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AHAD Stand on Kamala Harris Debated

by with No Comment AHADInfoPress Coverage

BOSTON—Readers of INDIA New England News blasted INE for publishing an article in which the World Hindu Council of America, known as VHPA, questioned the Hindu heritage of US Senator Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

The article entitled “World Hindu Council of America Leaders Question Hindu Heritage of Senator and Democratic VP Candidate Kamala Harris” was published on Oct. 20, 2020.

Here are some readers’ reaction to the article:

“Shame on you all for printing this racist diatribe on your website. I am disgusted to read this on your website. It offends me enormously. To  print this only 12 days before election is nothing but irresponsible.

Is this what you think Hindu religion is? Kamala Harris is Hindu by birth. Her mother was Hindu. What makes you believe these racist Hindu Council writers?

I ask you to remove this blasphemy from your website and apologize to all the readers.”

–Anoop Desai

“I am writing to fully endorse the expressions of horror and shame of Mr. Anoop Desai on your reporting on Sen. Kamala Harris. The intent of the writer, including the deliberate misinterpretation of the Hindu influences on Sen. Harris’ life, are highly suspect.

The innuendo, sarcasm and gutter level writing style are unbecoming of any publication or of any truly philosophically Hindu association. The substantial influences of Indian culture and the Hindu religion on Ms. Harris have been unquestionably established and your motivated article will not tarnish that in the minds of any real Hindu.

Incidentally, there are countless people in India who embrace both Hinduism and Christianity, having beliefs in the strengths and best practices of both faiths. The sudden spewing of so much intolerance against a person of Indian origin, who is possibly on the verge of attaining the second highest office in the land, insults the aspirations of all Indian origin Americans. In the hope that you will see some light and apologize.”

–B. Ravindra Rao

Thank you for publishing our press release on Kamala Harris as Goddess Durga meme. I have seen the headlines where some of your users have blasted India New England News for publishing the article based on our press release.

Those who have criticized you, have neither bothered to read Sen. Harris’s biography or heard her speak about her faith. Senator Harris has always claimed to be Baptist. She has NEVER claimed to be a Hindu. So it is not blasphemous of us to call her non-Hindu. We challenge anyone to find a statement where Sen. Harris has said that she is a Hindu. Therefore, it is not VHPA that is questioning Sen. Harris’s Hindu faith. We are merely respecting Sen. Harris’s wishes to declare a faith of her choosing.

American Hindus Against Defamation (AHAD) is an organization that is devoted to fighting the denigration of Hindu culture, customs, and icons. Rest assured that if Pres. Trump had portrayed himself as Krishna in Vishwaswaroop Darshan, we would have had a similar response.

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World Hindu Council of America Leaders Question Hindu Heritage of Senator and Democratic VP Candidate Kamala Harris

by with No Comment AHADInfoPress Coverage

Source: https://indianewengland.com/2020/10/world-hindu-council-of-america-leaders-question-hindu-heritage-of-senator-and-democratic-vp-candidate-kamala-harris/

BOSTON—A group of Hindu Americans belonging to World Hindu Council of America, known as VHPA, American Hindus Against Defamation (AHAD) and HinduPACT are questioning the Hindu heritage of US Senator and Democratic Party Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

“It seems to us that Sen. Harris, a self-acknowledged on-Hindu has now realized that in the battleground states, the Hindu votes matter. So, Senator Harris is now rapidly discovering her Hindu roots,” Ajay Shah, executive vice president of VHPA and convener of AHAD and HinduPACT, said in a statement. “Welcome home, Senator, you have now moved on from masala dosas and cleverly inserted reference to “chitti” to donning the dress of Goddess Durga. Do you want to know what those who practice Hindu dharma think about this cartoonish portrayal of you as Durga Mata?”

“Before assuming the form of Durga Mata, through your niece, did you bother picking up a book on Hindu Dharma 101 or at least talk to your “chitti?” said Mr. Shah. “Hindus are offended, and Hindus are outraged, because you have insulted Hindu Goddess and while you continue to claim to be a non-Hindu, you have the audacity to assume the form of a revered Hindu Goddess during one of the most auspicious Hindu festivals, Navaratri for scoring political points.”

