Last year, California lawmakers voted 31-5 to approve the first state-wide bill (SB 403) explicitly banning caste discrimination. The bill, enjoying broad support among California voters, was sponsored by Senator Aisha Wahab. It was vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom under pressure from wealthy political donors belonging to the Hindutva lobby.
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| Senator Aisha Wahab with Supporters of California Law to Ban Caste Discrimination |
Hindutva Lobby:
The Hindutva lobby's opposition to the California anti-caste discrimination bill was spearheaded by Ramesh Kapur, a wealthy Massachusetts entrepreneur. “If you want to be our next president, veto the bill”, Kapur told the governor in no uncertain terms, according to a recent investigative piece written by British journalist Andrew Cockburn and published in the Harper magazine. Here's an excerpt from the article:
"The ultimatum was decisive. Kapur said that Newsom emailed him three hours before going public: “I’m going to veto it.” Newsom’s move dashed the hopes of all who had fought for the bill, but it seems likely to reap him rich rewards. “Now that he has made that decision, he has become the champion of the Hindu cause,” Kapur told me over the phone from California, where he was busy organizing the first in a series of fundraisers for the governor in Silicon Valley, Chicago, and New Jersey. “Newsom is hot in the Indian-American community!”"
In recent years, Hindu Americans have become the highest-income group in the United States. Most of them support Hindu Nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP party. There are many billionaires among them, and they are willing to use their wealth to influence the US political process. They see AIPAC, the Israel lobby, as their inspiration.
California AB 3027:
California bill (AB 3027) banning transnational repression was introduced in response to the attempted assassination of an American Sikh leader. The US government believes that the assassination was plotted by agents of the Indian government. This bill is strongly opposed by the Hindutva lobby which calls it "Hinduphobic". It is supported by law enforcement agencies in the state. The bill would provide an improved sense of personal security to many Indian Americans who are facing threats for opposing the Modi government in India. It is currently stalled in California Senate committees. Hindutva supporters see Zionists as useful allies in their effort to draw parallels between antisemitism and “Hinduphobia.”
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| California Hindutva Group Marches with Zionists in Support of Israel's Gaza Genocide |
Donor Power:
Gavin Newsom's veto of the bill to ban caste discrimination illustrates the power of the donors crushing popular will, making a mockery of democracy. The power of the Israel lobby (AIPAC) backed by rich Jewish-American donors is the most egregious example of this, as is the power of the gun lobby (NRA).
Polls consistently show that the majority of Americans oppose US shipment of weapons to Israel while it slaughters tens of thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians, mainly children and women. But the Biden administration continues to send arms, ammunition and explosives to the Israeli government. Both Biden and Harris pay lip service to the need for an immediate ceasefire but refuse to stop giving Netanyahu the bombs that he is using to sustain the Gaza genocide.
Similarly, the majority of Americans want laws to restrict gun ownership in the country. Polls after each mass shooting confirm broad support for gun control laws. But the US politicians refuse to pass such laws because of the power of the US gun lobby.
American Muslim Vote:
There are enough Muslim voters in battleground states, particularly Michigan, where their vote can make a difference to the outcome of this year's presidential contest between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. But there is little difference between their positions on Gaza. Both have expressed strong support for Israel, thanks to the power of AIPAC and its wealthy billionaire donors. Nonetheless, it is interesting to look at the numbers. Here is an excerpt from the Harper piece on this:
"Since October 7—coincidentally the same day that Newsom announced his veto—the ongoing slaughter in Gaza has brought electoral peril for the Democrats. Polls report withering support across important components of the coalition that brought Biden to victory in 2020, especially among the Muslim community, which gave him up to 85 percent of its votes in that election, according to some polls. Although Hindus were less supportive of Biden than Muslims were in 2020 (25 percent went for Donald Trump, according to certain estimates, a slight uptick from 2016), some see their votes as the perfect replacement for the Democrats’ faltering Muslim coalition. “We can make the difference!” Kapur exclaimed, brandishing a state-by-state breakdown of Hindu and Muslim populations to show that his fellow Hindus could deliver votes as well as money. Muslims outnumber Hindus in America, 3.5 million to 2.5 million. But in key swing states, the numbers Kapur presented to me, drawn mostly from 2014 data, almost balance out: Pennsylvania is home to 130,000 Hindus and 150,000 Muslims. In Georgia, the state’s 172,000 Hindus outnumber its 123,000 Muslims, while the 110,000 Hindus in Michigan provide some counterweight, Kapur implied, to the quarter million Muslims, many of whom are outraged by the Biden Administration’s support for Israel. In Nevada, Hindus outnumber Muslims by almost three to one, while in Virginia, Hindus have an edge of 200,000 to just under 170,000. During the 2021 Virginia governor’s race, both the Democratic candidate, Terry McAuliffe, and the Republican, Glenn Youngkin, paid attention to this voter pool and dutifully visited Hindu temples, but Youngkin reportedly made the stronger impression—he “listened deeply” to their concerns, as American Hindu Coalition chairman Shekhar Tiwari put it, especially their complaints about local schools’ efforts to promote diversity by modifying admissions policies at their expense. And Youngkin was not the first Republican to cultivate and enjoy Hindu support. In 2015, the Chicago billionaire industrialist Shalabh Kumar set up the Republican Hindu Coalition, which describes itself as “modeled after the highly successful Republican Jewish Coalition”; Steve Bannon was an honorary co-chair of the group. Kumar and his wife poured money into Trump’s 2016 election campaign, which was making major media buys in swing states. Trump even recorded a message in Hindi".
Related Links:
Haq's Musings
Pakistani-Americans: Young, Well-educated and Prosperous
US Campuses Rise Up Against Israel's Gaza Genocide
Top One Percent: Are Hindus the New Jews in America?
Pakistani-Americans Largest Foreign-Born Muslim Group in Silicon Valley
Caste Discrimination Among Indian-Americans in Silicon Valley
US Census Update: Pakistani-American Household Average Income $150,000
Silicon Valley Pakistani-Americans
Pakistani-American Leads Silicon Valley's Top Incubator
Silicon Valley Pakistanis Enabling 2nd Machine Revolution
Republican Congressman Exposes Israel Lobby's Bullying Tactics
Pakistani-American Ashar Aziz's Fire-eye Goes Public
Two Pakistani-American Silicon Valley Techs Among Top 5 VC Deals
Pakistani-American's Game-Changing Vision
Minorities Are Majority in Silicon Valley
35 comments:
Dear Sir
Thanks for sharing this, the question is that where is the lobby of Pakistanis in American politics or in American government? Indians have their lobbies and Isrealis have their lobbies in America, Canada, England and I think even in Australia. And surely other countries might be having their own lobbies in these countries where they work actively to promote their national interest and economy of their country. Indian lobbies not only promote their national interest and economy but also secretly work against Pakistan and they even try to create misunderstandings about Pakistan in these countries. The question is that does the current government of Pakistan even cares? Do they even take out time to sponsor and support such Pakistanis living in these counties who are interested to work for Pakistan?
