Hindu American Foundation

2026-06-08T04:54:03Z

2001:67C:2628:647:32:804:0:38:

{{Short description|American Hindutva organization}}

{{Short description|American Hindu advocacy organization}}

{{Use American English|date=April 2026}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Hindu American Foundation
| image = HAF_Logo_2019_color.svg
| abbreviation = HAF
| formation = {{start date and age|2003|09|22}}
| founders = Sanjay Garg, Nikhil Joshi, Mihir Meghani, Nagendra Rao, [[Aseem Shukla]]
| headquarters = 910 17th St NW [[Washington, D.C.]]{{Cn|date=March 2026}}
| region_served = [[United States]]
| status = [[501(c)(3)]] [[nonprofit organization|non-profit]]
| tax_id = 68-0551525<ref name="guidestar">{{cite web |title=Hindu American Foundation Guidestar Profile |url=https://www.guidestar.org/profile/68-0551525 |website=[[Guidestar]] |access-date=6 January 2019 }}</ref>
| leader_title = Executive Director
| leader_name = Suhag Shukla
| purpose = Hindu advocacy, civil rights advocacy, religious freedom, and public education
| website = {{URL|https://www.hinduamerican.org}}
}}

The '''Hindu American Foundation''' ({{Small|abbr.}} {{Abbr|'''HAF'''|Hindu American Foundation}}) is an American non-profit Hindu advocacy organization founded in 2003. The organization states that its mission is to promote dignity, mutual respect, pluralism, civil rights, and religious freedom for Hindu Americans while increasing public understanding of Hindu traditions and concerns.<ref>{{cite news |author=Melwani |first=Lavina |date=April 2009 |title=Meet the Young Hindu American Foundation |url=https://www.hinduismtoday.com/magazine/april-may-june-2009/2009-04-meet-the-young-hindu-american-foundation/ |newspaper=[[Hinduism Today]]}}</ref>{{sfn|Prema Kurien|2007|p=159}}

The organization has engaged in advocacy relating to religious freedom, hate-crime reporting, educational curricula, yoga, caste-discrimination policy, and the treatment of Hindu communities in South Asia.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |date=27 November 2010 |title=Hindu Group Stirs a Debate Over Yoga's Soul |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/nyregion/28yoga.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&sq=yoga&st=cse&scp=2 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>{{sfn|Prema Kurien|2016}}

HAF has been described by several scholars, journalists, and advocacy organizations as aligned with or influenced by the ideology of Hindutva and as part of wider Hindu nationalist networks in the United States.<ref name="Sailaja Krishnamurti" /><ref name="Truschke Oxford" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Mishra |first=Sangay K. |title=Desis Divided : The Political Lives of South Asian Americans |date=1 March 2016 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=978-0-8166-8115-0 |pages=101–103, 215}}</ref> HAF disputes those characterizations and describes itself as an independent, non-partisan advocacy organization representing Hindu Americans.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McDermott |first=Mat |date=2021-05-27 |title=Letter to the Editor of India Abroad from Mihir Meghani, April 2006 |url=https://www.hinduamerican.org/blog/letter-to-editor-india-abroad-mihir-meghani-april-2006 |website=Hindu American Foundation }}</ref>

== Establishment ==

The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) was founded in September 2003 by Mihir Meghani, an emergency care physician; [[Aseem Shukla]], an associate professor in urologic surgery; his wife, Suhag Shukla, an attorney; Nikhil Joshi, a labor law attorney; and his wife, Adeeti Joshi, a speech therapist.<ref>{{cite news |author=Melwani |first=Lavina |date=April 2009 |title=Meet the Young Hindu American Foundation |url=https://www.hinduismtoday.com/magazine/april-may-june-2009/2009-04-meet-the-young-hindu-american-foundation/ |newspaper=[[Hinduism Today]]}}</ref>

Describing itself as a human-rights and advocacy group, the organization emphasized the Hindu and American ideals of understanding, tolerance, and pluralism.{{sfn|Prema Kurien|2007|p=159}} [[Vinay Lal]], a professor of South Asian history at the [[University of California, Los Angeles]], noted that the organization appeared to have benefited from the goodwill associated with [[Mahatma Gandhi]] in the West.{{sfn|Vinay Lal|2012|p=123}}

Previously, Meghani had founded the [[University of Michigan]] chapter of the [[Hindu Students Council]] (HSC), a nationwide network affiliated with the [[Vishwa Hindu Parishad America]] (VHPA).{{sfn|Prema Kurien|2007|pp=145-146}} He later served on the governing council of VHPA and authored an essay that attracted scholarly attention because of its discussion of Hindutva and Indian politics.<ref name="Frontline">{{Cite news |author1=Raqib Hameed Naik |author2=Divya Trivedi |date=16 July 2021 |title=Sangh Parivar's U.S. funds trail |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/sangh-parivars-us-funds-trail/article35117629.ece |newspaper=Frontline}}</ref>{{sfn|Prema Kurien|2007|pp=145-146}}{{sfn|Prema Kurien|2007a}}