Born in the US to immigrants, cancer researcher Shyamala Gopalan from India and economics professor Donald Harris from Jamaica, Harris has leaped in a generation to running for a position that could put her a heartbeat away from the US presidency.

After her parents divorced when she was only seven, Harris was brought up by her mother, whom she has described as “tough and fierce and protective” yet “generous and loyal and funny,” and credits her for her success.

In her memoir, “The Truths We Hold,” Harris wrote that the lesson “it was service to others that gave life purpose and meaning” that she inherited from her mother came from her grandmother Rajam, who had not completed high school but was a fiery protector of victims of domestic abuse.

Moving from New Delhi to Berkeley for her PhD in the tumultuous era of the 1960s civil rights movements, Shyamala Gopalan joined the protests “with a sense of justice imprinted on her soul,” Harris wrote.

In this environment, she wrote, “My mother understood very well that she was raising two Black daughters. She knew that her adopted homeland would see Maya as Black girls, and she was determined to make sure we would grow into confident, proud black women.”

Her sister Maya is also a lawyer.

While the African American identity became the dominant one – and, in fact, the one that boosted her chances to the get the vice presidential nomination – Harris wrote, “Our classical Indian names harked back to our heritage and we were raised with a strong awareness of and appreciation for Indian culture.”

She wrote, “My mother, grandparents, aunts and uncle instilled us with pride in our South Asian roots.”

“I was also very close to my mother’s brother, Balu, and her two sisters, Sarala and Chinni (whom I called Chittis, which means ‘younger mother’ [in Tamil]),” she recalled.

Utsav Chakrabarty, executive director of HinduPACT, said in a the statement that the caricature of Hindu deities wreaks is tokenism that has become a hallmark of Biden-Harris ticket.

“At best it is cheap and hurtful and at its worst, creates tank Hinduphobia in communities that already have very little knowledge about Hindu Dharma,” Chakrabarty said.

Rakhi Israni, executive director-legal of HinduPACT, said that it is quite telling that Joe Biden-Kamala Harris campaign that won’t even put out an agenda for the Hindu American community when they have done so for other religious communities is misappropriating the religious symbols and pictures of this same community for their own purposes.

“In other words, it seems that what the Biden/Harris Campaign is saying is don’t ask what we will do for you, but continue giving your all to us. It’s about time Hindu Americans wake up,” Israni said. “We can’t afford to be emotionally tied to one party or another lest we are taken for granted.”

Founded in 1970, World Hindu Council of America (VHPA) is a prominent organization of Hindus in the United States. An initiative of VHPA, AHAD is a Hindu organization against defamation in the USA.  HinduPACT USA, or Hindu Policy Research and Advocacy Collective, USA, is also an initiative of VHPA.

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AHAD Statemen on Kamala Harris Durga Meme

by with No Comment AHADInfoHate Bias Discrimination AttacksPress Coverage

The following statements were issued by American Hindus Against Defamation (AHAD) and HinduPACT (initiatives of World Hindu Council of America) on Kamala Harris as Goddess Durga meme:

Statement by Ajay Shah, Executive Vice President, VHPA, Convener AHAD and HinduPACT:

“It seems to us that Sen. Harris, a self-acknowledged non-Hindu has now realized that in the battleground states, the Hindu votes matter.  So, Senator Harris is now rapidly discovering her Hindu roots.  Welcome home, Senator, you have now moved on from masala dosas and cleverly inserted reference to “chitti” to donning the dress of Goddess Durga.  Do you want to know what those who practice Hindu dharma think about this cartoonish portrayal of you as Durga Mata?  Before assuming the form of Durga Mata, through your niece, did you bother picking up a book on Hindu Dharma 101 or at least talk to your “chitti?” Hindus are offended, and Hindus are outraged, because you have insulted Hindu Goddess and while you continue to claim to be a non-Hindu, you have the audacity to assume the form of a revered Hindu Goddess during one of the most auspicious Hindu festivals, Navaratri for scoring political points.”