As far as I know these foreign lobbies working in America and in other 1st world countries are supported and funded by their governments.
Dear Sir
In order to counter the growing and aggressive influence of Indian lobbies in these countries that are working against Pakistan can only be countered by Pakistani lobbies in these countries. As you know Sir and many other Pakistanis living abroad know that current govetnmeny based on PPP and PMLN is not concerned about the influence of these Indian lobbies. Inorder to facilitate their lobbying against Pakistan. Indian lobbies also take support of Israeli lobbies.
Is this meant to be a complaint that there isn't a strong enough Pakistani lobby to match or counter its Indian counterpart in the US? For Indians, I guess it may have to do with the numbers. You have said there are 2.5 million Hindus (nearly all of whom would likely be of Indian-origin and a small proportion from Nepal) against 3.5 million Muslims. But Muslim-Americans themselves would hail from many different countries from SE Asia, S Asia, Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa, and none of them excepting those from Pakistan would hardly find countering an Indian lobby a priority. I read that the estimated number of Pakistani-Americans would be around 700,000, which coupled with their lower financial heft would explain why Pakistan is unable to check-mate the influence of the Indian lobby.
Then there is the question of geo-politics. Despite its claims of "strategic location" and of being a "nuclear power" that no one can ignore, Pakistan's influence in global power games appears to have diminished considerably in recent times. (Its not me who say this, but the former Pakistani Ambassadors themselves who write columns in DAWN.) The shift in US geo-political priorities towards China is one reason. Pakistan's persistent economic troubles and India's growing economic heft (relative to Pakistan) might be another. Yet another major factor could be the perception among US establishment about Pakistan's duplicity as an "ally" during the US occupation of Afghanistan.
Hello Mr. Vineet
Thanks for the comments, the financial positions of the most Pakistanis living in America, Canada, UK and Australia is quiet good and high. Pls note that out of total 100% of the population of Muslims that live in America, Pakistanis specifically Muslims have 8℅ share in it according to a survey conducted by American government which performs such tasks to produces Census reports and out of 100℅ of the total population of Pakistanis living in America, at least 68℅ of them said in their interviews that their financial positiok or condition mashallah is quiet good and excellent and to great extent they are satisfied with their income and source of earning.
Many Pakistanis specially those who are mashallah highly educated and have high profiles are contributing in various fields and segments of the societies in Western countries and in America.
According to a survey mashallah Pakistani community in America is more well of than Arabs and African Americans.
Out of 100℅ of the total Arabs living in America, 43℅ or 43℅ claim during their interviews that they have good or great financial position or condition.
Out of 100℅ of the total African Americans,only 30℅ claim in their interview that their financial condition is quiet good or excellent.
Mr. Vineet
By the way,it is not just the numeric strength and financial position of a nation that matters . If this was the case then Pakistan would have not countered India in most of the wars that have taken place between both countries. Pls note that Indian government has to spend much more wealth on its military and defence as compared to Pakistani government because the Indian Army, navy and airforce is 4 or 5 times bigger than that of Pakistan in terms of numeric strength but still till now Indian media is suffering from the phobia of Pak army and ISI.
Also the population of Israel is the lowest in the world as far as I know and the Jews that live in the world have lowest population but inspite of all this they have great influence and power in the world. Most of the banks and financial sectors in the world are under the domination of Isrealis or Jews.
Out of 100℅ of the total properties and estates business that is their in America, at least 80℅ of that is either owned by Jews and Isrealks.
Most of the media news channels are under their control and influence.
They have greatly contributed in the field of science and technology. Most of the noble prizes that scientists, thinkers and philosophers who have won in the world are either Jews or Isrealis.
The screens, keypads and mouse which we use in laptops and desktop computers were actually invented in Tel Aviv the main city of Israel which is their IT hub.
Most of the internationally known and recognised IT companies like Google, Facebook and Microsoft have their research and development centers and labs in Israel.
Most of the universities in Europe and West consider Isreal as their benchmark in research and development.
Can you tell me where does India stands infront of Is real when it comes to such level of contributions in the world? Where does the Indian students of IT stand in research and innovation ? I am sorry to say that it is surprising to see that India which has the 2nd largest population in the world after China and recieves investment from foreign countries and recieves much more parents from American government is still not as innovative and creative in IT and technology as Isreal is.
Riaz - you have put forth a highly biased view. I work in silicon valley and the vast majority of folks (as in 99% of Indians) do not and have never seen any caste based discrimination. Lets not take 1-2 selective cases and try to create discriminatory laws to target Hindus, which is what this bill was doing. We can spin it any way we want, but this law was primarily a way to target Hindus and hence was vetoed by Newsom who is more sane than some the of the california liberals, who take one-off causes and make laws for them
Ahmed, I was merely listing the probable reasons why Indian (or Hindu) diaspora in US are able to wield a greater influence than their Pakistani counterparts. I did not compare the technological competence of India to China or Israel. I am very well aware India is inferior to those two.
Krishna, I am going to assume that you are not from a lower caste. This is a pattern I have noticed among Hindus. The upper caste claims that there is no discrimination and lower caste complains about it. The caste discrimination cases were quite common and documented in silicon valley. There is a reason why California state university system has added caste discrimination in it's anti discrimination policy.
G. Ali
Hello Mr. vineet
I hope I am not being biased and not being offensive India is not just inferior sir but I think India is much inferior than China and Isreal when it comes to creativity, innovation and quality of education.
Pls kindly check the index or list of global intelligence or global IQ in which they have measured the intelligence or IQ of every nation in the world and have ranked them based on their IQ or intelligence. Isreali nation is listed in the top 50 most intelligent nations of the world where as Pakistanis and Indians are well below in this index. As far as I know or remember the average IQ of Pakistanis is 128 something in this index and average IQ of Indians is 143.
So even Pakistanis have higher IQ and intelligence than Indians.
Chinese as far as I know have higher IQ than both Indians and Pakistanis.
Do you even know that Isreal is also ahead of China in IQ?
Hello Mr. vineet
I don't mean to be rude or biased and pls let me add that intelligence and IQ is not every thing, their are many qualities in a person that matters, it is hard work , interest and quality of education that also matters.
