject: Los Angeles Times March 8th, 2022 “India’s future as a secular state is in jeopardy” by Parth MN and David Pierson
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>

Dear Editor

This appalling one-sided article about India’s secular democracy being under threat makes several claims that are not based on the facts.

Yesterday, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (a devout Muslim) expressed gratitude to India’s Prime Minister Modi for rescuing its Muslim citizens from Ukraine. (swarajyamag.com)
In December, the Yogi government rightfully arrested the speakers of the anti-muslim “hate speech,” and they remain behind bars.
Many Muslim leaders give hate speeches frequently targeting Hindus, such as the “Owaisi brothers” in Hyderabad, India.
The Muslim population in India grew from 10% in 1947 to 15% in 2021. On the contrary, in Pakistan, the Hindu and Sikh populations decreased from 10% to under 3% due to genocide and forced conversions.
Genocide and ethnic cleansing of Hindus from Kashmir despite Hindus being the original inhabitants of Kashmir.

Geeta Sikand, Irvine CA

Letter 14 – No Response

From: Geeta Sikand <[email protected]>
Date: Fri, Sep 24, 2021 at 8:59 AM
Subject: LA Times Noah Bierman’s 9-24-2021 article “Harris broaches human rights in historic talks with India’s Modi”
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>

Dear Editor

I am a forty-year-old reader of the LA Times. I am appalled that Noah Bierman’s LA Times coverage of Indian Prime Minister Modi’s visit regarding religion and human rights was totally remiss. He omitted key findings of the new Pew Research Center report on “Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation.” This survey examined the religious identity, nationalism, and tolerance in Indian society under Modi’s leadership. A key finding was that 89% of Muslims felt free to practice their religion, as did 91% of Hindus, 89% of Christians, 82% of Sikhs, 93% of Buddhists, 85% of Jains, and 91% of the overall Indian population. Conducted in 17 languages, it covered nearly all of India’s states and union territories with face-to-face interviews of 29,999 adults during 2019 and 2020 – prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. It behooves the LA Times to provide balanced reporting!

Geeta Sikand, Irvine

Letter 13 – No Response

From: Geeta Sikand <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, Dec 27, 2021 at 12:50 PM
Subject: L A Times 12-26-2021 India’s oppressed had this point of pride, now marred by D Pierson and Parth MN

To: [email protected] <[email protected]>

This article is a perfect example of propaganda that weaves half-truths into a whole lie to spread Hinduphobia. The authors falsely state that the caste system dates back to more than 2,000 years ago and is based on Hindu texts. This is a dangerous lie because the caste system was, in fact, created by the British Colonialists on January 4th, 1844. * They used it to exploit Hindu society by creating discord while they ruled over India for over 200 years. The literal translation of the word “Caste” is not found anywhere in the Indian language. “Varna” (found in the Indian language) means the “vocation of an individual or a family.” “Varna” is similar to the dynamic Vocational Classification System practiced in the United States, such as serving in academia, agriculture, janitorial, military, spiritual, and other services.

Geeta Sikand, Irvine CA

Letter 12 – No Response

From: Geeta Sikand <[email protected]>
Date: Thu, Aug 5, 2021 at 1:53 PM
Subject: LA Times August 2nd 2021 “India evaluates ties to a changed US” by Tracy Wilkinson
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>

Dear Editor

I take umbrage at Wilkinson’s unfounded criticism of Indian Prime Minister Modi alleging religious intolerance. The recent PEW Survey* conducted in India between 2019 and 2020 concluded, “People in all six major religious groups overwhelmingly say they are very free to practice their faiths, and most say that people of other faiths also are very free to practice their own religion.” “Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation” is Pew Research Center’s most comprehensive, in-depth exploration of Indian public opinion to date. For this survey, the PEW research center conducted 29,999 face-to-face interviews in 17 languages, with adults ages 18 and older living in 26 Indian states and three union territories. The sample includes interviews with 22,975 Hindus, 3,336 Muslims, 1,782 Sikhs, 1,011 Christians, 719 Buddhists, and 109 Jains. Interviews for this nationally representative survey were conducted from Nov. 17, 2019, to March 23, 2020.