Some scholars and advocacy organizations have argued that HAF emerged from networks associated with the broader Sangh Parivar and sought to frame Hindu concerns through the language of civil rights and multiculturalism in the United States.<ref name="Hindu rights">{{harvp|Coalition Against Genocide|2013|loc=Sec. 2}}</ref>{{sfn|Prema Kurien|2016}} HAF has rejected those characterizations and has maintained that it is an independent organization focused on advocacy for Hindu Americans.{{sfn|Prema Kurien|2016}}

== Activism ==

The HAF was the first American Hindu advocacy organization to develop a professional organizational structure with full-time staff and is widely regarded as one of the most prominent organizations in the Hindu advocacy field.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |date=27 November 2010 |title=Hindu Group Stirs a Debate Over Yoga's Soul |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/nyregion/28yoga.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&sq=yoga&st=cse&scp=2 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>{{sfn|Prema Kurien|2016}}

The organization has collaborated with a variety of advocacy groups and religious organizations and has participated in public-policy discussions concerning religious freedom, civil rights, education, and minority rights.<ref>{{Cite news |author=Niraj Sheth |title=Jews, Hindus in Bay Area discover common ground |newspaper=East Bay Times |date=2007-08-20 |url=https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2007/08/20/jews-hindus-in-bay-area-discover-common-ground/}}</ref>

=== Highlighting Hindu persecution ===

During 2004–05, the organization held events to educate legislators about issues affecting Hindu Americans, including the treatment of Hindus in Kashmir, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.{{sfn|Prema Kurien|2007a}} Since then, it has continued to publish reports and advocacy materials concerning the status of Hindu communities worldwide.{{sfn|Prema Kurien|2016}}

The HAF has advocated for greater attention to the treatment of Hindu minorities in South Asia and has supported efforts aimed at improving conditions for refugees and displaced persons from those communities.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Raheja |first=Natasha |date=1 September 2018 |title=Neither Here nor There: Pakistani Hindu Refugee Claims at the Interface of the International and South Asian Refugee Regimes |url=https://academic.oup.com/jrs/article/31/3/334/4922733 |journal=Journal of Refugee Studies |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=334–352 |doi=10.1093/jrs/fey013 |issn=0951-6328|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The organization has also advocated closer strategic cooperation among India, Israel, and the United States in addressing terrorism and regional security concerns.{{sfn|Vinay Lal|2012|p=122}}

=== Advocacy for Hindu rights in the United States ===

In 2004, HAF challenged the public display of the [[Ten Commandments]] in Texas, appearing as ''amicus curiae'' in ''[[Van Orden v. Perry]]'' before the United States Supreme Court. The organization argued that the display represented government preference for particular religious traditions and was inconsistent with principles of religious neutrality.{{sfn|Prema Kurien|2007|p=1}}{{sfn|Vinay Lal|2012|pp=122-123}}

In 2008, HAF joined a coalition of religious groups in litigation challenging Christian-themed license plates in South Carolina.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Lawsuit filed over 'I Believe' plates in S.C. |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna25270095 |newspaper=NBC News |date=2008-06-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Jon Hood |title=Religious License Plate Banned in South Carolina |newspaper=Consumer Affairs |date=5 November 2009 |url=https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/11/sc_plates.html}}</ref>

In 2015, as part of the Hate Crimes Coalition, HAF participated in efforts to encourage improved federal tracking of hate crimes directed at Hindus and other religious minorities.<ref>{{cite news |author=Sunita Sohrabji |title=FBI Adds Hindus, Sikhs to New Hate Crime Tracking Manual |newspaper=IndiaWest |date=26 March 2015 |url=https://www.indiawest.com/news/global_indian/fbi-adds-hindus-sikhs-to-new-hate-crime-tracking-manual/article_a092d0ca-d412-11e4-ba4e-e73a618932a6.html}}</ref>

Some scholars have questioned HAF's characterization of trends in anti-Hindu hate crimes in the United States, arguing that available data do not necessarily support claims of a significant increase in such incidents.<ref name=":15">{{Cite book |last=Essa |first=Azad |title=Hostile Homelands: The New Alliance Between India and Israel |publisher=Pluto Press |year=2023 |isbn=978-0-7453-4505-5 |jstor=jj.168341}}</ref>

In 2016, HAF joined other organizations in supporting the issuance of a United States Postal Service commemorative stamp recognizing the festival of Diwali.<ref>{{cite news |date=23 August 2016 |title=Diwali stamp to be released by the United States Postal Service on 5 October |url=https://www.americanbazaaronline.com/2016/08/23/diwali-stamp-to-be-released-by-the-united-states-postal-service-on-october-5416558/ |newspaper=American Bazaar}}</ref>

=== Pro-India advocacy ===

HAF has participated in public-policy debates concerning India and South Asia and has frequently advocated stronger relations between India and the United States.