If a person is highly qualified and hard working than I am sure he can move forward in life.
Ahmed, I don't mean to be rude either. But lets forget China and Israel for a moment and compare where India and Pakistan stand in relative terms, shall we? You say Pakistanis have higher IQ than Indians. Fair enough. Perhaps that higher Pakistani IQ would explain why the country finds itself in a gargantuan economic and political mess (and the resultant diminishing global stature and influence) of its own making?
I have no clue how pervasive caste discrimination is among Hindu diaspora in US since I don't live or work there. (What exactly is the caste discrimination they face in US? That they aren't allowed to enter temples? Or that they aren't invited to upper caste functions? Or that they aren't hired or promoted by upper caste Hindu managers or in companies run by upper caste American Hindus?) But I can understand if a lower caste Hindu complains about facing caste discrimination from his upper caste counterparts. What I do not understand is what grounds a Pakistani Muslim has to complain about the matter at all. Should Hindus start bothering how Ahmedis are being ostracized by mainstream Muslims, or how Ahmedis and Christians are being persecuted and mob lynched in the name of blasphemy in Pakistan? It shouldn't be any of my business.
Vineeth, amazing. So Pakistanis can't criticize India or Indians but you have every right to but in into every Pakistani issue?
G. Ali
G Ali, Have I been criticizing how Pakistani Muslims are treating its Ahmedi, Christian and Hindu minorities? Pakistan's societal problems are its own and its none of my concern. In the same vein, why should the internal social problems of Hindu community matter so much to a Pakistani Muslim? Why would you go and poke your nose into the family squabbles of a neighbour? Let them sort it out among themselves. The only time I post comments here targeting Pakistan is when I see Pakistanis take the hypocritical stance of magnifying India's troubles while conveniently omitting to mention the state of their own country - a tactic not unlike what Modi bhakts indulge in on our side of the border. (Though I am not a Pakistani and therefore cannot claim to know its troubles first-hand, I have been a regular online reader of DAWN for the last 10-15 years, and therefore believe that I am not too ignorant of the state of the country either.)
Is the UAE a Force For Stability in the Middle East?
by William Hartung
https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamhartung/2024/09/26/is-the-uae-a-force-for-stability-in-the-middle-east/
During a White House visit earlier this week, President Biden and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan expressed their desire to intensify cooperation between their two nations on a variety of fronts. Most notably, President Biden designated the UAE as a Major Defense Partner, which the White House said “will allow for unprecedented cooperation through joint training, exercises, and military-to-military collaboration, between the military forces of the United States, the UAE, and India, as well as other common military partners, in furtherance of regional stability.” But the UAE’s recent track record raises serious doubts about its interest in promoting stability in the Middle East, and highlights its pursuit of its own narrow interests, often through military means. The new designation amounts to a virtual endorsement of the UAE’s aggressive, destabilizing history in the Middle East and North Africa.
With Israel escalating its Mideast war into Lebanon and the presidential campaign heating up, the news that the United States is strengthening its alliance with the United Arab Emirates is far off most people’s radar. But it shouldn’t be. The Biden administration’s decision to double down on its relationship with the UAE is yet another example of its misguided approach to the region, from enabling Israeli aggression in Gaza and Lebanon to attempting to broker a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Far from sowing the seeds of stability and peace, the administration’s maneuvers are bolstering three of the most disruptive, destabilizing states in the region – in essence rewarding them for their recent histories of aggression and human rights abuses.
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Is this the record of a nation that is likely to be a force for peace and stability in the region? The UAE has its own agenda – developing a security network and port access across the Persian Gulf and North Africa – that may or may not coincide with U.S. policy or long-term U.S. interests.
The next administration needs to take a careful look at U.S. security policy in the Middle East and recalibrate its relationships with governments engaged in aggression and human rights abuses, from Israel to Saudi Arabia to the UAE. Continuing down the current path is a recipe for continuing war and dangerous escalation.
Vineeth: "I have no clue how pervasive caste discrimination is among Hindu diaspora in US since I don't live or work there. (What exactly is the caste discrimination they face in US? That they aren't allowed to enter temples? Or that they aren't invited to upper caste functions? Or that they aren't hired or promoted by upper caste Hindu managers or in companies run by upper caste American Hindus?)"
There have several high-profile instances of upper caste Indian managers discriminating against low caste Hindus as well as Muslim employees in Silicon Valley.
Over two-thirds of low caste Indian-Americans are discriminated against by upper caste Indian-Americans in Silicon Valley, according to a report by Equality Labs, an organization of Dalits in America. Dalits also report hearing derogatory comments about Muslim job applicants at tech companies. These revelations have recently surfaced in a California state lawsuit against Silicon Valley tech giant Cisco Systems.
Both caste and religious discrimination are rampant among Indian-Americans in Silicon Valley. Back in 2009, there was a religious discrimination lawsuit filed against Vigai, a South Indian restaurant in Silicon Valley. In the lawsuit filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court, Abdul Rahuman, 44, and Nowsath Malik Shaw, 39, both of San Jose, alleged they were harassed for being Muslim by Vaigai's two owners, a manager and a top chef — a violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act, according to a report in the San Jose Mercury News.
According to the complaint, restaurant personnel regularly used ethnic slurs such as "Thulakkan," a pejorative term for Muslims in Sri Lankan Tamil dialect, to harass the two Muslim cooks. Also according to the complaint, restaurant staff were encouraged to call the plaintiffs by names such as "Rajan" or "Nagraj" under the pretext of not wanting to upset customers who might stop patronizing the restaurant if they heard the men referred to by their Muslim names.
https://www.riazhaq.com/2020/07/caste-discrimination-rampant-among.html
Religious discrimination is a different matter altogether, and I don't suppose Indians or Hindus are the only ones who are guilty of doing it. I am more intrigued about this caste discrimination thing in US. In any case, since caste is essentially a birth identity that is analogous to race, ethnicity and ancestry, I suppose existing anti-discrimination laws in US states that target these should cover caste discrimination as well?
Israel, UAE and Saudi Arabia have a common interest in containing Iran's influence in the region, which happen to coincide with US interests as well. Iran's closeness to China and Russia would only reinforce this alignment further. The ongoing Israeli campaign against Iranian proxies like Hezbollah and Hamas too suit the regional interests of Arab monarchies (excepting Qatar perhaps), which explains their relative silence about the recent events. As for US recalibrating its relationships, lets be honest. Just like any other nation, US acts on its self-interest alone. Human rights abuses or aggression become unacceptable to nations only when they are perpetrated by one's enemies, and not friends. Did Pakistan ever have a problem with the Chinese persecution of Uighur Muslims? Even when UNHCR reports detailed how China was running concentration camps for Uighurs and the scale of human rights abuses they perpetrated on Uighur men and women, Pakistan government's moral conscience was soothed by China verbally denying it all.
