American state Georgia became the first one to consider Hindu phobia narrative and to deal with it legally

Georgia became first American State to consider legally the hatred crimes against Hindu in the country and passed a resolution condemning Hindu phobia at Georgia Assembly. According to the information, resolution said, ‘Hinduism is one of the world’s largest and oldest religions with over 1.2 billion adherents in over 100 countries and encompasses an array of diverse traditions and belief systems with value of acceptance, mutual respect and peace’. The resolution was represented by Lauren McDonald and Todd Jones from Forsyth country in the suburbs of Atlanta, home to the largest community of Hindus and Indian-American in Georgia.

Resolution briefly included the contributions of the community in the form of Ayurveda, Yoga, food, music, art and meditation that have enhanced the American culture, and that this cultural mix is widely accepted by the people. It also mentioned the instances of hate crime against Hindu-Americans from last few decades. Hindu phobia is exacerbated and institutionalized by some in academia who support the dismantling of Hinduism and accuse its sacred texts and cultural practices of violence and oppression, it said. Earlier, Federal Bureau of Investigation released a report stating hate crime in America has increased by 12%. Compare to 2020, the number of cases have escalated and to reached 945 by the next year.

‘This is a defensive step taken by American administration after lots of instances happened around. We have seen in last few years, violence against South Asians and Black people have gone up irrespective to a disposition of American administration that talks about security of citizens. Alongside, Indian administration has always mentioned about such hatred crimes and to provide secured environment to the immigrants, specifically Hindus. By passing this resolution, Georgia Assembly has shown a progressive step on transcultural surroundings and to respect each culture that exist. But we cannot deny that American administration is being hesitant in passing a stricter law for hate crimes, when it should be taken seriously’, said Shobhita Gosain. She works with migrant communities in India and is familiar with the challenges community face. Even though she has worked with regional migrants within India, she believes every migrant in world goes through the same struggle.

Shobhita discussed significant reasons of Hindu phobia rising, not only in America but worldwide. She told EAT news, ‘We are only talking about America here, but we know the situation is similar in different parts of the world. We have seen vandalizing of temples in Australia, Islamic radicals in UK, Canada are on the mission of killing Hinduism and do not want it to reach to as many people as it can. I believe it is happening because of the popularity Hindu culture has gained in past years under the current Indian administration and also that people of America are not welcoming and respecting towards new culture and this has come from a personal experience.’ She further added, ‘Hindu culture has certain texts and manuscripts, that are holy for its devotees and holds higher place. People who have adapted Hindu culture call it peaceful and diverse. But calling it violent cultural practices is disrespectful for Hindus as a community.’

Large section of America’s population follows Hindu culture as according to available information, 80 percent of Hindus in America are located in metropolitan areas. And researchers found that San Jose in America is the city with maximum Hindus which is 2.5 percent. In context to the structures, more than 1450 temples are situated in different parts of America, whereas majority of them are centered around New York region with 1135 temples, Texas is next with 128 temples and Massachusetts with 127 temples.

On some major contributions by Hindu community in America, Shobhita said ‘We have equal contribution in making the country developed’. However, she shared that people are not keeping up with the fact respectfully. ‘Medical, Engineering, Science, technology, finance, hospitality, business, academia, manufacturing, and all the sectors have members of this community. They equally pay taxes and serve their skills. Still, they are looked down as illegal immigrants with no background. It is significant for the administration to provide such environment where the community can feel dignified and uplifted at the same time’, said Shobhita.

Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) is a group that organized Hindus advocacy against violence and culture discrimination. General Secretary Shobha Swamy said, ‘The issues faced by Hindu Americans in Georgia and rest of the country via false, Hindu phobic narratives are negatively impacting a community that has been hardworking, law-abiding and enriching the fabric of America.’ Furthermore, ‘We urged for their help in combating such bigotry which advances hatred and creates the idea that Hindus and people of Indian origin need special laws and monitoring due to allegations around some inherent propensity to discriminate’, she said.

While Georgia has taken Hindu phobia narrative in account and has passed the law concerning Hindu community, we are waiting for the whole country to include it in the law.