In 2005, when members of Congress introduced a resolution criticizing Narendra Modi in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots, HAF opposed the measure. The organization argued that the resolution unfairly focused on India while overlooking religious persecution and extremism elsewhere in South Asia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-08-24 |title=Hindu American Foundation Condemns Hinduphobic Resolution in House of Representatives |publisher=Hindu American Foundation |url=http://www.hinduamericanfoundation.org/media_press_release_pitts.htm}}</ref>{{sfn|Prema Kurien|2016}}

In 2013, HAF similarly opposed congressional legislation that criticized India's anti-conversion laws and called for additional scrutiny of religious-freedom conditions in India. The organization argued that the legislation selectively targeted Hindu-majority India while minimizing the impact of terrorism and political violence.{{sfn|Prema Kurien|2016}}

Critics of HAF have argued that these efforts contributed to defending or promoting policies associated with Hindu nationalism in India, while supporters describe them as advocacy on behalf of Indian and Hindu-American interests.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Their Master's Voice In Washington |newspaper=Outlook |date=4 February 2022 |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/their-masters-voice-in-washington/289551 }}</ref>

In 2016, HAF organized legislative briefings concerning Pakistan's support for militancy in Kashmir and broader regional security issues.{{sfn|Prema Kurien|2016}}

Following the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special constitutional status in 2019, HAF published materials emphasizing potential benefits of the policy, including equal legal protections and expanded economic opportunities.<ref name=":15" />

Critics disputed those assessments and argued that the organization downplayed concerns regarding civil liberties and political rights in the region.<ref name=":15" />

=== Anti-conversion laws and religious freedom ===

HAF has been a vocal defender of anti-conversion laws enacted by several Indian states, arguing that such legislation protects vulnerable populations from being induced into changing religion through material incentives, fraud, or coercion.<ref name="LOC anti-conversion">{{Cite web |title=State Anti-conversion Laws in India |publisher=Law Library of Congress |url=https://www.loc.gov/law/help/anti-conversion-laws/india.php |access-date=25 April 2026}}</ref>

The organization maintains that freedom of religion includes protection against coercive conversion efforts and has argued that anti-conversion laws can be consistent with religious liberty when applied fairly.<ref name="LOC anti-conversion" />

Critics, including human-rights organizations and religious-freedom advocates, have argued that such laws have often been used disproportionately against Christians and Muslims and have contributed to discrimination against religious minorities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=USCIRF Calls on the U.S. Government to Urge Indian Officials to Hold Perpetrators of Targeted Violence Accountable |publisher=United States Commission on International Religious Freedom |date=February 2026 |url=https://www.uscirf.gov/news-room/releases-statements/religious-minorities-india-suffer-escalating-attacks}}</ref>

Some journalists and advocacy groups have further criticized HAF's position, arguing that the organization has focused more heavily on conversions away from Hinduism than on campaigns encouraging conversion to Hinduism.<ref name="Byline">{{Cite news |author=CJ Werleman |title=Under the Radar: How the Hindutva Lobbying Campaign Has Extended to the US |newspaper=Byline Times |date=21 October 2021 |url=https://bylinetimes.com/2021/10/21/under-the-radar-how-the-hindutva-lobbying-campaign-has-extended-to-the-us/}}</ref>

In 2013, HAF opposed House Resolution 417, which called attention to religious violence in India and criticized anti-conversion laws in several Indian states.<ref name="Savera">{{Cite report |author=Savera |title=HAF Way to Supremacy: How the Hindu American Foundation Rebrands Bigotry as Minority Rights |publisher=Political Research Associates |date=15 October 2024 |url=https://politicalresearch.org/2024/10/15/haf-way-supremacy}}</ref>

HAF argued that the resolution selectively targeted Hindu-majority India and failed to adequately address religious extremism and violence elsewhere in South Asia. Critics contended that the organization's lobbying efforts contributed to opposition against measures intended to address religious-freedom concerns in India.<ref name="Savera" /><ref name="Harpers">{{Cite news |author=Andrew Cockburn |title=The Hindutva Lobby: How Hindu nationalism spreads in America |magazine=Harper's Magazine |date=18 September 2024 |url=https://harpers.org/archive/2024/10/the-hindutva-lobby-hindu-nationalism-america-andrew-cockburn/}}</ref>

=== ''Take Back Yoga'' campaign ===

In 2010, HAF launched the ''Take Back Yoga'' campaign, arguing that contemporary presentations of yoga often overlooked or minimized the tradition's historical and philosophical roots in Hinduism.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Meera Nanda |title=Not as Old as You Think |date=12 February 2011 |url=http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/living/not-as-old-as-you-think |magazine=OPEN Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |author=Farai Chideya |title=Has Yoga Strayed Too Far From Its Hindu Roots? |work=NPR |date=24 March 2011 |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/03/24/134822766/Has-Yoga-Strayed-Too-Far-From-Its-Hindu-Roots}}</ref>{{sfn|Andrea Jain|2014}}

The campaign encouraged greater public awareness of yoga's historical development within Hindu traditions and criticized what HAF viewed as the commercialization and secularization of yoga in popular culture.{{sfn|Andrea Jain|2014}}

Supporters viewed the initiative as an effort to educate the public about the origins of yoga and acknowledge Hindu contributions to global culture.

Several scholars disagreed with aspects of the campaign's interpretation of yoga's history. They argued that yoga evolved through complex interactions among multiple religious and philosophical traditions and cautioned against presenting it as the exclusive product of any single tradition.{{sfn|Andrea Jain|2014}}<ref>{{Cite book |author=Christopher Patrick Miller |title=The Routledge Handbook of Hindu–Christian Relations |chapter=Christian and Hindu responses to Christian yoga practice in North America |date=31 December 2020 |pages=280–293 |publisher=Routledge Handbooks Online |doi=10.4324/9781003139843-27}}</ref>

=== Caste ===

HAF has frequently addressed questions concerning caste and caste discrimination in both South Asia and the diaspora.

