Category: Voter Education
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HinduPACT Quoted in Sri Lanka Express
No place for Buddhists with Joe Biden’s identity politics?
OPINIONBy Hassina Leelarathnahttps://www.srilankaexpress.org/dncbuddhistComments are welcome. Please write to hassinal@gmail.comAugust 23, 2020The run-up to the U.S. 2020 election is in full swing and so is the game of identity politics.While Donald Trump and the far right might seem like masters at it, Democrats are not far behind as they woo targeted racial and religious populations. In the process, they’re raising hackles in traditionally Democratic-leaning ethnic communities.Buddhists are ignored by the right and taken for granted, even cold shouldered, by the left. Some Sikhs and Hindus have their own grievances and are veering right.Take some of the remarks made by Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in his address to the Million Muslim Votes Summit last month:“As Hindu American advocacy organization, we at HinduPACT USA believe that just as Vice President Biden has created a special page for Islam and other faiths on his website, he should create a special section for other faiths. So far, he has ignored this demand from the dharmic traditions, which include Hindus, Buddhist, Sikhs and Jains,” says Ajay Shah, Executive VP of the World Hindu Council of America.Shah sees Biden’s reference to teaching Islam and confessional faiths in schools as troubling as it excludes dharmic faiths.“If Vice President Biden wants to be the President of all Americans, he should first try to become a presidential candidate who includes all Americans and not pander to any particular faith community. We eagerly look forward to Vice President Biden’s campaign becoming more inclusive towards dharmic traditions.”Turn now to the Democratic National Convention (DNC). If it’s any consolation to Ajay Shah and others sharing a Hindu American advocacy platform, the virtually-run event last week featured Hindu and Sikh representatives. However, it was at an interfaith service on Sunday, a day before the start of the convention (that ran Aug 17- 20).
Neelima Gonuguntla, an attorney from Texas recited the Shanti Mantra from the Vedas. Sikh and interfaith community leader Pardeep Kaleka of Wisconsin prayed for those who lost their lives and those who are all sick from the pandemic, and called for a more just and compassionate world.Imam Noman Hussain of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, an Islamic Studies Instructor and founder & CEO of an Islamic school, offered Muslim prayers.Other faith community leaders at the event:- Rex Lee Jim – of the Diné (Navajo) tribe, a former Vice President of the Navajo Nation
- Marin Webster Denning – Milwaukee, Wisconsin: member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin
- Bishop William Murphy III – Atlanta, Georgia: Lead Pastor of The dReam Center Church of Atlanta
- Bishop Samuel Green – Columbia, South Carolina: African Methodist Episcopal Church
In addition, there were confessional- faith blessings throughout the week of the convention. On Thursday, the final day, as the Washington Post framed it, “Reflecting Democrats’ interest in interfaith engagement” four faith leaders from three religious traditions were featured:- Rabbi Lauren Berkun, vice president of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America.
- Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of the advocacy group NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
- Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and editor at large of the Jesuit magazine America;
- Imam Al-Hajj Talib ’Abdur-Rashid, a Muslim social justice activist who leads the New York-based Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood.