Statement by Utsav Chakrabarty Executive Director, HinduPACT:

“The caricature of Hindu deities wreaks is tokenism that has become a hallmark of Biden-Harris ticket. At best it is cheap and hurtful and at its worst, creates tank Hinduphobia in communities that already have very little knowledge about Hindu Dharma.”

Statement by Rakhi Israni, Executive Director, Legal, HinduPACT

“It’s quite telling that a campaign that won’t even put out an agenda for the Hindu American community when they have done so for other religious communities is misappropriating the religious symbols and pictures of this same community for their own purposes.  In other words, it seems that what the Biden/Harris Campaign is saying is don’t ask what we will do for you, but continue giving your all to us.  It’s about time Hindu Americans wake up.  We can’t afford to be emotionally tied to one party or another lest we are taken for granted.” 

A small sign identifies the hamlet of Swastika, N.Y. When an outsider suggested the tiny northern hamlet of Swastika should change its name, town supervisors quickly rejected a change. Ben Rowe/Plattsburgh Press-Republican

Newsweek: Swastika, NY Town Board Votes To Keep Its Name, Cites Use In Hindu, Buddhism – Revised with AHAD Comments

by with No Comment AHADInfoArticles About AHADHate Bias Discrimination AttacksPress Coverage

Swastika, NY Town Board Votes To Keep Its Name, Cites Use In Hindu, Buddhism

https://www.newsweek.com/swastika-ny-town-board-votes-keep-its-name-cites-use-hindu-buddhism-1533386

[This article from Newsweek was republished with AHAD comments]

BY  

The board members of a small community in northern New York decided last week to keep the area’s controversial “Swastika” name after a visitor proposed a change earlier this summer.

Swastika is an unincorporated area within Black Brook, a small town located in Clinton County. Black Brook’s town supervisor, Jon Douglass, told North Country Public Radio (NCPR) that the board did not think changing the name was necessary because of the term’s meaning prior to its use in Nazi Germany.

The board discussed the name for about five minutes before voting unanimously to keep it, NCPR reported.

Douglass acknowledged that many in the U.S. think of the swastika in terms of its association with white supremacy, but he told NCPR, “I believe there are others that do not associate it with hate.” Douglass pointed to the Hindu and Buddhist religions, both of which have used a version of the swastika icon to represent spirituality. The symbol in Sanskrit that is used in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism means “well-being,” according to the BBC.

Swastika’s original settlers decided on the name in the 1800s, and those who lived there in the wake of World War II defended the name for its original meaning, Douglass told NCPR. “Some of the residents that were from that area actually fought in World War II and refused to change the name just because Hitler tried to tarnish the meaning of swastika,” he said.

The World Hindu Council of America (VHPA)’s American Hindus Against Defamation (AHAD) initiative has in recent months argued in favor of differentiating between the swastika used as a “sacred symbol” and the version used by Nazis, known as the Nazi Hakenkreuz. In July, the AHAD encouraged the New York Senate to make the distinction clear while considering a new piece of legislation, which proposed requiring “New York school children be educated regarding the meaning of swastikas and nooses as symbols of hatred and intolerance.”

The proposed legislation would “perpetuate ignorance and promote HinduPhobia in schools across New York state,” AHAD Convener Ajay Shah said in a statement.

Newsweek: Swastika, NY Town Board Votes To Keep Its Name, Cites Use In Hindu, Buddhism

by with No Comment AHADInfoArticles About AHADHate Bias Discrimination AttacksPress Coverage

Swastika, NY Town Board Votes To Keep Its Name, Cites Use In Hindu, Buddhism

Published in Newsweek on Sept 21, 2020
 

The board members of a small community in northern New York decided last week to keep the area’s controversial “Swastika” name after a visitor proposed a change earlier this summer.

