The Coalition Against Genocide (CAG) on 7 April condemned the Hindu American Foundation for opposing the Congressional hearings on the plight of religious minorities in India and for obfuscating the issues around violence against minorities. As CAG has established in its recent report titled “Affiliations of Faith (Parts I and II),” HAF is primarily a front for the Hindu nationalist movement (also known as Hindutva) led by the RSS in India. Contrary to its claims about being a human rights organisation, HAF has consistently served as apologists for the violent politics of the Sangh Parivar (the broad family of RSS organisations that include HAF and its US-based affiliates such as the VHP-A).
HAF’s position on the plight of religious minorities in India is diametrically opposite to that of USCIRF, Human Rights Watch, and Advocates for Human Rights. On its website and in social media, HAF has attacked the integrity of prominent organisations like HRW and USCIRF. This fits a pattern followed by Hindutva organisations where concern for minorities in India is projected as “bias” against Hindus.
“While any situation involving millions of people professing diverse religions is necessarily complex, violations of human rights and religious freedom as a result of the increasingly hostile socio-political environment created by the Hindu nationalist movement deserve international condemnation,” said Mr. Alex Koshy, a CAG spokesperson. “It is deplorable that an organisation claiming to stand for pluralism and human rights stridently opposes any scrutiny of the situation of religious minorities in India,” added Mr. Koshy.
“While being vocal about the situation of Hindu minorities in other parts of the world, HAF appears to be considering Christian, Muslim and Sikh religious minorities in India as somehow less worthy of having their plight known to the American public,” said Dr. Raja Swamy, also a CAG spokesperson.
HAF touts its mission statement as “Promoting Human Dignity, Mutual Respect and Pluralism.” Yet HAF’s concern about the effect the hearings may have on the upcoming elections betrays its real priorities. In echoing HAF’s concern about the timing of the hearing, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard appeared to be reading from an HAF script. At the very least, she could have sought a briefing from her staff on the evidence based data about the condition of religious minorities in India, and that H.Res. 417 is in fact a pro-India resolution that celebrates India’s long-standing pluralistic ethos.
HAF’s posturing against the hearings is reflected in its written testimony, graciously added to the record by Rep. Joe Pitts.
HAF’s alacrity in protecting Hindutva organisations from any kind of international censure for violence against minorities in India stands in stark contrast to its vigorous efforts to highlight the plight of Hindu minorities in countries around the world. Far from being an organisation committed to promoting human dignity and pluralism, HAF stands exposed as a foe of human rights, working to defend the Hindutva movement from much needed public scrutiny in the US.