HPAW: Bringing Awareness to Hindu Hate

Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world. It’s famous for having a multitude of gods, goddesses, and other higher beings. From the elephant-headed god of beginnings, Ganesha, to the goddess of destruction and justice, Kali, you can never exhaust yourself from the rich history behind this religion. Despite Hinduism being one of the most peaceful religions to practice, some practitioners of the Hindu religion tend to be targeted and persecuted against by other people who don’t believe in it. To honor the religion and bring light to the harm done to Hindu people, July was announced as Hindu Persecution Awareness Month. As a follower of Hinduism myself, it is time that someone brings a spotlight to this relatively overlooked month.

To even begin discussing the history of the persecution of Hindus, it is important to give a brief overview of Hinduism itself. According to History.com, “Hinduism… [dates] back more than 4,000 years. Today, with about 900 million followers, Hinduism is the third-largest religion behind Christianity and Islam.”

The Hindu concept of life and death varies greatly from other religions. Instead of going to Heaven or Hell, it’s said that when you die, your soul is reborn into another life, whether it takes years or immediately after the burial. How you’re reborn, however, is determined by your karma, or the good and bad you did in your life. If you have good karma, then you’ll be reborn as an intelligent animal or, if you’re really good, a human being. If you have bad karma, however, you’ll be reborn as something less special, like an ant, or even a tree. This is why the preaching of doing good deeds is so heavily emphasized in Hinduism.

As you can see, Hinduism is a religion not like Christianity. Hinduism still has holidays, prayers, and traditions, just like any other religions, but the core practices are very different. This has lead to persecution, abuse, and attacks on Hindus, both directly and indirectly.

The history of our persecution begins way back in the 9th Century CE, in Sindh. Before its invasion, Sindh was a flourishing kingdom filled with both Buddhists and Hindus living in harmony. But everything changed after the invasion. According to the NYK Daily, “the destruction of temples, enslavement of Hindu families, massive attack on educational institutions, the plundering of wealth, forced conversions, and discrimination followed”. Since then, Hindus in Sindh have always been discriminated against.

There have been so many more accounts of persecution and assault against the Hindus. Take Trinidad and Tobago in 1845, where, after slavery was repealed, the British allowed labor imports from India. Then, while being slaves, the Hindus were attacked by Christians for their religious beliefs.

If you find that a little hard to believe, then think about the extremist anti-Hindu riots in Fiji that took place in 2000 that involved the thousands of Hindus killed. Think about Hindus in Afghanistan, where, after the conquest, Hindus were targeted and attacked by the Taliban, and forced to wear yellow badges, similar to the treatment of Jews in World War II.

Except this time, the treatment and oppression Hindus faced had American funding involved.

Think about the millions of Hindu temples destroyed, the amount of Hindus attacked on the streets, the Hindu minors being sex trafficked, the oppression that this religion faces. Even when trying to keep peace, we still manage to get targeted.

There are so many more events that would take extensive research to fully understand and learn, which is really quite unfortunate. There have been so many accounts of oppression against Hindus in places like Myanmar, Bangladesh, Kashmir, Pakistan, and so many other countries. While in America, this might not be as apparent, it still happens. Just because this topic isn’t trending on social media does not mean that we shouldn’t do anything about it. Donate to organizations like the Hindu American Foundation and the Struggle for Hindu Existence. Use the tag #AgainstHinduPersecution in your social media posts to bring light to the issue. And most importantly, do your research on this issue. History, especially the history regarding Hindus and India, is very messy.

Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world. It’s famous for having a multitude of

Hindu Persecution Awareness Month is one of many events that are dedicated to bring religious harmony between people of different faiths. While forms of oppression still make appearances today, more and more Hindus around the world are coming together to take pride in their religion and combat Hindu hate. Now, it is time to hope and pray that more people know about this part in the world’s history and that more people come to speak up about it. The history of this month may be messy, but with so much more awareness on topics like these, especially since the pandemic began, things are turning to be a little bit brighter. So go and tell everybody, and raise awareness this month to bring a more harmonious relationship between the people of the globe. Because the sooner change happens, the sooner religious hate can truly, fully end.

Sources:

History.com Editors. “Hinduism.” HISTORY, HISTORY, 6 Oct. 2017, www.history.com/topics/religion/hinduism. Accessed 19 July 2021.

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NYK Daily. “Hindu Persecution Awareness - Historical and Ongoing Systematic Violence against Hindus - NYK Daily.” NYK Daily, 2 July 2021, nykdaily.com/2021/07/hindu-persecution-awareness-historical-and-ongoing-systematic-violence-against-hindus/. Accessed 19 July 2021.