Swastika is an unincorporated area within Black Brook, a small town located in Clinton County. Black Brook’s town supervisor, Jon Douglass, told North Country Public Radio (NCPR) that the board did not think changing the name was necessary because of the term’s meaning prior to its use in Nazi Germany.

The board discussed the name for about five minutes before voting unanimously to keep it, NCPR reported.

Douglass acknowledged that many in the U.S. think of the swastika in terms of its association with white supremacy, but he told NCPR, “I believe there are others that do not associate it with hate.” Douglass pointed to the Hindu and Buddhist religions, both of which have used a version of the swastika icon to represent spirituality. The symbol in Sanskrit that is used in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism means “well-being,” according to the BBC.

Hindu religious men from the Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan Maninagar, give final touches to a huge piece of folk art, a Rangoli, ahead of Diwali in Ahmedabad on October 24, 2011. This traditional Rangoli is shaped like a swastika, which Hindus believe is a symbol of progress. Last week, a small town in New York voted to keep the name of one of its unincorporated communities, which was named Swastika by its original settlers in the 1800s.

Swastika’s original settlers decided on the name in the 1800s, and those who lived there in the wake of World War II defended the name for its original meaning, Douglass told NCPR. “Some of the residents that were from that area actually fought in World War II and refused to change the name just because Hitler tried to tarnish the meaning of swastika,” he said.

The World Hindu Council of America (VHPA)’s American Hindus Against Defamation (AHAD) initiative has in recent months argued in favor of differentiating between the swastika used as a “sacred symbol” and the version used by Nazis, known as the Nazi Hakenkreuz. In July, the AHAD encouraged the New York Senate to make the distinction clear while considering a new piece of legislation, which proposed requiring “New York school children be educated regarding the meaning of swastikas and nooses as symbols of hatred and intolerance.”

The proposed legislation would “perpetuate ignorance and promotes HinduPhobia in schools across New York state,” AHAD Convenor Ajay Shah said in a statement.

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The AHAD’s statement went on to say that identifying the differences between swastikas used in religion and the version used by white supremacists was important in embracing cultural diversity.

“To label the Swastika as a symbol of hate would be a grave insult to 1.8 billion Hindus and Buddhists around the world,” the AHAD said. “Maligning this ancient heritage would be a step backwards in promoting interfaith harmony and would lead to increase in hate crimes and Hinduphobia.”

Newsweek reached out to Douglass and the AHAD for comment.

 

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‘Om’ on thongs invite Hindu ire

by with No Comment AHADInfoOnline ProtestsPress Coverage

‘Om’ on thongs invite Hindu ire

PTI | Feb 7, 2005, 02.41 PM IST

Original URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Om-on-thongs-invite-Hindu-ire/articleshow/1013700.cms

WASHINGTON: An American online store selling womens’ undergarments featuring images of Hindu Gods and religious icons has angered members of the community who have demanded their immediate withdrawal from the website.

In an ad for womens’ thongs, Cafe-Press.com has on display hundred per cent cotton ‘Hindu God Shiva classic thong’ priced at USD 12.99 with the religious deity’s face, another called ‘iGod Shiva Classic thong’ for USD 15 makes a statement “Namaste it loud. Your’re Hindu and you’re proud.”

The ‘Om Classic Thong’ priced at USD 8.99 explains “Om or rather aum is a sacred Hindu symbol that represents the absolute.”

Leading the protest for the products withdrawal is the American Hindus Against Defamation (AHAD), the largest Hindu anti-defamation group in North America comprising several Hindu organisations.

“We have recently come across two sets of products -thongs and boxer shorts with the images of Hindu deities and symbols imprinted on them…AHAD finds the depiction of universally revered Hindu deities and symbols on the undergarments extremely offensive,” it said in a statement.

The website Cafe-Press.com last week had offended the Sikh community by displaying a range of thongs with the Khanda emblem representing the four pillars of the Sikh faith.

