2009 Achievements

 

The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) joined the Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) and other prominent NGO's in addressing a panel discussion on violence against minority women and girls in Bangladesh at the United Nations on March 6. Often harrowing in their depictions, the panelists detailed abuses of Hindu and Buddhist women and girls in today's Bangladesh solely on account of their religions. Pressure to convert to Islam, the use of rape as a tool for humilation and the Vested Property Act that dispossesses Hindus of their properties were among many issues discussed.

The fifth annual Hindu human rights report, covering abuses in nine countries, was released by the Foundation in March in Washington, D.C.  A bipartisan chorus of ranking members of the U.S. Congress, and leaders of prominent non-governmental organizations (NGO's) immediately endorsed the report. As in year's past, the Foundation distributed a preliminary version of the report, entitled Survey of Human Rights on the Hindus in South Asia and the Diaspora 2008, to congressional offices on Capitol Hill following up outreach efforts that continue throughout the year.

Calls for religious understanding, simple living, vegetarianism and an end to religious imperialism were clear and resonant in Melbourne, Australia as swamis, rabbis, bishops, imams and high priestesses from around the world converged for the 2009 Parliament of the World's Religions (PWR) in early December. The Hindu American Foundation's (HAF) co-founder and member of the Board of Directors, Mihir Meghani, M.D., and Managing Director, Suhag Shukla, Esq., attended and addressed multiple sessions at the summit.  Meghani addressed a session that highlighted the conflict between the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights and predatory proselytization and coerced conversions.  Shukla spoke out against what she described as the commercial appropriation and misappropriation of yoga which purposefully delinks yoga from its roots in Hinduism.  The Foundation will continue to work with the PWR and looks forward to attending its next gathering in five years.

HAF's Aseem Shukla, co-founder and member of the Board of Directors, became a regularly featured blogger on Washington Post and Newsweek's On Faith panel in July.  At least twice a month, Dr. Shukla contributes a Hindu perspective on relevant news stories pertaining to faith.  The Post also invited, upon HAF's recommendation, Professor Ramdas Lamb, Associate Professor of Religion at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and academic advisor to HAF. On Faith is new online religion feature which provides a forum for "a spirited talk, drawing on a remarkable panel of distinguished figures from the academy, the faith traditions and journalism. Members of the group will weigh in on a question posed at least once a week, perhaps sometimes more often, depending on the flow of the news." And in early December, HAF's Human Rights Coordinator, Prof. Ramesh Rao, Rights Coordinator, became a a regularly featured panelist on the Washington Post/Newsweek's new Health Central On Faith site.

HAF upped the ante this year in its participation at the Religions Newswriters Association's (RNA) annual conference.  In addition to hosting a booth where journalists could interact with HAF representatives and pick up resources on Hinduism, HAF also sponsored a field trip to the Minnesota Hindu Mandir for all of the RNA attendees and participated on a panel discussion on Hinduism in America: Changes and Challenges. HAF discussed the strides and challenges Hindu Americans have made in political representation, civic engagement and educating the public on Hinduism from a Hindu perspective.  Emphasized was the need for more voices, especially Hindu ones, to participate in the public arena and articulate diverse perspectives on domestic and foreign issues of concern as well as the point that Hindus must make the effort to self-define and articulate Hindu perspectives, in order to ensure a correct understanding and portrayal of Hindu belief and practice.

U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled in favor of a coalition that included the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), several Christian clergy, a rabbi and the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee on November 10, rejecting a special Christian license plate mandated by the South Carolina legislature last year.  In her ruling, Judge Currie held that the license plate featuring a stained glass window, a large yellow cross and the phrase, "I Believe," violated separation of church and state as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. HAF has always held that the South Carolina legislators were playing a contentious game of religious favoritism in actively sponsoring a Christian themed license plate. Religious pluralism became a casualty to political pandering there, and the Foundation is thrilled that the federal court ended those devisive maneuvers.

This summer, HAF heard from an often silent constituency within its membership--Hindu Americans from 17-28 years of age.  The NextGen essay contest garnered dozens of entries from across the nation and was judged by a panel of HAF staff and Executive Council members.  The contestants, divided into two categories based on the age groups, 17-22 and 23-28 years, were asked to submit an original essay on the topic, "Beyond Indian American: Why is having a Hindu American identity important? How can you advocate for this identity in public policy and your private life?  How can Hindu American advocacy be beneficial to our American society?" Four outstanding essays were selected from numerous entries.  HAF will continue its NextGen essay contest on a yearly basis.