Category: Media

Source: http://www.indoamerican-news.com/2020-presidential-election-debate-on-hindu-american-issues/

San Francisco:  A coalition of Hindu American organizations joined hands to conduct a first of its kind debate to discuss issues relevant to the Hindu American community in the upcoming presidential election.  On Sunday, October 18, 2020, six Hindu Americans, split evenly between the two presidential candidates, met virtually to debate topics as they related to the Hindu American community in the following three broad areas: domestic policy, foreign policy, and overall party stance.  For each of the three areas, the debaters presented positions favoring their candidate as well as opposing the other candidate.   

The debaters, all of whom had demonstrated a commitment to the Hindu American community through their activism or spirit, were vocal supporters of the candidate they were representing.

The debaters for the Trump side were Jay Kansara, Srilekha Reddy Palle, and Utsav Chakrabarti.  The debaters for the Biden side were Nish Acharya, Tushar Dhayagude, and Niki Shah.   

In an active and, at times, very passionate debate, the debaters discussed, among many others, sub-topics such as the interactions and commitment of each candidate to the Hindu American community, President Trump’s presence at the Howdy Modi event last September, the Hilal-i-Pakistan award presented to Candidate Biden by the Pakistani government, and the commitment of each candidate to helping Hindu and Sikh persecuted minorities in Afghanistan.   

Jay Kansara, who served for nine years as Director of Government Relations at the Hindu American Foundation, spoke in depth about his experience of working with the Trump administration to foster a closer working relationship between the Trump administration and the Hindu American community.  “I must say that the Trump administration is far more inclusive of Hindu thought or Hindu perspectives than the alternate, than the Obama-Biden ever was,” said Mr. Kansara.

The other two debaters to represent the Trump side were Srilekha Reddy Palle, the Political Director for the American Hindu Coalition and an active leader in the Trump campaign and in the Republican party, and Utsav Chakrabarti, an active contributor to lawmakers on Capitol Hill and to representatives of the Human Rights Commission at the United Nations.   

Nish Acharya, who was appointed by President Obama to be a Senior Advisor to the US Secretary of Commerce and Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and is currently a Senior Fellow with the Center for American Progress, spoke about the similarities between the Democratic party in the US and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s platform in India.  “The reality is, I would like to point out, that the BJP agenda in India actually is fairly progressive, in line with the Democratic Party.  So when you look at some of Prime Minister Modi’s biggest agenda items…these are all efforts to progressively, economically, and socially empower Indians from the bottom everywhere and connect them to society so they have a chance for success and survival…That is an agenda of progressive economics that we all see on the Biden side,” said Mr. Acharya when questioned about the past relationship between the then Senator Biden and Pakistan as well as the excess foreign aid given to Pakistan under the Obama-Biden administration.

The other two debaters for the Biden side were Niki Shah, a member of the Hindu Americans for Biden and a National Co Chair for South Asians for Biden, and Tushar Dhayagude, an active contributor to the political process by writing opinions and rebuttals.

The event was sponsored by the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), the Hindu American Political Action Committee (HAPAC), HinduPACT, HinduVote, and the Coalition of Hindus in North America (CoHNA).

The full video of the debate can be viewed here:

Source: https://americankahani.com/lead-stories/hindu-american-groups-outraged-by-image-depicting-kamala-harris-as-goddess-durga/

Hindu American groups have taken objection to an image tweeted by Kamala Devi Harris’ niece, Meena Harris, depicting her aunt as Goddess Durga. Seeking an apology from Meena Harris, they say the tweet, posted on Oct. 17, the first day of Navratri, offends the religious sentiments of the community.

The now-deleted tweet showed the Democratic vice presidential candidate killing President Donald Trump with a trishul or a trident. Trump was depicted as Mahishasura,” the buffalo demon, while Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is portrayed as a lion that serves as Durga’s vehicle. “I am actually speechless, other than to say that the first day of Navaratri was LIT,” Meena Harris captioned the photo. Meena Harris, 35, is a lawyer, a children’s book author and the founder of the Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign.

Indian Americans with progressive or secular outlook and those closely associated with the Biden-Harris campaign, criticized the reactions of the Hindu American groups. “Our Hinduism is strong, vibrant and diverse, and is not fragile and threatened by jokes and play,” said Sunita Viswanath, co-founder of the Hindus for Human Rights. 

According to Neha Dewan, national chair for South Asians for Biden, “the issue is a distraction from the fact that both Biden and Harris are supportive of the Hindu American community.” Dewan mentioned Navratri greetings issued by both Biden and Harris on Oct. 17, “becoming the first presidential ticket to do so.”