Sikh organisations under the World Sikh Council America Region (WSC-AR) had objected to the display of the thongs and had written to CafePress asking it to withdraw the offensive garment.
“We are very disappointed to know that CafePress is selling an item offensive to the Sikh faith..the underwear with the Sikh symbol and the accompanying language is racist and demeans the Sikh faith. This is especially hurtful because the Sikh community has been prefentially victimised after 9/11,” the WSC-AR complaint said.
The protests had borne fruit with CafePress withdrawing the product line from its site.

There have also been instances of western companies imprinting images of Lord Ganesha and Aum on the sole of flip flop sandals, God Rama’s image on sniff tissues and lunch boxes with images of goddess Kali and Durga.

UK museum stops selling tissues with Krishna’s image

by with No Comment AHADInfoPress Coverage

As the first Hindu anti defamation organization in the world, AHAD’s impact has been felt globally.  

Shyam Bhatia in London | December 12, 2002 20:26 IST

Following protests from Hindus, one of Britain’s most prestigious museums has withdrawn the sale from its gift shop of a brand of paper tissues that bear the image of Lord Krishna.

The Victoria and Albert Museum agreed to stop selling German-made Sniff tissues after a complaint from UK’s National Council of Hindu Temples.

Bimal Krishna Das, a spokesman for the NCHT, told rediff.com: “We are horrified to imagine that anyone thinks such a thing is acceptable. It is very offensive for Hindus to blow nose on an image of Lord Krishna; it is unthinkable and unimaginable.”

Earlier this year, the NCHT was instrumental in persuading the London Departmental Store Selfridges to withdraw confectionery cakes made in the form of Ganesha, Shiva and Parvati.

Das said a sister organisation in the United States, American Hindus against Defamation, had also successfully campaigned against the portrayal of Hindu gods and goddesses on toilet seats.

He said that the NCHT had also been successful in the UK in blocking a recent television commercial advertising a local brand of beer that involves a yogi and levitation.

“The ad is funny”, Das conceded, “but the perception is that the yogi is being made fun of.”

A spokesman for Sniff told rediff.com that numerous complaints had been received about their product, but “it is not the intention of the company to offend any religion.

“Our company isn’t interested in laughing at anyone’s belief. In our last collection we printed tissues both with the image of Lord Krishna and Virgin Mary. In our opinion these tissues are used as accessories and for fashion reasons.

“We had a great response for these products. Young people really liked it because Virgin Mary and Lord Krishna have become cult characters… they start to think about religious things again. So we attract attention, but in a positive way. We’d like to express our apology if we hurt anybody’s feelings.

“We won’t stop producing and selling these products. That wouldn’t help anybody. We can only repeat our apology and explain that we respect any belief.”

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Indians in US not amused by ‘racist’ doll

by with No Comment AHADInfoPress Coverage

Original URL: http://headlines.sify.com/1645news1….not~amused~by~’racist’~doll

‘Mr Patel’, a politically-incorrect doll manufactured by a US company, has angered Indians in America.

When smacked on the head, the turban-clad doll talks in a sing-song “Indian accent”. The recorded messages range from “Don’t talk like that in front of my back” and “Hamburger. Everything on it, please, but no beef” to more explicit, unprintable messages.

Manufactures JDK products were forced to change one of the most outrageous messages “In my country, we would have already killed you already” after some customers complained that the message – combined with Mr. Patel’s turban – recalled Osama bin Laden. The message now says: “I do not believe in expiration date. It is always good!”

Spokespersons of JDK Products, however, laughed away allegations of racism. President Jay Kamhi told a newspaper, “Maybe somebody’s going to die of laughter, but that’s it! It’s ludicrous.”

“We played the doll’s recorded messages for Indians of all religions. They were excited about the doll, and we had only a five to ten percent negative reaction,” Kamhi said.

The look of the doll – which sports a Punjabi turban and a bindi, though the two would not normally be worn together and definitely not by a Gujarati named Patel – is part of the joke, said Kamhi

Other Indians, however, were not so amused. Ajay Shah of American Hindus Against Defamation told India-West that “Mr. Patel perpetuates a stereotype that goes beyond ridicule”.

“What would be the impact of this doll on the school children with the last name Patel? Would they be taunted … and when they protest, will they suffer physical harm?”