Excerpts from "They Called Us Exceptional" by Prachi Gupta (pp. 7-8) . Crown. Kindle Edition.
White America crafted a tempting story to explain the ascent of Asian Americans—“an important racial minority pulling itself up from hardship and discrimination to become a model of self-respect and achievement,” as a 1966 article in U.S. News & World Report described Chinese Americans. Those once seen as “Yellow Peril” and “Dusky Peril” became a “model minority,” creating a new racial category: Asians were those who could assimilate into whiteness but maintain a distinct cultural identity. In America, riches await, and with a little grit, anyone can reap them. The story tempered the racial progress of the civil-rights era, as if to tell Black people: If those Asians can be so successful, why can’t you? Racism was a part of America’s sordid past. The success of these new Asians proved that. Indian Americans have since been allotted a specific prominence within the context of this story. In 2009, the year I graduated from college, an article in Forbes declared Indian Americans “the new model minority,” hailing families like ours as “the latest and greatest ‘model.’ ” Within a little more than a generation, Indian Americans have become one of the wealthiest and most highly educated immigrant groups in the country, earning a median income of more than one hundred thousand dollars. The steep ascent of Indian Americans reified the pernicious model-minority myth. They called us exceptional. We fulfilled their prophecy. But the story of our subcommunity’s rise wasn’t one of genetics, nor can it simply be explained by work ethic, as pundits may have one believe. The true story, as described in The Other One Percent: Indians in America, is largely due to a rigorous but invisible selection process that often begins in India itself. In India’s highly stratified society, middle- and upper-class Indians from dominant castes typically access the best schools and jobs that feed into opportunities in America, which favor immigrants who bring specialized skills in tech and science. The result: an American diasporic community that is roughly nine times more educated than Indians in India. These conditions enabled Indian families like ours—families that had been thrice-filtered and stratified—to prosper like few other immigrant groups have ever done in America. Even though pockets of Indian Americans still struggle, this insular group has become the poster image for America’s post-racial fantasy.
Hello Mr.Vineet
I agree with you that India is ahead of Pakistan in several fields but pls note that according to the reports published by UN, Pakistan has faced and seen real progress or development when military ruled the country but unfortunately when politicians from various political party got a chance to rule the country, they mostly made a mess with their corruption and incompetency. The blame for what ever mess that exists in Pakistan in political and economic system is not because of the common people of the country but because of the rotten and corrupt political structure or system that exists in the country which doesn't lie talented, skilled and educated people to either enter the political setup of Pakistan or reach the top positions in government services.
This is why their is more corruption in Pakistan and it is one of the biggest hurdle or obstacle in the progress and development of the country.
This is where Indian government is succeeding , the political system or setup of India is not as bad and rotten as it is in Pakistan and because of this the politicians in India get less chance to do corruption than in Pakistan.
Pls note that corruption and progress are inversely proportional to each other.
Mr. Vineet
No doubt their are many Indians who are doing very good job in the field of science and technology in various countries but I hope I am not being arrogant or rude but the impact factor of the Indian scientists, thinkers, researchers and educstionists is not up to the standard.
Impact factor actually measures the quality of research work or publications produced by various students of PhD in the universities of the country.
As far as I know the quality of the research work(thesis) which Pakistani students produce is much better than those prpidced by Indians. Indians mostly focus on quantity rather than on quality.
MacArthur 'genius' grantee says Dad and Mom helped her defy caste prejudice
https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2024/10/01/g-s1-25437/macarthur-genius-grant-caste-dalit-india-shailaja-paik
Shailaja Paik was born into India’s Dalit community — one of the millions who belong to historically marginalized and oppressed castes due to their professions. They’re so scorned that they were for centuries known as “untouchables.” And even though modern India is changing, caste discrimination refuses to go away.
Paik faced prejudice both as a Dalit and a woman. She credits her parents, especially her father, for helping her (and her three sisters) defy the prejudices they faced as Dalits and as women. He made sure they got an education.
For Paik, schooling was a path to teaching history in the U.S., writing books about the untold plight of the Dalits — and now being dubbed a genius.
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A research professor of history at the University of Cincinnati, Paik is not a public figure as some recipients are. She has documented the deep social inequity rising from India’s repressive caste system that she is a part of. Her focus is the plight of Dalit women like herself.
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"My family moved to Pune, the nearest city [four hours away by road] in the 1960s, where I grew up. We lived in a one-room house in a slum area in Yerawada, on the Ahmednagar highway, which made it easier for my father to make trips to our native village so he could keep in touch with his family. Our house was about 20 by 20 feet, and we didn’t have access to toilets"
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"This is something that especially high-caste elite liberals do not want to talk about. Some [Indians] are quick to talk about the racial discrimination that they face but do not want to talk about the caste discrimination that they perpetuate."
"So we should talk about it and stop pretending that there is no caste, in India and elsewhere. There are very intense conversations taking place in the U.S. today, especially [around] caste and race."
Dear Sir
I hope you are doing well? You must have seen the news about Dr. Zamir Naik a well known Orator and religious scholar from India who has just visited Pakistan and he is still in Pakistan specially in Karachi in which he has given speech in press conference.
He recieved a grand welcome by the government of Pakistan and it's officials at Islamabad airport and he has been warmly welcomed and recieved great reception by people of Pakistan which is no doubt a great thing to do . Sir can you pls make a blog about it?
Thanks
Kerry Burgess
@KerryBurgess
My goodness, this was 10 years ago. How prophetic. This man (Phil Giraldi) knew his stuff. It's a shame that the US doesn't have people like this anymore
https://x.com/KerryBurgess/status/1842547446766780811
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After a full day of protesting outside AIPAC’s annual conference, CODEPINK members and supporters gathered at Busboys and Poets in Washington, DC on the evening of March 1 for a discussion on the Israel lobby. The event featured remarks by former CIA case officer and current executive director of the Council for the National Interest Phil Giraldi and peace activist Miko Peled, author of The General’s Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine (available from AET’s Middle East Books and More).
Giraldi began by arguing that the lobby is destructive for Americans, Israelis and Palestinians alike. The lobby, he explained, pushes the U.S. to pursue pro-Israel policies that harm its image, cause pain and suffering for Palestinians, and provide cover for the Israeli government to enact ill-advised and self-defeating policies.