In 2010, the organization published a report titled ''Hinduism: Not Cast in Caste'', which argued that caste discrimination should be opposed while also maintaining that caste is not an intrinsic or defining component of Hindu theology.{{sfn|Prema Kurien|2016}}

The report called for reform efforts led by Hindus themselves and argued that caste discrimination should not be treated as an essential feature of Hindu identity.{{sfn|Prema Kurien|2016}}

Over time, HAF has continued to oppose caste discrimination while also objecting to portrayals that, in its view, equate Hinduism with caste hierarchy.{{sfn|Prema Kurien|2022}}

Critics, including scholars and anti-caste activists, have argued that caste remains a significant social reality both in South Asia and among diaspora communities and that efforts to minimize its role may hinder attempts to address discrimination.<ref name="TIME">{{cite magazine |author1=Rohit Chopra |author2=Ajantha Subramaniam |title=Caste Discrimination Exists in the U.S., Too—But a Movement to Outlaw It Is Growing |url=https://time.com/6146141/caste-discrimination-us-opposition-grows/ |magazine=TIME |date=11 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Not Even Indian Students in American Colleges Can Escape Caste Discrimination |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/csu-caste-indian-students-california-state-university-policy/ |newspaper=VICE |date=3 February 2022 }}</ref>

=== SB403 ===

In 2023, HAF became one of the most prominent opponents of California Senate Bill 403, which sought to explicitly add caste to anti-discrimination protections under California law.<ref name="POLNewsom">{{cite news |author=Eric He |title=Newsom vetoes a proposed ban on caste discrimination in California |newspaper=Politico |date=7 October 2023 |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/07/newsom-veto-caste-discrimination-00120495 }}</ref>

Supporters of the legislation argued that explicit protections were necessary because caste discrimination existed within diaspora communities and was not adequately addressed under existing law.<ref name="NYTOct7">{{cite news |author=Amy Qin |title=Newsom Vetoes Bill Banning Caste Discrimination |website=The New York Times |date=7 October 2023 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/07/us/california-caste-discrimination.html}}</ref>

HAF opposed the bill, arguing that caste discrimination was already prohibited under existing anti-discrimination laws and that the proposal risked unfairly targeting Hindu and South Asian communities by reinforcing stereotypes linking caste exclusively to Hinduism.<ref name="SacBee-Recall">{{cite news |last=Hatch |first=Jenavieve |title=Republican-backed recall committee forms against Bay Area Democratic Sen. Aisha Wahab |website=The Sacramento Bee |date=3 May 2023 |url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article274935271.html}}</ref>

After the bill passed the California Legislature, Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed it, stating that existing civil-rights protections already covered caste discrimination.<ref name="NYTOct7" />

Supporters of SB403 criticized the veto and continued advocating for explicit caste protections. HAF welcomed the decision and argued that it preserved equal treatment under existing law while avoiding unnecessary religious profiling.

The debate became one of the most prominent public discussions concerning caste, religion, civil rights, and identity within the South Asian American community.<ref name="BBCCaste">{{cite news |title=The divisive debate over California's anti-caste bill |website=BBC News |date=9 June 2023 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-65819688 }}</ref>

== Academic controversies and criticism ==

Several scholars and commentators have criticized HAF's interventions in academic and educational debates, while the organization has argued that its efforts seek to challenge what it regards as inaccurate or biased portrayals of Hindu traditions and Hindu communities.<ref name="Truschke Oxford">{{citation |author=Audrey Truschke |chapter=The Hindu Right in the United States |title=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.013.1070 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2022}}</ref>

=== California textbook controversies ===

{{Main|California textbook controversy over Hindu history|2016–17 California textbook controversy over South Asian topics}}

In March 2006, HAF filed a lawsuit challenging California's Curriculum Commission after it rejected most of the textbook revisions proposed by the Vedic Foundation and Hindu Education Foundation.<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal |last=Bose |first=Purnima |date=2008 |title=Hindutva Abroad: The California Textbook Controversy |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40339280 |journal=The Global South |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=11–34 |issn=1932-8648}}</ref>

Supporters of the proposed changes argued that existing textbooks contained inaccuracies and negative portrayals of Hindu traditions and Indian civilization. They also contended that some descriptions of caste, gender, and ancient Indian history unfairly stigmatized Hindu students.<ref name=":12" />

Numerous historians, Indologists, and South Asia scholars opposed the revisions, arguing that several proposed changes conflicted with established academic scholarship regarding caste, gender, and the history of ancient India.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Visweswaran |first=Kamala |last2=Witzel |first2=Michael |last3=Manjrekar |first3=Nandini |last4=Bhog |first4=Dipta |last5=Chakravarti |first5=Uma |date=2009 |title=The Hindutva View of History: Rewriting Textbooks in India and the United States |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43134195 |journal=Georgetown Journal of International Affairs |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=101–112 |issn=1526-0054}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Witzel |first=Michael |display-authors=etal |date=8 November 2005 |title=Letter to California State Board of education |url=https://safarmer.com/textbook.petition.2005.pdf}}</ref>