Offense and Outrage

Representatives of Hindu American groups and supporters of President Trump said the tweet is offensive and hurtful to the community and creates Hinduphobia in communities that already have very little knowledge about the Hindu Dharma.

Ajay Shah, convener of American Hindus Against Defamation and convener of HinduPACT (Hindu Policy Research and Advocacy Collective USA), an initiative of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA), said the Hindus “are offended and outraged,” because Sen. Harris has “assumed the form of a revered Hindu Goddess during one of the most auspicious Hindu festivals, Navaratri for scoring political points.” 

Similarly, Suhag Shukla, executive director of the Hindu American Foundation, said the tweet had upset Hindus across the world. “Dear Meena Harris, by now you know that your tweeting a caricature of the feminine divine, Maa Durga, with faces superimposed, deeply aggrieved many Hindus globally,” she said in a tweet. She advised her to follow the organization’s guidelines on the commercial use of religious images.

To some, the tweet is another example of Vice President Joe Biden’s lack of interest in acknowledging Hindu Americans as a community. 

“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,” Rakhi Israni, executive director, legal, of HinduPACT, said in a statement. “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,” Israni said. “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.”

Hindu American Voting Bloc

While most Indian Americans support the Democrats, factors such as the personal dynamics between Trump and Prime Minister Modi, his close business ties to India and his anti-Muslim rhetoric have been playing well with Hindu Americans aligned with the rightwing politics of Modi and his BJP. Many say incidents like the Oct. 17 tweet could alienate more Hindu American voters who already feel distanced by the Biden campaign. Others say the campaign is courting Hindu Americans after realizing their significance as a voting bloc. 

Calling Sen. Harris “a self-acknowledged non-Hindu,” Shah said that she is rapidly discovering her Hindu roots,” after realizing that “Hindu votes matter in battlegrounds states.” In an earlier interview with this writer, Shah said Biden is taking the Hindu vote for granted. “They seem to relish the fact that in past elections, a vast majority of Hindus voted Democratic and that the Hindu vote is in the bag, and Hindu issues do not need to be addressed.” 

Hemant Bhatt, founder of the South Asian Republican Coalition told American Kahani that the tweet not only hurts the sentiment of Hindus, it also alienates them from the Democratic party. “I don’t understand what they will achieve by hurting the religious feelings of all Hindus,” he said. “Elections should be fought on important issues and policies,” he said, “not religious bigotry and divisions.”

“Hindu Democrats took more offense to Sen. Perdue mispronouncing Kamala’s name but no one took offense for her niece’s caricature of Hindu goddess Durga.”

But Dewan argued that “the Biden-Harris ticket has issued policy platforms aimed at supporting our faith communities, while President Trump has overseen the largest spike in hate crimes against South Asians and our faith communities during his presidency.”

Several Trump supporters took to social media to criticize the tweet. Kartik Bhatt of Georgia, in a Facebook post, said the tweet is a clarion call for Hindus who are planning to go Blue. Sharing the photoshopped image, he wrote: “See what all is happening; for God sake we should not take this — someone playing with our Dharma.”

Narender G. Reddy, also of Georgia, noted on Facebook that while the Hindu Democrats took more offense to Sen. Perdue mispronouncing Kamala’s name but no one took offense for her niece’s caricature of Hindu goddess Durga. “Not even one Democrat who jumps on my FB posts every time, condemned or commented on Sen. Kamala Harris’ niece insulting an Hindu Goddess. Now, that is a shame!”

‘Putting Boundaries on Our Faith’

Both Dewan and Viswanath observe that the use of religious imagery in political satire and commercials is nothing new. “The use of religious imagery is not a new subject,” Dewan said. “Hindu deities have been used by political parties in India — as well as both major parties in the United States — for various political purposes.” 

Noting that such reactions “put boundaries on our magnanimous, expansive and inclusive faith and philosophy,” Viswanath said, Hindus for Human Rights “did not find anything objectionable” in Meena Harris’ “playful depiction.” She observes that “as Hindus, we do not have limitations on our relationship with the divine. It is a terrible shame that people are putting boundaries on our magnanimous, expansive and inclusive faith and philosophy.”

Viswanath also highlighted other depictions of Goddess Durga. Whether it is “Devi Maa bruised and battered, a statement on violence against women,” or an image of a woman in a business suit, juggling her many responsibilities, “a Navrathri statement on the superwoman that a modern woman has to be.”

Source: https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/2020-us-elections-indian-american-hindus-deeply-divided-over-trump-biden-120102100524_1.html

The political divide between Hindu supporters of US President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden is getting deeper with the presidential election less than two weeks away and the starting of early polls in some states.