“Are the manufacturers of this doll ready to accept the legal and moral liability that will inevitably result from the physical and emotional harm caused to the Hindu community?”

Samples of the Mr. Patel doll, priced at $10.50, can be found online at trashtalkerdoll.com.

Lara Croft

Hindus object to Tomb Raider sequences

by with No Comment AHADInfoEntertainmentMediaPress Coverage

Author: VIJI SUNDARAM

Publication: INDIAWEST 

Publication Date: Jan 17, 2002, 03.33 PM IST

A Hindu coalition in the US is once again taking up the cudgels against the us entertainment industry for what it calls “religious bigotry.” the target this time is Paramount Pictures which last November released in the us the action-packed movie, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider .

In the movie is a scene where statues of monkey soldiers at a temple at the famed Angkor Wat complex in Cambodia spring to life and take on monster features as they attack the movie’s heroine, lara croft, played by Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie. croft pulls a gun and blows them away. “they’ve depicted Hanuman soldiers as monsters,” world Vaishnava association spokesman Syama Sundar said. “these are obviously revered devotees of the lord.”

Responding to an angry letter jointly written by WVA and the American Hindus Against Defamation, Paramount’s Senior Vice President Karen Magid wrote back that the entertainment giant, prior to the filming, “discussed with Cambodian authorities the picture’s Cambodian locations and engaged a Cambodian company to act as Paramount’s liaison with the government. “these authorities were provided with a story synopsis which included the depiction of statues guarding the tomb, who come to life to defend the tomb. after reviewing the story synopsis, the authority for the protection and management of Angkor and the region of Siem Reap granted Paramount permission to film the Angkor Wat temple and sacred grounds.”

Magid went on to say that because paramount got permission from those authorities, as well as from the King of Cambodia to film in Cambodia, it did not think the contents of the movie script would offend anyone’s sensibilities. since it did, “Paramount deeply regrets that any aspect of Tomb Raider may have offended the World Vaishnava Association or any of its individual members,” Magid wrote, adding that no disrespect was meant to Hinduism or Buddhism. but Ajay Shah of American Hindus Against Defamation said that Paramount’s response “doesn’t go far enough.” he said Paramount hasn’t agreed to WVAs and AHAD’s demands to not get “any derivative work” out of the sequence, like video games and advertisement material. nor has it agreed to edit out those offending sequences before it releases the film in other countries, he said.

Additionally, “that apology is basically meaningless because they have not committed to refraining from doing such things in the future,” Sundar said. Sundar said he didn’t think Paramount did the offending sequences out of ignorance, given that the movie evolved from the video game, Tomb Raider III, where Lord Shiva is depicted as a monster. AHAD and WVA have taken up the issue with the video game maker, as well, Shah said. “Hindu deities and scriptures are suddenly very popular in Hollywood,” Sundar said. “but Hollywood is offending Hindu sensibilities. had it portrayed Jesus or Mother Mary as monsters, there would have been a huge outcry. basically, it amounts to religious bigotry.” Shah said that his group became aware of the offending scene only after someone saw the movie on a flight and contacted his group. the movie finished its run in the US and the UK several weeks ago, and has begun playing in India now. “had we known about those sequences sooner, we would have jumped on the case long ago,” Shah said.

WVA, which represents some 30 Vaishnava groups worldwide, and AHAD have gotten together in the past and taken a tough stand against companies and individuals who have used depictions of Hindu deities as a marketing tool. they forced a nightclub in chicago five years ago to stop having their waiters dress up as Hindu gods while serving liquor to their customers. they got SONY to pull an Aerosmith album that had a picture of Lord Krishna with a woman’s breasts on its cover. two years ago, they forced a Seattle firm called Sittin’ Pretty to stop manufacturing toilet seats with images of Hindu gods and goddesses on them. They successfully protested the depiction of Hanuman and Krishna in the movie, Xena: The Warrior Princess . ” Paramount has not heard the last from us,” Shah said earlier this week.