No To Forum for Hate Mongers!
Indian American Groups Protest Hindu Nationalist
'World Hindu Congress' to be held in Chicago
New York, NY - September 4, 2018 - The Coalition for the defense of the
Constitution and Democracy (CDCD) unequivocally condemns the brazen attempt by
the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA, World Hindu Council of America),
Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS, Hindu Volunteer Corps) and others to provide a
platform in the USA for individuals and organizations engaged in fomenting and
carrying out acts of genocidal violence against minorities, intellectuals, and
human rights and civil liberties activists in India. The above organizations
have organized the so-called 'World Hindu Congress' in Chicago from September
7-9, 2018, where they have invited speakers who have taken public positions,
made statements, and / or engaged in actions that are fascistic, misogynist,
Islamophobic, anti-Dalit, pro-casteist, and homophobic.
The main organizers of this conference are, not surprisingly, organizational
affiliates of the Hindu supremacist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (the RSS, or
National Volunteer Corps) - the parent organization of the increasingly
repressive Hindu Nationalist ruling party in India - the Bharatiya Janata Party
(Indian People's Party) in India and close affiliate of the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad in India - an organization with innumerable smaller affiliates that is
routinely linked to the rising numbers of lynchings of Muslims and Dalits in
India, and more recently with plotting terror, with a UK Guardian Op-ed calling
India 'Republic of Fear', and noted writer Pankaj Mishra speaking about the
BJP's 'hybrid methods of repression'.
The theme driving this event is a so-called 'Hindu resurgence,' - a term
that hides behind a benign multicultural mask for celebrating Hindu culture but
which conveniently seeks to mask the violent politics of the RSS and its
affiliates. For, the 'culture' being celebrated at the WHC is shaped by the
fascistic and supremacist vision of the RSS, an organization modeled along
fascist Italian organizations such as the Ballila and Avanguardisti and
centered on the total abrogation of all democratic rights and norms of
governance. Over the last 4 years of the Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi
government, there has been a sharp spike in violence against minorities, with
many atrocities directly committed by members of the RSS family of
organizations including the ruling BJP, with full impunity. The victims of the
violence of this 'Hindu resurgence' - known by its more popular name in India
and abroad as 'Hindutva' - are Muslims, Dalits, Hindus from oppressed caste
groups, Christians, secularists, rationalists , human rights and civil liberty
activists, and any opponents or critics of the current political regime.
It therefore is shocking that the two top leaders of the RSS - Mohan
Bhagwat and Dattatreya Hosabale are to lead plenary sessions at the WHC, while
a host of other major players in the broader family of RSS organizations are
participants in various roles. Some examples of speakers listed under the
'Education Conference' include Sankrant Sanu who routinely calls the media
'presstitutes' and debunks Islamophobia, and Rajeev Malhotra, a U.S. based
entrepreneur and supporter of the RSS who publicly tweeted a few weeks ago that
donors for flood-ravaged Kerala state in India should only aid Hindus and not
Muslims and Christians. Among those included as speakers in the 'Media
Conference' section are the editors of the mouthpieces of the RSS
(''Organiser') and the BJP (''Panchjanya'). Others such as Suresh Chavhanke,
who heads the right-wing Sudarshan TV station has a life-long association with
the RSS, and has previously been arrested for 'promoting enmity,' and is also
accused of rape. In 3 addition, prominent figures from the film industry who
have publicly embraced the politics of the RSS and BJP such as Vivek Agnihotri
and Anupam Kher, who not too long ago were actively inciting mob and state
violence against students in Jadavpur University and Jawaharlal Nehru
University, publicly labelling government critics and human rights activists as
'anti-nationalists' and 'Maoists', and Shefali Vaidya a prominent Modi
supporter who is associated with the notorious rightwing blog 'The Frustrated
Indian.' The organizers of the WHC have left little doubt that they view the
event as a platform for their Hindu supremacist movement.
Another prominent inspiration for Hindutva and the World Hindu Congress,
Ajay Singh Bisht (''Yogi Adityanath'), was initially invited to speak at the
WHC, but for unknown reasons is no longer listed as a speaker. He is the chief
executive of
By masking their anti-democratic political agenda of Hindutva behind the
garb of celebrating 'Hindu culture', the organizers of the WHC seek to avoid
critical scrutiny from the U.S. public. Freely deploying symbols from the Hindu
tradition, they seek to convince Americans that their event is about Hinduism.
However, many self-identified Hindus would disagree. They would argue that
Hindutva is NOT Hinduism. The ruthless persecution of religious minorities, the
bold defense of some of the most horrid practices of discrimination and
violence against Dalits, and the revanchist anti-woman dispensation of the
Hindutva movement, should all give cause for concern among a
The WHC is a Hindutva event - built entirely on Hindu supremacist notions
and fascistic organizations whose purpose is to shore up chances for the BJP in
the impending 2019 general elections. It is incumbent upon all of us to educate
ourselves about the violent ideology of Hindutva, and in particular on members
of the press to expose the World Hindu Congress for what it is - a brazen attempt
to provide a global platform for Hindutva leaders to aid in the persecution and
further oppression of religious minorities, Dalits, public intellectuals, and
human rights and civil liberty activists in India.
The Coalition for the Defence of the Constitution and Democracy (CDCD)