In a sign of the growing political prominence of Hindus in America, the Trump and Biden campaigns are wooing this religious minority community like never before. Hinduism is the fourth largest faith in the US, representing approximately one per cent of the US population in 2016.

The Biden campaign in September launched ‘Hindu Americans for Biden’ in September, while the Trump campaign in August announced the formation of the ‘Hindu Voices for Trump’ as part of their efforts to attract the over two million members of the religious community in the US.

A virtual debate held on Sunday between American Hindu supporters of Trump and Biden brought the message home that there is a clear political divide among the community in the US.

While one group alleged that Biden “panders to Muslims”, the other accused Trump of being a “racist”.

The webinar titled ‘2020 Presidential Election: A debate on the American Hindu issues’ was co-sponsored by the Hindu American Foundation, the Hindu American PAC, the HinduPACT and the HinduVote.

During the debate, Biden supporters alluded to the Obama-Biden administration’s lifting of nuclear sanctions against India as a demonstration of Biden’s pro-India stance, while Trump supporters brought to light how Biden as the senate foreign relations committee chair passed a bill pumping billions of dollars for improving Pakistan’s economy, which ended up funding the Pakistan military and promoting terrorism across the border.

Trump supporters underlined that Pakistan honoured Biden with ‘Hilal-i-Pakistan’, the country’s second-highest civil award. On the other hand, Trump, they said, named Pakistan a ‘country of particular concern’ for supporting cross-border terrorism and drastically cut the financial aid to the nation. They recalled that Hindus had asked the Obama administration to cut aid to Pakistan, but it was not done.

A much more direct question to the Biden team was about the party platform having sections on American Muslims, American Jewish, but “nothing clear cut about American Hindu community, not even a mention”.

In response, the Biden team said the Democratic Party as a policy recognises “cultural communities” and not religious communities, thus, its policy towards “Indian American community” is on the platform.

Utsav Chakrabarty, a Trump supporter, said he had written at least six letters to the Democratic Party leadership, asking them to post a policy paper on American Hindus, but he never got any response. A Democratic Party operative, he claimed, told him that unless he made a contribution to the Biden campaign, nothing would change.

Tushar Dayagude, another Trump supporter, echoed Chakrabarty’s assertion that campaign contribution was a must for Hindus to have their cause recognised in the Biden team.

Dayagude opined that Hindu members contributing to Trump’s campaign was the reason Biden campaign ignored the community.

In this context, Srilekha Palle, a Trump supporter from Fairfox, Virginia, disputed the assertion that American Hindus largely donated only to the Trump campaign. Palle pointed out that a prominent Houston-based American Hindu raised USD 3.5 million from the community members in single night for Biden campaign.

Trump supporters said the Democrats have always “pandered to Muslims” and its support to the Hindu community was nothing more than a “tokenism”.

To drive home their point, they cited the Diwali celebration at the White House in 2012 when Obama was the president. The supporters pointed out that the Democrats invited the Islamic Society of North America as one of the sponsors of the event and provided a platform to its spokesperson to speak at the Hindu religious festival.

Buttressing the point further, Trump supporters showed on the screen an “insensitive” image tweeted by Meena Harris, niece of Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris. The tweet has now been deleted by Meena, 35, who is a lawyer and a children’s book author.

Meena had tweeted the image to greet Hindus on the ongoing festival of ‘Navratri’, which celebrates women power and the triumph of good over evil. In the image, Kamala Harris, depicted as goddess Durga, was seen killing President Trump, who was depicted as buffalo demon ‘Mahishasura’. The image also showed Biden as a lion, the ‘vahana’ (vehicle) of the goddess.

Chakrabarty said the only outreach the Biden team has made to Hindus is this kind of “tokenism, which at best is cheap and hurtful and at its worst, creates Hindu phobia”.

The Trump team at the debate also included Jay Kansara, a former director of governmental relations for the Hindu American Foundation in Washington DC, who played a key role in the Howdy Modi summit last year.

The Biden team panelists were Nish Acharya, who was Director of Innovation & Entrepreneurship in the Obama administration; and Niki Shah, a Hindu community organiser who worked closely on Hindu initiatives for former president Obama’s faith-based council.

Asked why the Trump campaign did not respond to a questionnaire sent by the Hindu American Foundation PAC, while the Biden campaign did, Kansara said he found the questionnaire heavily biased against Trump and, therefore, advised the Trump campaign against responding to it.