Questioning the basis of the U.S.-Israel “special relationship,” Giraldi said that “Israel is no ally and never has been.” He described the bilateral relationship as “garbage,” as it heavily favors Israel.
The self-professed Jewish state has a massive spying operation in the U.S., pushes the U.S. into costly wars, and shares phony intelligence, Giraldi explained.
“When I was a CIA officer,” he recalled, “I used to see the intelligence that Israel passed to us. It was a joke. Every Israeli intelligence report that came to the United States was…essentially pushing an Israeli point of view, lying about what Arabs and the Iranians were up to and trying to convince Americans that there was some kind of threat coming from that direction. The only threat was coming from Israel.”
Domestically, Giraldi noted, the lobby has many levers of power: it maintains a stranglehold over Congress and the media, has been able to insert pro-Israel political appointees into the State Department, and helps facilitate close relations between Israeli security services and American police.
Despite this influence, Giraldi believes AIPAC’s days are numbered. “In my opinion, AIPAC and the rest of the Israel lobby is basically dead….but will take a long time to roll over,” he said. “I believe this because the task of defending what Israel does is beyond all credibility now. There’s just no way this thing can be sustained forever.”
Peled agreed with Giraldi’s assessment and proceeded to make an even bolder statement: “I have no doubt that within the next decade we are going to see the fall of Zionism in Palestine just like we saw the fall of apartheid in South Africa.”
This is not soon enough, however, he said, as “many Palestinians are still going to die” in the intervening years.
How does Peled believe Zionism will collapse? “I think what will bring them down is their arrogance and their stupidity,” he said. Israel does not appreciate the strides being made by the nonviolent movement in the West Bank, the significance of the unification of Israeli Arabs, or the momentum of the international solidarity movement, Peled explained.
AIPAC and its allies will not go down without a fight, however. Peled said the lobby is well versed at vilifying individuals and groups that question the Zionist narrative. The likes of Rasmea Odeh and Sami Al-Arian have been successfully depicted as threats, he pointed out, not only to Zionism, but also to American security. In reality, “the only threat [these individuals pose] is to the Zionist narrative,” Peled opined.
https://www.wrmea.org/2015-may/phil-giraldi-and-miko-peled-critique-the-israel-lobby.html
@Vineeth
California bill is a culmination of several high profile caste discrimination scandals in USA, most prominent being CISCO and some others. It was reported in WIRED which was a humiliation for US living Hindus. Now given that many US Hindus are active in Islamophobia scene, I felt little sympathy to them. There was another high profile story (in WaPo I guess) where Aisha Wahab was subjected to Islamophobic attack by *US living Hindutwa mob*. Any person where there is a considerable Hindu diaspora could have an opinion on the matter.
However you pointed out well that Pakistan has largely become irrelevant in global politics (compared to its scale of 200 million+ population). Pakistani diaspora in US and elsewhere has to grudgingly accept that being a Nuclear power (something which you can't use on a daily basis to solve problems in the country) or being "strategically located" itself will not garner respect. Even Arabs have in the best case a utilitarian relationship with Pakistan.
It is one thing to complaint about nefarious activities of Hindutwa lobby, but on the other hand, it remains true that Hindus in America did not enjoy any race related privileges like whites or Jews and had to work their way up.
@Ahmed
What is your basis for IQ comments? IQ in general is a dodgy metric, but if you choose to use that, I could ask why there aren't proportionally adjusted number of Nobel/Turing/Abel prize winners from Pak-Americans when compared to Hindu-Americans. That'd have backed up your claims.
Zen : “However you pointed out well that Pakistan has largely become irrelevant in global politics (compared to its scale of 200 million+ population)”.
I think this is wishful thinking on the part of Indians.
There’s a SCO summit taking place in Pakistan this month.
Both China and Russia have announced their support for Pakistan’s BRICS membership.
Pakistan is being actively courted by both China-Russia and the West.
The Arabs and the Turks are also close allies of Pakistan.
Zen : “However you pointed out well that Pakistan has largely become irrelevant in global politics (compared to its scale of 200 million+ population)”.
I think this is wishful thinking on the part of Indians.
There’s a SCO summit taking place in Pakistan this month.
Both China and Russia have announced their support for Pakistan’s BRICS membership.
Pakistan is being actively courted by both China-Russia and the West.
The Arabs and the Turks are also close allies of Pakistan.
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@Riaz
Pakistan has been in decline in importance from its peak of influence which was probably at the end of cold war. Economically, it is a "basketcase" in the words of Raghuram rajan, and needed serial bailouts. Now in a new multipolar world order, how things will evolve is something to be seen. It maybe an opportunity even for those countries which were relative losers to carve their niche place in a new world order. But this is highly speculative at the moment and noone knows for sure.
Now even chatgpt can tell this:
Pakistan’s decline in global politics over the last few decades can be attributed to a combination of internal and external factors that have weakened its geopolitical standing. Historically, Pakistan was a pivotal player in regional and global politics, largely due to its strategic location, its role in the Cold War as a U.S. ally, and later as a frontline state in the war on terror. However, several issues have led to a noticeable decline in its influence.
Internal Instability and Economic Fragility
Pakistan’s internal instability has played a significant role in its global political decline. The country has faced continuous political turmoil, with frequent changes in leadership, military coups, and weak governance. Corruption, inefficiency, and the lack of institutional reforms have further compounded these issues. Its economy, once showing promise, has been mired in debt, reliance on foreign aid, and a persistent balance of payments crisis. The failure to build a strong, diversified economy has limited Pakistan's ability to engage confidently on the global stage.
While Pakistan does possess nuclear capability, which gives it some leverage in geopolitics, its weak economic foundation undermines its ability to project power effectively. Comparatively, countries like India and China have used economic growth to solidify their influence, which Pakistan has been unable to replicate.
Shifting Global Alliances and Marginalization
Global alliances have shifted dramatically in recent years, and Pakistan has struggled to adapt. During the Cold War, Pakistan aligned itself with the U.S. against the Soviet Union, which gave it substantial economic and military aid. Post-9/11, Pakistan again became a critical U.S. ally in the war on terror. However, after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the reduction of its military footprint in the region, Pakistan’s strategic importance to Washington diminished significantly. U.S.-Pakistan relations have soured, and while Pakistan maintains a somewhat close relationship with China, it remains highly dependent on Chinese loans and investments, notably through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Moreover, its complex relationship with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other Middle Eastern powers has become more transactional in recent years. While it has traditionally relied on support from Gulf states, shifting dynamics, including Pakistan’s delicate balancing act between Saudi Arabia and Iran, have limited its influence. Pakistan has struggled to maintain its position as a mediator or key player in the Muslim world, particularly with rising competitors like Turkey and Iran carving out larger roles in the region.