The court ultimately ruled against HAF and retained the textbooks.<ref name=":13">{{Cite news |date=9 September 2006 |title=US text row resolved by Indian |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2006-09-09/india/27800566_1_aryans-textbook-affidavit |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120715082709/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2006-09-09/india/27800566_1_aryans-textbook-affidavit |archive-date=15 July 2012 |newspaper=The Times of India}}</ref>

In 2016, HAF opposed proposals to replace the term "Indian" with "South Asian" in portions of California's middle-school curriculum. The organization argued that the changes diminished India's historical and cultural identity.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Jennifer |last=Medina |title=Debate Erupts in California Over Curriculum on India's History |work=The New York Times |date=4 May 2016 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/06/us/debate-erupts-over-californias-india-history-curriculum.html}}</ref>

Opponents argued that the broader terminology more accurately reflected regional history and diversity and accused supporters of the revisions of attempting to minimize discussion of caste and other controversial historical topics.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Jennifer |last=Medina |title=Debate Erupts in California Over Curriculum on India's History |work=The New York Times |date=4 May 2016 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/06/us/debate-erupts-over-californias-india-history-curriculum.html}}</ref>

=== Wendy Doniger controversy ===

In 2010, HAF publicly criticized the selection of Wendy Doniger's ''The Hindus: An Alternative History'' for recognition by the National Book Critics Circle.<ref name="Michael Jerryson">{{Cite web |author=Michael Jerryson |title=Policing Academic Freedom: A Book, a Controversy, and the Ominous Aftermath |website=Religion Dispatches |date=2014-04-10 |url=https://religiondispatches.org/policing-academic-freedom-a-book-a-controversy-and-the-ominous-aftermath/}}</ref>

HAF argued that the book contained factual inaccuracies and interpretations that many Hindus found offensive. The organization criticized what it viewed as sensationalized portrayals of Hindu traditions and deities.<ref name="Michael Jerryson" />

Supporters of Doniger defended her scholarship and argued that criticism of controversial interpretations should not be used to restrict academic freedom or scholarly inquiry.<ref name="Michael Jerryson" />

=== Defamation lawsuit ===

In May 2021, HAF filed a defamation lawsuit against several activists, scholars, and advocacy organizations who had publicly characterized the organization as linked to Hindu nationalist movements.<ref name="Scroll">{{Cite web |author=Anisha Sircar |title=Explained: The Hindu American Foundation's defamation case against Hindus for Human Rights founders |newspaper=Scroll.in |date=24 May 2021 |url=https://scroll.in/global/995560/explained-the-hindu-american-foundations-defamation-case-against-hindus-for-human-rights-founders}}</ref><ref name="RNS">{{Cite news |author=Mythili Sampathkumar |title=Hindu American Foundation files defamation suit against Hindu rights nonprofit |newspaper=Religion News Service |date=20 May 2021 |url=https://religionnews.com/2021/05/20/hindu-american-foundation-files-defamation-suit-against-hindu-rights-nonprofit/}}</ref>

HAF argued that statements alleging ties to Hindu supremacist organizations were false and defamatory.<ref name="Scroll" />

A number of academics and public intellectuals criticized the lawsuit, arguing that it could have a chilling effect on public debate and scholarship concerning Hindu nationalism and diaspora politics.<ref name="repudiate">{{Cite web |title=Over 300 Writers, Academics and Scholars Repudiate HAF's Attempt to Silence Hindus for Human Rights |url=https://www.hindusforhumanrights.org/en/blog/for-immediate-release-300-academics-and-scholars-express-their-solidarity-with-hindus-for-human-rights-and-its-allies-in-the-lawsuit-filed-by-the-hindu-american-foundation-py7je |website=Hindus for Human Rights}}</ref>

The lawsuit was dismissed in December 2022.<ref name="Scroll" />

=== Opposition to ''Dismantling Global Hindutva'' conference ===

In 2021, HAF opposed the virtual academic conference ''Dismantling Global Hindutva: Multidisciplinary Perspectives'', organized by scholars affiliated with numerous universities.<ref name="Guardian">{{Cite news |title=Death threats sent to participants of US conference on Hindu nationalism |newspaper=The Guardian |date=9 September 2021 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/09/death-threats-sent-to-participants-of-us-conference-on-hindu-nationalism }}</ref>

HAF argued that the conference promoted one-sided portrayals of Hinduism and included speakers who had previously made statements that many Hindus considered offensive or prejudicial.<ref name=":15">{{Cite book |last=Essa |first=Azad |title=Hostile Homelands: The New Alliance Between India and Israel |publisher=Pluto Press |year=2023 |isbn=978-0-7453-4505-5 |jstor=jj.168341}}</ref>

Conference organizers and participating scholars rejected those claims and maintained that the conference examined Hindutva as a political ideology rather than Hinduism as a religion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AAS Statement on the Dismantling Global Hindutva Conference |website=Association for Asian Studies |date=10 September 2021 |url=https://www.asianstudies.org/aas-statement-on-the-dismantling-global-hindutva-conference/}}</ref>