Source: https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/american-hindus-deeply-divided-over-trump-biden/1959315

Houston, Oct 21 (PTI) The political divide between Hindu supporters of US President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden is getting deeper with the presidential election less than two weeks away and the starting of early polls in some states.

In a sign of the growing political prominence of Hindus in America, the Trump and Biden campaigns are wooing this religious minority community like never before. Hinduism is the fourth largest faith in the US, representing approximately one per cent of the US population in 2016.

The Biden campaign in September launched ”Hindu Americans for Biden” in September, while the Trump campaign in August announced the formation of the ”Hindu Voices for Trump” as part of their efforts to attract the over two million members of the religious community in the US.

A virtual debate held on Sunday between American Hindu supporters of Trump and Biden brought the message home that there is a clear political divide among the community in the US.

While one group alleged that Biden “panders to Muslims”, the other accused Trump of being a “racist”.

The webinar titled ”2020 Presidential Election: A debate on the American Hindu issues” was co-sponsored by the Hindu American Foundation, the Hindu American PAC, the HinduPACT and the HinduVote.

During the debate, Biden supporters alluded to the Obama-Biden administration”s lifting of nuclear sanctions against India as a demonstration of Biden”s pro-India stance, while Trump supporters brought to light how Biden as the senate foreign relations committee chair passed a bill pumping billions of dollars for improving Pakistan”s economy, which ended up funding the Pakistan military and promoting terrorism across the border.

Trump supporters underlined that Pakistan honoured Biden with ”Hilal-i-Pakistan”, the country”s second-highest civil award. On the other hand, Trump, they said, named Pakistan a ”country of particular concern” for supporting cross-border terrorism and drastically cut the financial aid to the nation. They recalled that Hindus had asked the Obama administration to cut aid to Pakistan, but it was not done.

A much more direct question to the Biden team was about the party platform having sections on American Muslims, American Jewish, but “nothing clear cut about American Hindu community, not even a mention”.

In response, the Biden team said the Democratic Party as a policy recognises “cultural communities” and not religious communities, thus, its policy towards “Indian American community” is on the platform.

Utsav Chakrabarty, a Trump supporter, said he had written at least six letters to the Democratic Party leadership, asking them to post a policy paper on American Hindus, but he never got any response. A Democratic Party operative, he claimed, told him that unless he made a contribution to the Biden campaign, nothing would change.

Tushar Dayagude, another Trump supporter, echoed Chakrabarty”s assertion that campaign contribution was a must for Hindus to have their cause recognised in the Biden team.

Dayagude opined that Hindu members contributing to Trump”s campaign was the reason Biden campaign ignored the community.

In this context, Srilekha Palle, a Trump supporter from Fairfox, Virginia, disputed the assertion that American Hindus largely donated only to the Trump campaign. Palle pointed out that a prominent Houston-based American Hindu raised USD 3.5 million from the community members in single night for Biden campaign.

Trump supporters said the Democrats have always “pandered to Muslims” and its support to the Hindu community was nothing more than a “tokenism”.

To drive home their point, they cited the Diwali celebration at the White House in 2012 when Obama was the president. The supporters pointed out that the Democrats invited the Islamic Society of North America as one of the sponsors of the event and provided a platform to its spokesperson to speak at the Hindu religious festival.

Buttressing the point further, Trump supporters showed on the screen an “insensitive” image tweeted by Meena Harris, niece of Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris. The tweet has now been deleted by Meena, 35, who is a lawyer and a children”s book author.

Meena had tweeted the image to greet Hindus on the ongoing festival of ”Navratri”, which celebrates women power and the triumph of good over evil. In the image, Kamala Harris, depicted as goddess Durga, was seen killing President Trump, who was depicted as buffalo demon ”Mahishasura”. The image also showed Biden as a lion, the ”vahana” (vehicle) of the goddess.

Chakrabarty said the only outreach the Biden team has made to Hindus is this kind of “tokenism, which at best is cheap and hurtful and at its worst, creates Hindu phobia”.

The Trump team at the debate also included Jay Kansara, a former director of governmental relations for the Hindu American Foundation in Washington DC, who played a key role in the Howdy Modi summit last year.

The Biden team panelists were Nish Acharya, who was Director of Innovation & Entrepreneurship in the Obama administration; and Niki Shah, a Hindu community organiser who worked closely on Hindu initiatives for former president Obama’s faith-based council.

Asked why the Trump campaign did not respond to a questionnaire sent by the Hindu American Foundation PAC, while the Biden campaign did, Kansara said he found the questionnaire heavily biased against Trump and, therefore, advised the Trump campaign against responding to it. PTI SHK SCY SCY

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.