Who is lobbying for India’s Modi government on Capitol Hill? | Narendra Modi | Al Jazeera
by Mukta Joshi
US-based Hindu American Foundation has laundered Modi gov’t’s track record on minorities, championed its interests.
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/10/15/who-is-lobbying-for-indias-modi-government-on-capitol-hill
15 Oct 2024
On a Wednesday morning in September 2022, a lobbyist reached out to a congressional staffer in Washington, DC. He wanted to set up a meeting on behalf of his client to discuss some human rights concerns in Pakistan and a newly introduced resolution in the United States House of Representatives regarding religious minorities in India.
During the meeting a few weeks later, the client made an appeal: Could the congressional office where the staffer worked back a ban on sustainment packages for F-16 fighter jets sold to Pakistan due to that country’s alleged persecution of its Hindu minority?
This client was not a foreign government or a defence policy think tank. It was a domestic nonprofit called the Hindu American Foundation.
The staffer was taken aback. Despite being familiar with the group and its advocacy on behalf of Hindus in the US, the staffer did not expect it to be so deeply involved in geopolitics.
The Indian government at that time had been publicly pushing back against a $450m F-16 package for Pakistan. India’s defence minister had expressed concerns about itto his US counterpart, and the external affairs minister had openly disparaged the US government for the package.
“In that moment”, the staffer said, “it became clear to me that the Hindu American Foundation was acting on behalf of the Indian government.”
The foundation, also known as HAF, emerged two decades ago as a voice for the Hindu community in the United States. It wasn’t formed to champion the Indian government.
But since Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014, HAF has ramped up its political activities in favour of the Indian government, which is led by Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
It has emerged, despite its claims of “nonpartisanship”, as an effective advocate of the BJP, attempting to influence the US government through meetings with members of Congress to push for the passage of multiple pieces of legislation on critical aspects of US foreign policy related to India.
Its founders, board members and a parallel political action committee – the Hindu American PAC – have made significant contributions to the election campaigns of legislators who have in turn supported HAF’s lobbying efforts on these issues.
Throughout this time, HAF has maintained a cosy relationship with the Modi government. It has acted in the US to counter the Modi government’s critics, collaborated with the Indian embassy on events and programmes, and corresponded with the embassy on sensitive matters.
Yet in public, HAF distances itself from the Indian government and the BJP. It vehemently refutes allegations that it acts on their behalf, reiterating that its members are merely Hindus engaged in the US political process and calling any allegations of government collusion “dual loyalty slurs”.
HAF appears to be treading a fine line. Its activities in favour of the Indian government, coupled with its continued collaboration with the Indian embassy, raise questions as to whether it should register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) of 1938.
Registration as a foreign agent is required any time an entity represents the interests of a foreign principal before any agency or official of the US on the principal’s behalf.
The definition of a foreign agent in US law includes “any person who acts … at the order, request, or under the direction or control, of a foreign principal … and who directly or through any other person engages within the United States in political activities for, or in the interests of such foreign principal.”
Who is lobbying for India’s Modi government on Capitol Hill? | Narendra Modi | Al Jazeera
by Mukta Joshi
US-based Hindu American Foundation has laundered Modi gov’t’s track record on minorities, championed its interests.
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/10/15/who-is-lobbying-for-indias-modi-government-on-capitol-hill
Registration as a foreign agent is required any time an entity represents the interests of a foreign principal before any agency or official of the US on the principal’s behalf.
The definition of a foreign agent in US law includes “any person who acts … at the order, request, or under the direction or control, of a foreign principal … and who directly or through any other person engages within the United States in political activities for, or in the interests of such foreign principal.”
“Lobbying for specific foreign policy issues would clearly qualify as ‘political activities’ under FARA,” said Benjamin Freeman, director of the Democratizing Foreign Policy programme at the Quincy Institute think tank. “The threshold in the statute is merely doing work at the ‘request’ of a foreign principal,” he added.
But HAF is not registered under FARA, even though it has pushed the BJP government’s agenda before members of the US government.
“The mere fact that our positions overlap with those of a foreign principal is not enough to show that we are a foreign agent,” Mat McDermott, HAF’s senior director of communications, said in an email. “HAF is not affiliated with the Indian government or the BJP in any manner.” (HAF’s full response to Al Jazeera can be read here.)
One of the first political activities undertaken by HAF took place in 2005 when the US Department of State denied Modi a visa after interreligious violence erupted while he was chief minister of the Indian state of Gujarat. HAF issued a statement condemning the decision, calling it the product of a “coordinated campaign” by the Indian left-wing and their US supporters to vilify Modi and the BJP.
“It was obviously a horrible chapter in Indian history. But you just have this focus on Hindu violence, but not Muslim violence,” Suhag Shukla, executive director of the Hindu American Foundation, told this reporter in an interview.
“All of a sudden, [the narrative] shifts to ‘Hindus are dangerous and violent, and they’re anti-Muslim.’ It’s definitely compiling and compounding the negative portrayals of India.”
This was HAF’s first foray into Indian politics. In the years that followed, it largely focused its attention on domestic advocacy for Hindu causes.
In May 2005, HAF and other Hindu groups proposed more than 117 edits to California textbooks that tackled India and Hinduism.
In 2007, the group rallied around a House resolution that for the first time would recognise the festival of Diwali. In 2008, it launched the Take Back Yoga campaign to promote and publicise the Hindu roots of yoga.
However, 2013 marked a noticeable shift in HAF’s lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill in favour of Modi, the prime ministerial candidate for the BJP in the upcoming Indian national elections.
Gaining ground
HAF on its website says it is politically agnostic and nonpartisan. Its status as a nonprofit bans it from making donations to candidates.
Its board members and executives, however, are on the board of the Hindu American Political Action Committee (HAPAC).
“There is no functional overlap between these two independent organizations nor meaningful communication. It is common and completely within the confines of US 501(c)(3) law for members of nonprofit boards to also serve on boards of political action committees in their personal time,” McDermott said.
Although the two groups are not officially affiliated with each other, all but two board members of HAPAC are part of HAF in some capacity.
HAPAC has spent nearly $200,000 on campaign contributions since it began making donations in 2012.
Donors to HAPAC over the years include many of HAF’s board members, such as co-founder Mihir Meghani and his family members.
