FASCISM WATCH Hindutva Influence Peddling, Mobilizing and Fundraising Infrastructure in the U.S. The fascist onslaught continues BY ASLAM ABDULLAH
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uring May, the South Asia Citizens Web (sacw.net) published its 93-page “A Report on the Infrastructure of Hindutva Influence Peddling, Mobilizing and Fund Raising in the US, 2014-2021.” It makes for rather interesting reading as regards BJP-ruled India’s plans against Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and Dalits. This well-documented and well-researched report exposes the violent nature of Hindu fascist groups in the U.S. who have infiltrated various civil society sectors to promote the agenda of India-based Hindu terrorist groups. This report continues an earlier account launched in 2014, exposing the Hindu fascists’ strong ties to White nationalists and Nazi bigots. The ongoing violence against minorities, termed by leading human rights organizations and experts as the final stage before committing a full-scale genocide, includes the following: ❯ Lynching and criminalizing minorities (especially Muslims, Dalits and Christians). ❯ Work, education and housing discrimination against religious and caste minorities. ❯ Police brutality against Muslims and caste-oppressed communities. ❯ Religion and caste-based segregation and targeting of interfaith families. ❯ Attacking, destroying and shutting down non-Hindu places of worship. ❯ Targeting movement leaders, journalists and watchdog groups. ❯ Undermining the judiciar y’s independence. ❯ Assassinating high-profile critics of Hindu nationalism. ❯ Changing citizenship laws to target certain minorities, especially Muslims. ❯ Building “foreigner” [read minorities] detention camps. ❯ Chilling the freedoms of speech and press (India ranked 142 out of 180 on the 48
Reporters Without Borders’ 2020 World Press Freedom Index; https://rsf.org). ❯ Using forms of ethnic cleansing (Assam) and genocide (Muslim-majority Kashmir). Hindutva’s fascist infrastructure, the Sangh Parivar (Sangh family, or the Sangh), operates a vast social ecosystem throughout India. Fascists have become mainstreamed by winning elections and gaining control of federal and state governments. They have consolidated power by waging hate campaigns against minorities and critics, cultivating their mythologized history-based information ecosystem. Hindu fascists abroad fund and support such groups in India through family and youth programs, cultural events, temple-related conferences, charitable funders for education and health projects and political pressure groups that provide socio-political support to Hindutva. The report uses data mining of tax records and government filings, public statements, websites, news reporting and maps portions of this ecosystem in the U.S. It presents evidence of selected U.S. groups and individuals’ Sangh affiliation, funding
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JULY/AUGUST 2022
flows among different groups and possible strategies and areas of influence in this country’s social, educational and political institutions from 2014 to 2021, including Hindu nationalist efforts to: ➊ Cast Sangh groups as cultural gatekeepers and representatives of Hindus, fund Sangh groups in India and insert support for Hindutva histories into American academic institutions and textbooks. ➋ Shift Washington’s domestic and foreign policy toward South Asia and finance Sangh-friendly politicians. ➌ Target their critics. It also highlights some administrative and financial irregularities in certain Sanghaffiliated groups’ paperwork, which points toward enabling further investigations to reveal any misconduct and to better understand how such groups function.
FINDINGS OF THE REPORT
1. Reportedly 222 Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) chapters, the U.S. counterpart of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), exist across 32 states and 166 cities. Operating weekly, they have an estimated 8,880 participants in their youth and family programming, according to tax records and HSS’s 2019-20 annual report. Its work in 2019-20 involved 426 other organizations and impacted more than 45,000 families in 198 cities. 2. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA; https://www.vhp-america.org/) reportedly operates 21 chapters in 14 states. Its cultural projects often use different names, such as the Swami Vivekananda Family Camp or the Hindu Mandir Executives Conference (HMEC). 3. Between 2001-19, according to available tax returns, seven Sangh-affiliated charitable groups reportedly spent at least $158.9 million on their programming, sending much of it to groups in India. The groups studied in this report are the All India Movement (AIM) for Seva, the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of America
