WASHINGTON, April 16: Observing that there is a substantial increase in attacks against Hindus in the US, an Indian-American Congressman has said that this was just the “beginning of a coordinated anti-Hindu attack”, as he asked the community members to unite against hate crimes.
Congressman Shri Thanedar’s remarks came during a news conference held at the National Press Club here on Monday. “Today I am seeing in the United States a substantial increase in attacks on Hinduism. A lot of misinformation is being circulated whether it is online or otherwise,” Thanedar said.
Thanedar and four other Indian-American lawmakers – Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ami Bera and Pramila Jayapal – had recently written to the Department of Justice seeking an investigation on the recent surge in attacks on Hindu temples and places of worship.
At the press conference organised by HinduAction, a non-profit body, Thanedar complained that no action has been taken against those responsible for the attacks and no arrests have been made either. “We have experienced substantially more events of this kind in recent months. I have a feeling that this is just the beginning of a very coordinated attempt against this community and the community must stand together. The time has come and I will stand with you,” Thanedar said.
“Having practised Hinduism, having grown up as a Hindu in a Hindu household, I know what Hinduism is. It is a very peaceful religion,” he said, adding that it is not a religion that attacks others.
However, this community continues to be misrepresented, misunderstood, sometimes deliberately, he said. “I recently joined four of my Indian-American colleagues to write to the Department of Justice. You know, one of the concerns that we had was the rising attacks on places of worship,” Thanedar said.
“We’ve seen those happening in California, we have seen those happening all the way in New York and all across America. It appears to be a very coordinated effort to attack these places of worship, which has created a lot of fear in the community,” he said.
Thanedar alleged that often local law enforcement enters into these investigations which go nowhere.
He said it leaves the community feeling like they have nobody who cares about them. That means that the community continues to live in fear. The community continues to live in an adverse situation with essentially no help from law enforcement, he added. (PTI)