*https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/06/29/key-findings-about-religion-in-india/?amp=1

Geeta Sikand, 2 Trenton, Irvine CA

Letter 11 – No Response

From: Geeta Sikand <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, Aug 2, 2021 at 8:33 AM
Subject: LA Times July 31, 2021 “Woman’s slaying sparks outcry in Pakistan” by Kathy Gannon
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>

Kudos to the LA Times and to Kathy Gannon for exposing Pakistan’s silent epidemic of attacks on women. It also behooves the LA Times to expose the appalling Pakistani practice of forced religious conversions of Hindu*, Sikh**, and Christian*** minority women to Islam. This common practice of forced religious conversion of minorities to Islam is a growing menace in Pakistan. The common story is….. a minority girl is kidnapped at gunpoint, kept in custody for 2-3 days, forced to record her statement on camera saying she has willingly converted, married off to men who are twice her age, and is subjected to rape. The LA Times would be remiss if it did not expose this menace.

Geeta Sikand, Irvine CA

References

Letter 10 – No Response

From: Geeta Sikand <[email protected]>
Date: Thu, Jul 1, 2021 at 7:16 AM
Subject: letter to LA Times June 30th 2021 “Idyllic island life ends when India sends a new boss” by Pierson and Torgalkar
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>

Dear Editor

Allegations by Pierson and Torgalkar in their witch-hunt statement, “Under the Modi government, Muslims have been marginalized in a country where they make up 14% of the population,” reek of bias. A new Pew Research Center report, based on a face-to-face survey of 29,999 Indian adults fielded between late 2019 and early 2020 – prior to the COVID-19 pandemic – examined the religious identity, nationalism, and tolerance in Indian society. The survey was conducted by local interviewers in 17 languages and covered nearly all of India’s states and union territories. A key finding of this in-depth exploration of public opinion in “Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation” is that 89% of Muslims felt free to practice their religion, as did 91% of Hindus, 89% of Christians, 82% of Sikhs, 93% of Buddhists and 85% of Jains. Interviews for this nationally representative survey were conducted from Nov. 17, 2019, to March 23, 2020.

Geeta Sikand, Irvine CA

Letter 9 – No Response

From: Geeta Sikand <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, Jun 8, 2021 at 6:48 AM
Subject: 6-5-2021 LA Times Op-ed Opinion “Living and Dying with COVID in India’s Caste System” by Mona Mohan
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>

Dear Editor

I felt the pain described in the op-ed article by Mohan, but blaming it on India’s “Casteism” is a deliberate attempt to mislead the reader by creating a false anti-Modi/anti-India narrative. The author rightfully describes the disparity in access to health care between the haves and have-nots in India, but it is NOT based on Casteism. Furthermore, the Government of India has set aside specialized quotas for giving preferences to people of lower caste to attain jobs and also college admissions, including in the fields of medicine and engineering. Of note, starting from elementary school through college, all education in government institutions is free of cost to the have-nots irrespective of caste because it is subsidized by the Government of India.

Geeta Sikand, Irvine CA 92620

Letter 8 – No Response

From: Geeta Sikand <[email protected]>
Date: Sun, Mar 28, 2021 at 9:43 AM
Subject: LA Times March 27th, 2021 “The Himalayas on the edge of a climate crisis” by Benjamin Parkin
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Cc: <[email protected]>

Parkin has pulled a red herring with his statement about Disha Ravi’s arrest for sedition in this article. Disha Ravi (and Great Thunberg) were paid heavily by the organizers of the Farmers Protest for launching a false social media campaign on Twitter against the government of India. A Tool Kit was provided to them in advance to launch a false campaign. It FALSELY planned to allege that acts of violence were committed by the government of India during the “Farmers Protest.” Disha Ravi’s arrest for sedition did not belong in a conversation on the Himalayan climate crisis except to falsely target the government of India. Instead, could the LA Times launch an investigation of the above? Could the LA Times inform its readers about India’s supply of COVID-19 fighting vaccines to the world, including South Africa, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, Maldives, and Sri Lanka, among others?