Biden’s unspoken message to Buddhists during the weeklong pageant celebrating the nation’s “collective strength and diversity:” blessings not needed.Given an estimated 4 million American Buddhists, about 66 percent of whom lean liberal and vote Democratic, the snub is quite noteworthy, eliciting the following responses.“If they [Democratic National Convention] had only one prayer, I think it appropriate that they asked a Christian minister to recite the prayer, since Christianity is the majority religion of the country, and the minister’s short prayer was not especially sectarian, apart from the mention of “the matchless name of Jesus” at the end. But if they had a variety of clergy, they should certainly have included a Buddhist representative,” said Ven. Bhikku Bodhi, well-known American (Theravada) scholar-monk in response to my request for his views.Ven. Walpola Piyananda, Chief Incumbent of the Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara, who has a large following of American Buddhist practitioners said it was “troubling that Buddhists are continuously overlooked by American political leaders.”As an example, Ven. Piyananda points out that The Hindu Diwali festival is celebrated both at the White House and the State Department, so is the Muslim Ramadan festival,” adding that it’s the right thing to do to make ethnic minorities feel welcome. He has been trying for a long time without success to have Washington give Buddhists the same nod. “I have written several letters on the subject, including to Sec. of State John Kerry. Never received a response.”However, Ven. Piyananda is not giving up. “Going forward, Buddhists must unite and make our voices heard. Doing nothing is not an option.”Mark Zuckerman of San Francisco, who describes himself as a “life-long Democrat and engaged meditator, a skill learned at Buddhist Temples,” noted the DNC’s “loud silence of faith leaders who speak to the American experience out of a Buddhist perspective.” While his primary faith background is Jewish, Zuckerman says his exposure to Buddhism has enriched him with “a message that blends beautifully into the community of beliefs contributing to the enhancement of our national motto: one from many, E Pluribus Unum.”With its emphasis on peaceful and nonviolent behaviors, he sees Buddhism as a positive force in crucial policy areas such as climate change. “The Democratic Party should overtly recognize these communities of faith and urge them to join in at this critical time in American history.”Ideally, Democrats should have refused to play that game of faith-based identity politics and simply assured us of a just society that respects and treats all people alike, with sound policy decisions backing up that promise.With its decision to open and close its signature event with prayers of confessional faiths, with no representation at all of the Buddhist religion, the Democratic Party has indicated which religions are more welcome, whose votes more important.It has also shown that they don’t practice in America what they preach to the rest of the world. - Rex Lee Jim – of the Diné (Navajo) tribe, a former Vice President of the Navajo Nation
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HinduPACT Quoted in India Today
Indian-Americans not happy with Kamala Harris as Democrats VP pick
Born to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, California Senator Harris, if elected, would be the first woman vice president ever for the country.
Kamala Harris” selection as the Democratic vice-presidential candidate has evoked mixed reactions from the influential Indian-Americans, with a majority of them expressing unfavourable opinions about the Indian-American senator”s track record and her stance towards India and the community.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden scripted history on Wednesday by selecting 55-year-old Harris, an Indian-American and an African-American, as his running mate in the election on November 3.
Born to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, California Senator Harris, if elected, would be the first woman vice president ever for the country.
While her nomination has filled many aspiring women, particularly young women of colour, with joy across the globe, Harris” selection has also generated mixed reactions from about 3.9 million Indian-Americans, both Republicans and indecisive voters, who believe she lacks understanding of what she stands for and does not consider herself as a woman of Indian origin.
After talking to various Indian-American groups, they all seem proud but have doubts at large on her handling of various critical issues towards the community and India.
Radha Dixit, the founding member of Indo-American Conservatives of Texas, said, “The Democratic Party’s reliance on ”Identity politics” has undermined her campaign because the focus has shifted to her being Indian, Asian, Jamaican, African-American and a woman of colour. Divisions in these communities are now coming to surface. Nowhere did Kamala try to claim her Hindu or Indian heritage but people are thrusting their values on her”.
“If the Democratic Party platform and Kamala Harris”s position on policy issues are the basis for deciding this election as it should be, no conservatives, men or women, will support this ticket,” Dixit said.
Padma Shri awardee Subhash Kak, Regents Professor Emeritus at the prestigious Oklahoma State University is pleased with Harris” selection but is not happy with her political affiliation.
“But I’m disappointed with her political positions that are not India-friendly and are far to the left on the political spectrum. In this, she appears to be consistent with Joe Biden who has adopted an agenda that does not acknowledge the need for a special relationship between the United States and India,” Kak said.
Aditya Satsangi, founder Americans4Hindus, a SuperPAC organisation that represents the interests of Hindus, strongly believes that Harris is a major deception planned by the Democrats to divide the Indian-American votes.
“She has always claimed to be of African descent rather than Indian and her record as an attorney in California is highly questionable. She has in fact promoted corruption in California,” Satsangi said.
Founder of the ”Living Planet Foundation” Kusum Vyas considers Harris” nomination as refreshing but questions her track record.
“She has solid credentials, but do we need to support a person who is a known critic of India”s Kashmir policy and has a strong leaning towards Pakistan. She has recommended abolishing the legal immigration process and supports illegal immigration which hurts people from countries like India, who come here legally,” Vyas said.
“Harris is a supporter of the anti-India, anti-Hindu brigade, who calls herself Black, hates Indian side of her family, never recognised herself as an Indian,” said Radhika Sud from Atlanta.