Several academic organizations subsequently issued statements supporting academic freedom and condemning threats directed at conference participants.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AHA Releases Statement on Threats to Academic Conferences |publisher=American Historical Association |url=https://www.historians.org/news-and-advocacy/aha-advocacy/aha-statement-on-threats-to-academic-conferences-(september-2021)}}</ref>

Following the conference, HAF filed a complaint with the Department of Education concerning the University of Pennsylvania's involvement, arguing that Hindu students and scholars had been subjected to discriminatory treatment.<ref name="Daily Pennsylvanian">{{Cite news |author=Tori Sousa |title=Penn faces federal complaint for participation in conference discussing Hindu nationalism |newspaper=The Daily Pennsylvanian |date=26 October 2021 |url=https://www.thedp.com/article/2021/10/hindu-foundation-penn-complaint-us-department-of-education }}</ref>

Multiple faculty members disagreed with HAF's position and argued that criticism of Hindutva should not be conflated with criticism of Hinduism.<ref name="Daily Pennsylvanian" /><ref>{{Cite news |author=Susan Snyder |title=A Hindu foundation has filed a complaint against University of Pennsylvania, saying an online conference perpetuated stereotypes |newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=17 October 2021 |url=https://www.inquirer.com/news/hindu-foundation-penn-civil-rights-complaint-hindutva-20211017.html }}</ref>

== Funding Controversies ==
The HAF's funding sources have drawn scrutiny in this context. In April 2021, ''[[Al Jazeera]]'' reported that the HAF was one of five U.S.-based organizations linked to Sangh Parivar networks that had together received approximately $833,000 in federal [[Paycheck Protection Program]] (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Advances during the [[COVID-19 pandemic|COVID-19 pandemic]]; the HAF received the largest individual share, around $378,064 in PPP funds and an additional $10,000 in EIDL Advance.<ref name="AJ PPP">{{Cite news |author=Raqib Hameed Naik |title=Hindu right-wing groups in US got $833,000 of federal COVID fund |newspaper=Al Jazeera |date=2 April 2021 |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/2/hindu-right-wing-groups-in-us-got-833000-of-federal-covid-fund}}</ref> The reporting placed the HAF alongside Sewa International, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, the [[Ekal Vidyalaya|Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation]], and Rajiv Malhotra's [[Infinity Foundation]], entities described in the article as having documented links to organizations that have been associated in India with violence against Christian, Muslim and Dalit communities.<ref name="AJ PPP" /> The HAF rejected this characterization and subsequently filed the defamation action.

Tax filings reviewed by ''[[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]]'' and other outlets indicate substantial donor overlap between the HAF and U.S. foundations that fund Sangh-affiliated groups in India. The Bhutada Family Foundation, whose principal Ramesh Bhutada has served as a national vice-president of the [[Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh]] (the U.S. arm of the [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh|RSS]]), donated $362,242 to the HAF between 2005 and 2018 while contributing more than $1 million during the same period to Sangh-affiliated organizations including Sewa International, Ekal Vidyalaya, the HSS and the VHPA, according to publicly filed [[Form 990|IRS Form 990]] records.<ref name="Frontline" /> Several of these recipient organizations, particularly Ekal Vidyalaya, which operates schools in Indian tribal areas, have been documented by scholars and journalists as participating in [[Ghar wapsi|''ghar wapasi'']] and "Hinduization" programmes among Adivasi and tribal communities, including in regions where Christian populations have subsequently come under attack.<ref>{{Cite news |author=Aarefa Johari |title=New report shows how Hindutva groups operate in US, send money to India |newspaper=Scroll.in |date=2 July 2014 |url=https://scroll.in/article/668870/new-report-shows-how-hindutva-groups-operate-in-us-send-money-to-india}}</ref><ref name="Savera" />

The HAF has also lobbied against United States legislative measures that drew attention to anti-Christian violence in India. In addition to its 2013 campaign against [[#Pro-India advocacy|H.Res. 417]], the HAF opposed the 2019 resolution introduced by Representative [[Pramila Jayapal]] urging India to lift its Kashmir communications blackout and end mass detentions, and has issued statements criticising the [[U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom]] for placing India on its Country of Particular Concern recommendation list which was a designation USCIRF has based in part on documented violence against Christians, including the destruction of churches during the [[2023–2025 Manipur violence|2023 Manipur violence]].<ref name="Harpers" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=USCIRF Calls on the U.S. Government to Urge Indian Officials to Hold Perpetrators of Targeted Violence Accountable |publisher=United States Commission on International Religious Freedom |date=2026 |url=https://www.uscirf.gov/news-room/releases-statements/religious-minorities-india-suffer-escalating-attacks}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Violence Against Tribal Christians in Manipur, India |publisher=United States Commission on International Religious Freedom |date=22 June 2023 |url=https://www.uscirf.gov/news-room/uscirf-spotlight/violence-against-tribal-christians-manipur-india}}</ref> Writing in ''[[Harper's Magazine]]'', Andrew Cockburn observed that the HAF's pattern of advocacy has functioned to insulate the Indian government from sustained Congressional engagement on its religious-freedom record, even as the conflict in Manipur produced documented attacks on Kuki-Zo Christians and the destruction of more than three hundred churches.<ref name="Harpers" /><ref>{{Cite news |title=Indian Christians Observe Second Anniversary of Manipur Violence |publisher=International Christian Concern |date=5 May 2025 |url=https://persecution.org/2025/05/05/indian-christians-observe-second-anniversary-of-manipur-violence/}}</ref>

