Rise of Hinduphobia in the US: Anti-Hindu crimes surpasses Islamophobia
Anti-Jewish (36.9%), Anti-Hindu (23.3%) and Anti-Muslim (14.6%) were the most cited reasons for reports related to religious targeting.
A recent report by the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) stated that Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu religion bias crime have experienced a high rise in the US. The findings came out of a year-long campaign “California vs Hate” directed towards escalating hate crimes. The anti-Hindu crimes were ranked second in the list after anti-Jewish incidents and followed by Anti-Muslim crimes.
The data of the campaign showed that “Anti-Jewish (36.9%), Anti-Hindu (23.3%) and Anti-Muslim (14.6%) were the most cited reasons for reports related to religious targeting.” The report was made out of the data gathered by California vs Hate through Calls, which is a hate crime reporting system.
Report Reveals Alarming Rise in Hinduphobia and Hate Incidents in California
The findings of the report showed that a total of 1,020 hate incidents were reported in the system and out of every six people who reported the crime four agreed to follow up.
“Nearly 80% of California’s counties were represented, including all 10 of the state’s most populated counties,” said the report.
The report shows that 580 out of the 1,020 hate cases were verified and 35% of these incidents were motivated by race and ethnicity, 15% by gender identity, and about 11% by sexual orientation. The report, however, does not provide any detailed information or an exact number of hate incidents caused by animosity towards a particular religion.
“The report confirms what we already knew: Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu incidents are more prevalent than previously reported. At HAF, we have seen an uptick in reports of hate crimes and bias incidents from community members, particularly towards the latter half of 2023 and the beginning of 2024,” Samir Kalra, Managing Director of Policy and Programs at the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), told a US-based newspaper IndiaWest.
In recent weeks some of the Hindu Temple including Vijay’s Sherawali Temple in Hayward, California and Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu Temple in California’s Newark have been vandalized by anti-Hindu graffiti saying “Khalistan Zindabad”, and some slogans of “Murdabad” surfaced over the boards and walls of the Temples.
In April, Democrat US House Representative Shri Thanedar from Michigan introduced a new bill in the House of Representatives aimed at condemning “Hinduphobia”
“Today I am seeing in the United States a substantial increase of attacks on Hinduism, a lot of misinformation being circulated. Having practised Hinduism, and having grown up in a Hindu household, I know what Hinduism is. It is a very peaceful religion … It is not a religion that attacks others, it is not a religion that is aggressive against others,” he said.
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