She is unaware of the atrocities of Kashmiri Hindus and has aligned with Pakistan. Indian-Americans won”t vote for pro-Pak, pro-China Harris, just because her mother happens to be an Indian, she said.
“I would evaluate her on her past policies towards American Hindus and her future approach towards the community. On the first account, I do not see her having given any significant contribution. As for the future posture of the Biden campaign, I am concerned about the public bias they have shown against the American Hindu minority with their policy pronouncements,” said Utsav Chakrabarti, Executive Director HInduPACT.
Rajiv Verma, a Houston community activist, believes that with Harris as Vice President, the Biden campaign has willfully forfeited any hopes to get the Indian-American votes as she opposes both removal of Article 370 and passage of the new citizenship amendment act by the Indian parliament.
“Harris” uninformed comments on Kashmir are interference in another sovereign country”s internal matter and are setting up a dangerous precedent for American politics. The fact that the Democrats have shown no understanding of why India has taken the steps it has, makes me think they are purposely being obtuse. How is implementing the Constitution of a sovereign nation across the country discriminatory?” asks Professor Amulya Gurtu of Green Bay, California.
“Harris needs to brush up her knowledge of Indo-US relations, failing which the votes of admiring Indian-Americans are not likely to translate into votes for the blue ticket. The present Indo-US relations with Modi-Trump chemistry is at its peak since centuries and Indo-American voters are happy with that,” said Subhash Razdan, Chairman and Co-Founder of Gandhi Foundation USA, in Atlanta.
“My decision not to support Kamala has nothing whatsoever to do with whether she identifies as Indian or Black. It”s about all the Democrats, including her & Biden, toeing the line for vile Kashmiri terrorists in my ancestral homeland of Kashmir,” said Dr Vasudev Patel, president Federation of Indian-American Association. -
HinduPACT Joins Hindu Organizations to Present Hindu Issues to Biden Campaign
HinduPACT and other Hindu organizations were invited to present Hindu issues to Vice President Biden’s campaign. The Hindu organizations painstakingly created this extensive document that was asked for by the campaign. We were told that we will have an opportunity to present this to “very high ranking officials in the campaign.”
However, to our disappointment this meeting has not materialized. We are therefore releasing this document for education of Hindu voters. We leave it to the voters to figure out, why after receiving this document a campaign would not want to meet the representatives of the American Hindu community
India-And-Democratic-Presidential-Nominee-Joe-Biden-Hindu-American-Voters-Perspective-
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Utsav Chakrabarty presents HinduPACT View to Americans4Hindus
Utsav Chakrabarty, Executive Director of HinduPACT presented a talk on, “Changing Politics in US, Implications for Hindus and Indian – How to Identify and Empower Convergent Interests of Hindus, US and India,” to Americans4Hindus
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Seeking Congressional Support Abrogation of Article 370
A letter writing campaign by HinduPACT and other organizations
Support Art 370 Abrogation by writing a letter to Rep. Cohen
Context: Cohen is gearing up to attack India’s Kashmir matters again, we need to show some strenght in numbers and formally educate him on 370’s benefits.
Only three taps on your phone = 10 secs. Please sign at the bottom of the mail.
Please share further for maximum impact.
Dhanyawad,
*Seattle’s Ek Bharat Team in collaboration with many pan-US organizations: VHPA, HinduPACT, COHNA, A4H, and others…*
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What Hindus Want from their Presidential Candidates
There are more than 4 million American Hindus in the United States. While most of them are of Indian origin, there are many who come from Bangladeshi, European, African-American and Nepalese heritage. This article examines the concerns and hopes of the American Hindu communities and the expectations they have from the Presidential candidates. It also examines the intra-community dynamics, based on my interaction with a cross-section of thought-leaders within the community
Hindus have made immeasurable contributions to American society for generations. These contributions began at an early stage of America’s advancement as a global superpower, from Henry David Thoreau’s commentary on civil disobedience at Walden Pond, Massachusetts, that were informed by the teachings of sacred Hindu text of the Bhagavad Gita. Over the decades, the community has emerged as the most highly educated religious group in the U.S. 36% of American Hindus have income of $100,000*, 2nd highest of any religious community in the country. With more than 4 million voters, the community will go into the upcoming 2020 Presidential elections with the largest increase in registered voters among Asian Americans, since 2018.