== Reception ==
Scholarly consensus is that the HAF purveys a politics embedded in Hindutva. Sailaja Krishnamurti, a professor at [[Saint Mary's University (Halifax)]] who specializes in religious traditions of the South Asian diaspora, summarized that the HAF has "earned a reputation" of being a conservative group purveying Hindu nationalist politics.<ref name="Sailaja Krishnamurti" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Jenkins |first1=Laura Dudley |last2=Teater |first2=Kristina M |chapter=Hindu perspectives on the right to religious freedom |title=Routledge Handbook of Freedom of Religion or Belief |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2020 |pages=102–116 |doi=10.4324/9780203732625-11 |isbn=9780203732625 |s2cid=228820013 |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203732625-11/hindu-perspectives-right-religious-freedom-laura-dudley-jenkins-kristina-teater }}</ref> Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst, a historian specializing in South Asian religions at the [[University of Vermont]], qualified the HAF as a "deeply conservative" outfit.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fuerst |first=Ilyse R. Morgenstein |date=28 June 2022 |title=Survivals: The Stakes of Religious Literacy |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/mtsr/34/5/article-p435_2.xml |journal=Method & Theory in the Study of Religion |volume=34 |issue=5 |pages=435–445 |doi=10.1163/15700682-bja10078 |issn=0943-3058 |s2cid=251185536|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Sangay K. Mishra, an assistant professor of political science at [[Drew University]], argued that the HAF had remolded [[Hindutva]]-leaning politics into the language of "Hindu rights" to be palatable in the American mainstream.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Mishra |first=Sangay K. |title=Desis Divided : The Political Lives of South Asian Americans |date=1 March 2016 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |isbn=978-0-8166-8115-0 |pages=101–103, 215}}</ref> Truschke finds the HAF to be an integral component of the "wider Sangh Parivar" and Hindu right in the United States.<ref name="Truschke Oxford" />

Sundaram found among the group's aims to sanitize the exclusionary nature of Hindutva, in part by borrowing from decolonial vocabulary, misleadingly portraying terms like "Hindutva", "Brahminism", etc. as oriental pejoratives.{{sfn|Dheepa Sundaram|2023}} Chad Bauman, a professor of religion at [[Butler University]], contended the HAF's portrayal of Hinduism to be misleadingly monolithic and in service of a political agenda.{{sfn|Bauman|Saunders|2009}} Nishant Upadhyay, a professor at the [[University of Colorado Boulder|University of Colorado, Boulder]], specializing in gender and sexuality studies found the group's queer-friendly portrayal of Hinduism to be embedded within a discourse of Hindutva [[homonationalism]].{{sfn|Nishant Upadhyay|2020}}

The [[BBC]] has noted that the HAF has lobbied support in favor of Narendra Modi, the incumbent Prime Minister of India, amongst the diaspora.<ref name="Bridge Initiative">
{{Cite web |title=Factsheet: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) |url=https://bridge.georgetown.edu/research/factsheet-rashtriya-swayamsevak-sangh-rss/ |access-date=11 July 2021 |website=Bridge Initiative}}
</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=28 April 2022 |title=Why the West is reckoning with caste bias now |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-61241849 |access-date=4 May 2022 |work=BBC News }}</ref> [[Georgetown University]]'s Bridge Initiative found the HAF board member Rishi Bhutada to have also served as the official spokesperson of "[[Howdy Modi]]", a [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]] (RSS)-backed rally in support of India's incumbent prime minister [[Narendra Modi]] held in Houston, Texas in 2020.<ref name="Bridge Initiative" /> They — as well as several journalists — documented numerous anti-Muslim statements made by the HAF board members, past and present.<ref name="Frontline" /><ref name="Bridge Initiative" /><ref>
{{Cite news |author=Ram Vishwanathan |date=29 October 2020 |title=How the American Sangh hopes to win the 2020 US elections |url=https://caravanmagazine.in/politics/how-the-american-sangh-hopes-to-win-the-2020-elections |website=The Caravan}}
</ref> Academics and journalists have also investigated money trails linking the HAF to other [[Sangh Parivar]] groups via their donors.<ref name="Frontline" />

=== Response ===
The HAF denies these charges, claims to be non-partisan, and has unsuccessfully filed defamation suits against a wide range of organizations and individuals that alleged its links to Hindutva.<ref name="RNS" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Menon |first=Vandana |date=14 June 2022 |title=A mysterious new report tells you who funds Hindu nationalism in US, and with how much money |url=https://theprint.in/features/a-mysterious-new-report-tells-you-who-funds-hindu-nationalism-in-us-and-with-how-much-money/995680/ |access-date=7 August 2022 |website=ThePrint }}</ref> However, Arun Chaudhuri, an anthropologist of religion and politics at [[York University]], cautions that such disavowals should not be taken at face value but rather as efforts at distancing the HAF from the overtly negative connotations of Hindu nationalism. [[Sonia Sikka]], an academic specializing in the intersection of religion and politics, also rejects the HAF's claims of non-partisanship.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Sikka |first=Sonia |date=12 July 2022 |title=Indian Islamophobia as Racism |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-923X.13152 |journal=The Political Quarterly |volume=93 |issue=3 |pages=1467–923X.13152 |doi=10.1111/1467-923X.13152 |issn=0032-3179 |s2cid=250515835|url-access=subscription |doi-access=free }}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===