Who is lobbying for India’s Modi government on Capitol Hill? | Narendra Modi | Al Jazeera
by Mukta Joshi
US-based Hindu American Foundation has laundered Modi gov’t’s track record on minorities, championed its interests.
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/10/15/who-is-lobbying-for-indias-modi-government-on-capitol-hill
Meghani was also a co-founder of the Hindu Students Council, an organisation affiliated with the BJP. He was HAF’s top donor, according to its 2018 tax disclosures in Florida. He donated more than $500,000 that year.
Shekar Reddy, a trustee of the Global Hindu Heritage Foundation, was the second-largest donor. In 2022, that group was found to be raising money for the demolition of “illegal” Christian churches in India.
Like Meghani and Reddy, other affluent Hindu Americans have contributed to political campaigns through HAPAC. These include Ramesh Bhutada, an industrialist who has pledged more than $1m to Hindu organisations and causes, including HAF, through his family foundation.
Bhutada is also a director of Sewa International and former vice president of the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh. Both organisations, which operate in the US, are part of the “Sangh Parivar”, a group of organisations affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is the ideological fountainhead of the BJP.
These political donations have helped rally support for Hindu and Indian geopolitical causes.
HAF’s founders and donors have also campaigned for political candidates.
“Ro Khanna is running for the US Congress against Mike Honda. Honda wrote a letter asking the State [Department] to deny Modi a visa,” Mihir Meghani wrote in a 2013 email on a Google group.
“It is imperative that as Indians and Hindus that we support Ro. As part of my commitment, I have given the maximum donation of $5,200 to only [two] candidates this year – Tulsi Gabbard and Ro Khanna, and I hope that you will give your maximum support to him as well.”
Meghani did not respond to multiple requests for an interview sent via email and the social media platform X.
Making way for Modi
Even before Modi was officially announced as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate in September 2013, the tide was turning in his favour. The Brookings Institution think tank called him India’s most admired and most feared politician, and a number of opinion pieces about his popularity featured prominently in US and international media.
But at the same time, the Hindu-Muslim riots in his state remained a dark stain on Modi’s record.
In 2013, Representative Joseph Pitts, a Republican from Pennsylvania, introduced a resolution reaffirming the US government’s decision to not grant Modi a visa. According to an unnamed congressional staffer who spoke to India’s Outlook magazine: “Each office who signed the resolution received a visit from HAF … HAF is not promoting Modi, but they are trying to undermine anyone in Washington who is critical of Modi.”
On May 26, 2014, Modi was sworn in as prime minister. Soon after, his visa ban was lifted.
The first term
HAF stepped up its pro-Modi activities once he was elected prime minister in 2014. In 2016, it organised a conference call with Representative Keith Ellison, a Democrat from Minnesota and one of the 25 lawmakers who had sought a ban on Modi’s visa, “to clarify his contested record over legislation regarding India”, according to the India Post. The call included a number of organisations, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, a US-based nonprofit.
It also featured a man named Bharat Barai.
Barai, who would later sponsor a fundraiser for HAF and register as a foreign agent on behalf of the consul general of India, “specifically asked Ellison about his diatribe against Narendra Modi and happenings in Gujarat”, India Post reported. He offered to travel to Washington to talk to Ellison’s staff to give them a “clear picture” of how Modi handled the riots.
Who is lobbying for India’s Modi government on Capitol Hill? | Narendra Modi | Al Jazeera
by Mukta Joshi
US-based Hindu American Foundation has laundered Modi gov’t’s track record on minorities, championed its interests.
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/10/15/who-is-lobbying-for-indias-modi-government-on-capitol-hill
On a cloudy Sunday afternoon in June 2017 in Washington, DC, the Indian embassy organised a welcome reception for Modi. More than 70 volunteers helped out at the event. Some were from the Washington Leadership Program, a nonprofit dedicated to placing South Asian students in congressional internships. Others were from the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, the international arm of the BJP’s ideological parent. The rest were from HAF.
“Congrats to HAF, HSS and WLP leadership for the coordination efforts,” Roopal Shah, one of the coordinators of the event, wrote in an email addressed to the volunteers. “Grateful to the Embassy and to the Indian Government for allowing us to be a part of this event.”
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McDermott denied that HAF had ever collaborated with the Indian embassy for Modi’s visits “in any specific way”.
He maintained that HAF would welcome leaders of any Indian government regardless of party affiliation.
The BJP has no shortage of allies in the US. One of them, the Overseas Friends of BJP, a registered foreign agent, has the stated objective of “projecting a positive and correct image of India and its people in the US and foreign media and correcting any distortions in the media’s reporting of current events taking place in India”.
While this is the Overseas Friends of the BJP’s stated purpose, it is also a strikingly accurate description of HAF’s activities.
In February 2017, as the Modi government was being criticised for fanning religious ethnonationalism and fomenting violence against religious minorities in India, HAF wrote to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. It requested the retraction of its report on the persecution of Indian religious minorities. It also requested the commissioners to engage with HAF’s leaders “regarding the Commission’s continued misrepresentations of India’s religious diversity, legal system, and political dynamics”.
In July 2018, alongside the start of Modi’s re-election campaign, HAF released a policy statement at a Capitol Hill briefing. It detailed the ways in which the government of India had provided “unprecedented religious accommodations to its religious minority population”.
HAF’s report provided a robust defence of Modi’s policies and denied widespread reports that minorities were being persecuted.
But it denied having acted in collaboration with the Indian government.
“We have different members of HAF staff who probably have relationships with members of the Indian government,” McDermott said. “But there are no weekly, monthly or yearly calls. There is no coordination whatsoever.”
The Overseas Friends of BJP did not respond to an interview request submitted through its website.
Who is lobbying for India’s Modi government on Capitol Hill? | Narendra Modi | Al Jazeera
by Mukta Joshi
US-based Hindu American Foundation has laundered Modi gov’t’s track record on minorities, championed its interests.
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/10/15/who-is-lobbying-for-indias-modi-government-on-capitol-hill
Angana Chatterji, a scholar at the University of California at Berkeley, pointed out that while people of Hindu descent may experience racism, Hinduphobia is not a contemporary movement or a rising concern like that of Islamophobia. “Hinduphobia acts to align diasporic Hindu majoritarian campaigns with those of Hindu nationalists in India,” she said.
In September 2021, HAF led a campaign against an academic conference called “Dismantling Global Hindutva” and used social media posts, mass emails, petitions and news releases to portray it as an attack on Hindus. “Hindutva,” meaning “Hinduness” is a Sanskrit term used for the Hindu supremacist ideology.