But all is not honky dory with the community when it comes to those that represent its aspirations and concerns, across the political spectrum. Despite their rapidly growing influence and strength in numbers, the American Hindu leadership is increasingly being marginalized by Geo-political forces, that are operating within the American political mainstream. These forces seek to fragment the American Hindu into intersectionalities of sub-identities and seek to turn current & future generations of voters into ‘useful idiots’ for causes that, at best, do not address the issues and demands of the American Hindus, and in their worst form, can be a threat to the Hindus themselves.
Two such sub-identities are, the “South Asian” and the “Asian American Pacific Islander” identity. Both are geographical identities that will be of little consequence to future generations of Hindus born in the US. While the former is driven by pan-Islamism that seeks the erasure of Hindus themselves, and the latter is too focused on Sino-Asia Pacific geopolitics, to address many of the issues that are unique to Hindus in the US.
With these concerns in mind, I spoke to leaders of the community over the past two months. While many of them agreed with me, some suggested that it was not the opportune time to raise these issues. The best response some could come up with, was that they were working hard “to address the Indian American issues”. Of course, few could understand the part that the “Indian American identity” itself has strategically been digested inside the “South Asian” identity and it would be very hard to convince a politician to work with a slice, when he can have the entire cake and eat it too.
That brings me to the purpose of this article. At a time when the American Hindu who was traditionally a Democrat, but rapidly moving towards the Republican Party, what is it that they want from their Presidential candidates?
I decided to speak with a cross section of the community’s thought-leadership, in the most bipartisan manner I could. Ajay Shah, the convenor of HinduPACT, and myself, put together a questionnaire that the Presidential candidates can respond to.
A. Hindu Issues in America
- As a President, will you protect Hindu American constitutional and civil rights;
honor the contribution of Hindu American communities across America; and
create a safe environment for their growth and prosperity. - Will you ensure that the Homeland Security, Justice Department, and the FBI will work closely with the Hindu Mandirs (Temples) and other organizations to
ensure that they are provided protection against hate crime and discrimination? - Will you ensure that the Department of Education will consult practitioners of
Hindu faith to develop guidelines for state agencies? Will you ensure that the textbooks and instructional materials that promote Hinduphobia and reflect misrepresentation of Hindu dharma (faith) in school textbooks are removed? - Will you de-fund Universities and colleges that continue to institutionalize
Hindupobic teachings? - Will you include Hindu American participation in national prayer meetings at the White House, and include at least 2 Hindu festivals in the list of festivals celebrated at the White House?
- Will you Include Hindu American organizations in faith-based service initiatives and, in the dialog on interfaith, diversity and inclusion?
Over 80% of high skilled immigrants who are eligible for Green Card are Hindus. What are your views on extended delays in Green Card processing times (often more than 20 years) for these legal immigrants?
B. Global Hindu Issues
- Will you promote equal rights and security for Dharmic communities (Hindu,
Sikh, Jain, Buddhist) in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh? The United States has a long tradition of offering hope and safe haven to refugees and to those seeking asylum. Will you give persecuted followers of Dharmic faiths who are minorities in these countries, asylum under the “emergency refugee protection” program? - Will you work to restore Temporary Protected Status for immigrants from Nepal living in the United States?
- How will you promote stronger relations with India and support India’s role in a new vision for the Indo-Pacific, to counter-terrorism and advance our shared security and economic interests in the region?
The American Hindu may decide who wins in Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Texas and Florida, in the upcoming Presidential elections. The list above, is just an outline for the Hindu voter in the United States, so they can communicate with their party of choice, directly. It is as much a questionnaire for the Presidential candidates, as it is a guideline for the community leaders who do outreach to political surrogates and raise funds for them. More importantly, it is a wakeup call to those leaders that have been sacrificing the Hindu American identity under the more transient geographical and ethnic branding. While it may have served their objectives in the short run, it will harm the growth potential of Hindu leaders in American politics in the long run. The harm to our interest and wellbeing will follow soon.
*Pew Research survey
I discuss more about this on HinduLounge, episode 13 for World Hindu Council of America’s, HinduPACT initiative
- As a President, will you protect Hindu American constitutional and civil rights;