* {{cite report |title=Affiliations of Faith: Hindu American Foundation and the Global Sangh |publisher=Coalition Against Genocide |date=15 December 2013 |url=https://www.coalitionagainstgenocide.org/reports/2013/cag.15dec2013.haf.rss.pdf |ref={{sfnref|Coalition Against Genocide|2013}}}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Bauman |first1=Chad |last2=Saunders |first2=Jennifer B. |title=Out of India: Immigrant Hindus and South Asian Hinduism in the USA: Immigrant Hindus and South Asian Hinduism in the USA |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-8171.2008.00121.x |journal=Religion Compass |volume=3 |issue=1 |date=January 2009 |pages=116–135 |doi=10.1111/j.1749-8171.2008.00121.x|url-access=subscription }}
* {{Cite book |author=[[Andrea Jain]] |title=Selling Yoga: From Counterculture to Pop Culture |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |title-link=Selling Yoga |year=2014 |chapter=Yogaphobia and Hindu Origins |pages=130–157 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199390236.003.0006 |isbn=978-0-19-939023-6 |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199390236.003.0006}}
* {{cite book |author=Prema Kurien |author-link=Prema Kurien |title=A Place at the Multicultural Table: The Development of an American Hinduism |publisher=Rutgers University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8135-4161-7 |url={{Google books|DxneawQ8sKQC|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}}}
* {{cite journal |author=Prema Kurien |author-link=Prema Kurien |title=Who speaks for Indian Americans? Religion, ethnicity, and political formation |journal=American Quarterly |volume=59 |number=3 |year=2007a |pages=759–783 |doi=10.1353/aq.2007.0059 |url=http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/american_quarterly/v059/59.3kurien.html |jstor=40068449 |s2cid=143780494 |url-access=subscription }}
* {{cite book |author=Prema Kurien |author-link=Prema Kurien |chapter=Chapter 7. What is American about American Hinduism? Hindu Umbrella Organisations in the United States on Comparative Perspective |editor=John Zavos |display-editors=etal |title=Public Hinduisms |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uuuICwAAQBAJ&pg=PT103 |place=New Delhi |publisher=SAGE Publ. India |year=2012 |isbn=978-81-321-1696-7}}
* {{Cite journal |author=Prema Kurien |title=Majority versus minority religious status and diasporic nationalism: Indian American advocacy organisations: Majority versus minority religious status and diasporic nationalism |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nana.12255 |journal=Nations and Nationalism |volume=23 |issue=1 |date=2016 |pages=109–128 |doi=10.1111/nana.12255 |url-access=subscription }}
* {{Cite journal |author=Prema Kurien |title=The Racial Paradigm and Dalit Anti-Caste Activism in the United States |journal=Social Problems |volume=70 |issue=3 |date=2022 |pages=717–734 |doi=10.1093/socpro/spac035 |issn=0037-7791 |url=https://academic.oup.com/socpro/advance-article/doi/10.1093/socpro/spac035/6613071|url-access=subscription }}
* {{cite book |author=Vinay Lal |author-link=Vinay Lal |title=The Other Indians |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SmFmpTMJFgIC&pg=RA1-PT55 |year=2012 |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers |isbn=978-93-5029-261-7}}
* {{cite book |author=Pyong Gap Min |author-link=Pyong Gap Min |title=Preserving Ethnicity Through Religion in America: Korean Protestants and Indian Hindus Across Generations |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wHUTCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA32 |year=2010 |publisher=NYU Press |isbn=978-0-8147-9586-6}}
* {{cite book |author=Vijay Prashad |author-link=Vijay Prashad |title=Uncle Swami: South Asians in America Today |publisher=The New Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1595588012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h9ImLEPR-4QC}}
* {{Cite journal |author=Dheepa Sundaram |title=Hindutva 2.0: How a Conference on Hindu Nationalism Launches a Change in Strategy for North American Hindutva Organizations |journal=Journal of the American Academy of Religion |volume=90 |issue=4 |pages=809–814 |date=2023 |doi=10.1093/jaarel/lfad028 |issn=0002-7189 |doi-access=free |url=https://academic.oup.com/jaar/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jaarel/lfad028/7205785}}
* {{Cite journal |author=Nishant Upadhyay |title=Hindu Nation and its Queers: Caste, Islamophobia, and De/coloniality in India |journal=Interventions |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=464–480 |date=2020 |doi=10.1080/1369801X.2020.1749709 |issn=1369-801X |s2cid=218822737}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* [https://www.audreytruschke.com/documentshafslapp Documents from the HAF’s Lawsuit], audreytruschke.com, January 2023.

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