“It’s an academic exercise to critique, maybe even to deconstruct, but dismantling is very squarely a political activity,” HAF’s Shukla told The Washington Post.
The campaign and resulting backlash quickly snowballed with the scholars scheduled to speak receiving a barrage of online hate messages, even death and rape threats.
A 2022 study traced patterns in users of Twitter, now known as X, whose tweets and retweets featured specific hashtags, retweets, bots, and the frequency of their tweets and retweets over time and linked HAF to an online network of far-right Hindu groups and the BJP that targeted the conference. The study found Shukla to be the “largest individual amplifier of attacks” against the event.
While the conference did ultimately take place, many participants withdrew out of fear. HAF was credited for its efforts.
“Dismantling Global Hindutva was publicised to be a thunder, but ended up in a whimper, thanks to [the] efforts of @HinduAmerican [and] other Hindu groups,” Ram Madhav tweeted. Madhav is a member of the National Executive of the RSS.
He did not respond to a request for comment.
Before the conference, HAF conducted an online event. Shukla received an audience question, which she quickly summarised.
“Someone has asked if we have informed the government of India about this particular situation,” Shukla said, referring to the conference. “We have.”
The “situation” in question that HAF had informed the government of India about, McDermott clarified in the email, was that the conference “was being falsely promoted as having official backing or endorsement of the 60+ universities listed, when in fact it didn’t”.
Who is lobbying for India’s Modi government on Capitol Hill? | Narendra Modi | Al Jazeera
by Mukta Joshi
US-based Hindu American Foundation has laundered Modi gov’t’s track record on minorities, championed its interests.
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/10/15/who-is-lobbying-for-indias-modi-government-on-capitol-hill
Angana Chatterji, a scholar at the University of California at Berkeley, pointed out that while people of Hindu descent may experience racism, Hinduphobia is not a contemporary movement or a rising concern like that of Islamophobia. “Hinduphobia acts to align diasporic Hindu majoritarian campaigns with those of Hindu nationalists in India,” she said.
In September 2021, HAF led a campaign against an academic conference called “Dismantling Global Hindutva” and used social media posts, mass emails, petitions and news releases to portray it as an attack on Hindus. “Hindutva,” meaning “Hinduness” is a Sanskrit term used for the Hindu supremacist ideology.
“It’s an academic exercise to critique, maybe even to deconstruct, but dismantling is very squarely a political activity,” HAF’s Shukla told The Washington Post.
The campaign and resulting backlash quickly snowballed with the scholars scheduled to speak receiving a barrage of online hate messages, even death and rape threats.
A 2022 study traced patterns in users of Twitter, now known as X, whose tweets and retweets featured specific hashtags, retweets, bots, and the frequency of their tweets and retweets over time and linked HAF to an online network of far-right Hindu groups and the BJP that targeted the conference. The study found Shukla to be the “largest individual amplifier of attacks” against the event.
While the conference did ultimately take place, many participants withdrew out of fear. HAF was credited for its efforts.
“Dismantling Global Hindutva was publicised to be a thunder, but ended up in a whimper, thanks to [the] efforts of @HinduAmerican [and] other Hindu groups,” Ram Madhav tweeted. Madhav is a member of the National Executive of the RSS.
He did not respond to a request for comment.
Before the conference, HAF conducted an online event. Shukla received an audience question, which she quickly summarised.
“Someone has asked if we have informed the government of India about this particular situation,” Shukla said, referring to the conference. “We have.”
The “situation” in question that HAF had informed the government of India about, McDermott clarified in the email, was that the conference “was being falsely promoted as having official backing or endorsement of the 60+ universities listed, when in fact it didn’t”.
The Curious Case of a Temple Sweet: How Food Increasingly Divides India - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/26/world/asia/india-temple-laddu.html
It was a sensational charge in a country where food is yet another marker of political, religious and caste divides.
But the politicization of food has become more pervasive with the rise of Hindu nationalism under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Vegetarianism and cow protection are now a staple of the political discourse. Mere accusations of eating or transporting beef — mostly against Muslims — can result in lynchings by cow-protection vigilantes and right-wing organizations.
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It was a sensational charge in a country where food is yet another marker of political, religious and caste divides.
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For centuries, the Tirupati temple in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh has given laddu, a ball-shaped sweet, to devotees. The temple is the richest Hindu holy site in the world, with revenues each year of hundreds of millions of dollars, and it is spending about a million dollars a month just on ghee to fry the laddu in, according to M.K. Jagadish, an official at a state-owned dairy.
Last month, the state’s newly elected chief minister, a Hindu named N. Chandrababu Naidu, accused his Christian predecessor of allowing the temple’s laddu to be made in ghee, a clarified butter, that was adulterated with other animal fats. A majority of the temple’s devotees are vegetarian; Mr. Naidu’s allegation called into question the sanctity of the temple itself.
The case of the temple sweet shows how India’s food cultures have become increasingly politicized. In a nation where cows are viewed as sacred by most Hindus, many states have banned the slaughter of cows and made the transportation of beef a punishable offense. In some, even the cooking of eggs has drawn official condemnation. Restaurants are closely monitored for any mixing of vegetarian and nonvegetarian food. Some states have ordered the owners of food stalls to display their names clearly so consumers are aware of their religious and caste identity.
Cultural sensitivities surrounding food are not new in India. The Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the British was ignited by allegations that rifle cartridges, which had to be manually loaded by biting off the end, were greased in beef tallow and pig fat, antagonizing both Hindu and Muslim soldiers in the British Army.
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Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, which has traditionally drawn support from upper castes, has presented the notion of “pure vegetarianism” as a nationalist ideology since it took power in 2014. That push is intended to shape a monolithic Hindu identity that paints over caste divisions, analysts say.
Increasingly, those who do not conform to these ideas of food purity or who question them — including religious minorities like Muslims, lower-caste communities and political activists — have come under attack. Some are trolled and shamed online. Others have had their homes bulldozed or even been lynched.
Ashok Swain
@ashoswai
The UK Home office has identified Hindu nationalism (Hindutva) among nine emerging threats to the country's security. Finally, the West is realizing the dangers of Hindutva terror. I have been talking about it for ages.
https://x.com/ashoswai/status/1885298919371939901
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Why saffron terror is not a myth
By shielding Hindu terror suspects, the Modi government is making a big mistake. It should learn from Pakistan’s blunders.
Ashok Swain
May 20, 2016 · 08:00 am
https://scroll.in/article/808306/why-saffron-terror-is-not-a-myth
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