Geeta Sikand, Irvine CA

Letter 7 – No Response

From: Geeta Sikand <[email protected]>
Date: Sun, Feb 28, 2021 at 10:05 AM
Subject: LA Times 2-25-2021 by Sheikh Saaliq “A year on, India’s riot victims await justice” Page A3
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>

Sheikh Saaliq would do well to heed the facts of India’s Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). CAA does not discriminate against Muslims. It was enacted in 2019 to give citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Christians, and Jewish refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan (Islamic countries). They fled to India rather than convert to the Islamic faith. CAA allows them to change their status from refugees to citizens of India. Even the United States has a similar law for people from Iran who are of non-Islamic faith.

Geeta Sikand, Irvine CA

Letter 6 – No Response

From: Geeta Sikand <[email protected]>
Date: Fri, Feb 12, 2021 at 9:45 AM
Subject: Re LA Times 2-11-2021 Noah Bierman’s article “Building a brand on her aunt’s name?”
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>

Dear Editor

I agree with Noah Bierman. I am appalled that Meena Harris is building her own brand by mixing politics and her Aunt’s name. She is tweeting against India’s farm laws reform due to her ignorance. Reform of India’s Farm laws will benefit the poor farmers of India. The International Monetary Fund* has stated that these reforms will stimulate India’s economy. President Biden** has welcomed these reforms. These reforms will also prevent food wastage, which is rampant at this time. The protesting “farmers” are not the poor farmers of India. They are the middlemen and the rich farmers who have been profiteering from buying from the poor farmers at much lower prices. Secondly, as a Hindu American, I am enraged at her comments on Twitter about “Violent Hindu Extremism.” Hindus are the most tolerant and secular people because our religion teaches us that “the whole world is our family.”

Geeta Sikand, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Irvine, CA

Letter 5 – No Response

From: Geeta Sikand <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, Nov 10, 2020 at 5:56 AM
Subject: Re LA Times November 9, 2020, Page B “Muslim voters seek to capitalize on record turnout”
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>

Dear Editor

When President-Elect Biden includes a Muslim liaison for the white house, it would be critical to have white house liaisons from other religious groups, including Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, and Sikhs, among others. No religious group should be left behind. The United States is a multiethnic and multi-religious country so there should be no favors to one religious group over another.

Geeta Sikand, Member, Hindu American Foundation, Irvine CA 92620

Letter 4 – No Response

From: Geeta Sikand <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, Nov 16, 2020 at 10:46 AM
Subject: LA Times 11-14-2020 “For Some, Harris’ Rise Recalls Heroes of Diwali” by Anita Chabria
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>

Dear Editor

Big kudos to the LA Times and to Anita Chabria for her article about the Hindu Diwali festival’s celebration of good over evil, light over darkness, and defeat of ignorance through knowledge. Diwali festival is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs. In this age of passionate debate and deliberate attempts to malign Hinduism by some groups, it was indeed refreshing to read this article so rich in diversity and devoid of “Hindu-phobic” innuendos. Another good resource for the LA Times and for Ms. Chabria is to check out the website: https://www.hinduamerican.org/diwali-toolkit

Sincerely

Geeta Sikand, Member, Hindu American Foundation, Founder, Asian Indian Women’s Group of Orange County

Letter 3 – No Response

From: Geeta Sikand <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, Mar 23, 2020 at 11:39 AM
Subject: LA Times 3-22-2020 “Experts fear India could see a devastating virus outbreak” by Sheshank Bengali and Parth M.N.
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Cc: <[email protected]>, Thornton, Paul <[email protected]>

As a Hindu American reader, I am deeply offended by several inaccurate and anti-Hindu statements by Bengali and Parth. See below.

Column 1 Paragraph 1, lines 5-6: Current statement: the mythological birthplace of god Ram.
Recommendation: Delete mythological. We Hindus believe it is a fact.
Correct statement: the birthplace of the god Ram.
Column 3 Paragraph 3, lines 17-20: Current statement: Hindu extremists in 1992 tore down a mosque, setting off one of the worst eruptions of communal violence in India in recent decades.

Recommendation: Provide a balanced background of the temple-mosque controversy between Hindus and Muslims.
Correct statement “Hindu extremists in 1992 tore down a mosque that was built by the mogul Emperor Barber by tearing down an existing Hindu temple dedicated to the god Ram.

Bengali and Parth should do balanced research and refrain from consistently offending Hindu sentiments.

Geeta Sikand, Member, Hindu-American Foundation, Irvine CA

Letter 2 – No Response

From: Geeta Sikand <[email protected]>
Date: Thu, Feb 27, 2020 at 9:53 AM
Subject: Re LA Times February 26th 2020 “Trump won’t criticize India’s new law” by Eli Stokols and Noah Bierman
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>

Regarding India’s recent Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) legislation, the biggest problem is that Stokols and Bierman have failed to research the facts. The aim of CAA is to protect people of all non-Muslim faiths, such as Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Christians, and Jews who have already fled from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan to India due to religious persecution. They are already living in India as refugees until 2014. The CAA legislation was passed democratically by India’s two Houses of Parliament and signed into law by the President.

When India was partitioned into India and Pakistan in 1947, the population of Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan was 22%. Now, it is less than 2% because of religious persecution and forced conversions to the Muslim faith. There are other pathways to Indian citizenship for Muslims from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. During the last five years, 566 Muslims from Pakistan were naturalized as citizens of India.

Geeta Sikand, Irvine, CA

Letter 1 – No Response

From: Geeta Sikand <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, Feb 11, 2020 at 8:19 AM
Subject: Re Los Angeles Times February 10th 2020 “When Nations Make Land Grabs” by David Myers
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>

It was appalling that David Myers presented only half-truths regarding India. The facts are as follows. Firstly, the Indian Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is a path for citizenship that was created for migrants who experienced religious persecution when they lived in three Muslim-ruled countries, ie. Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. These refugees are already living in India, having migrated up until 2014. My own grandparents came as refugees to India. There are other citizenship pathways for Muslims. During the last five years, 566 Muslims from Pakistan have been naturalized as Indian citizens. Being Muslims, they did not migrate due to religious persecution.

Secondly, Indian Kashmir was not grabbed by India. India is a democracy, and Article 370 was revoked by the Indian parliament because Kashmiri Hindus have long been persecuted by Muslim majority Kashmiris aided by Pakistani terrorists. Sadly, 300,000 Kashmiri Hindus* had to flee Kashmir due to religious persecution.

Geeta Sikand, Irvine CA 92620

Citations

Professionally, Geeta Sikand, the author of this article, is a nutrition expert and has written many articles on the subject. It is worth noting that while the LA Times has completely ignored her letters calling out the paper’s frequent Hinduphobic content, it has published a number of her letters and articles related to her field. A brief list of her articles published in the lA Times follows:

Sikand G. “Climate Change Series” on environmental and nutritional viability of cutting back on meat consumption. Opinion Letters to Los Angeles Times on Published September 21, 2019. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-09-19/letters-to-the-editor-one-benefit-of-climate-change-proving-gop-dishonesty
Sikand G. “A soda tax won’t get kids moving.” Letter to the Los Angeles Times March 1, 2019. https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?pubid=50435180-e58e-48b5-8e0c-236bf740270e&edid=582173a7-9ec5-4153-a5c5-90a04f4c3212&pnum=4
Sikand G. “High Insulin High Carb Diets.” Letter to Los Angeles Times February 2nd, 2018. Page A10. Circulation: 2 million. http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-ol-le-diet-carbohydrates-protein-fat-20180202-story.html
Sikand, G. “Transit is about time, money” Letters to Los Angeles Times Sept 27, 2007. Page M3. Circulation: 1.4 million.
Sikand, G. “Nutrition therapy can be a cheaper cure.” Op Ed Piece: LA Times: Orange County Voices, April 20, 1997. Circulation 1.4 million