On Sunday, 18th August, the Federation of Indian Associations NY-NJ-CT-NE has planned the India Day Parade to mark the 78th Independence Day of India. One of the main attractions of the India Day Parade will be the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple float. However, some of the anti-Hindu organisations, including Hindus for Human Rights, Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), and others have objected to the float. They have started a campaign to write to local leaders against the float in the planned parade using fake reports and misinformation.
These organisations have claimed that VHPA, an offshoot of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) “has been designated as a militant religious organisation by the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook”. The organisations who wrote the letter conveniently skipped the fact that while it is true that VHP and Bajrang Dal were designated as “militant religious organisations” on 4th June 2018, the names were effectively removed from the list by 25th June 2018. It was a mistake to call these two organisations “militant” and the CIA itself had rectified it in less than a month.
The organisations then claimed that Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) was under active FBI investigation for forced labour and exploitation of lower-caste labourers from India. Interestingly, again, a recent fact was skipped from the assertion that over a dozen artisans withdrew from the case of forced labour and human trafficking against the BAPS temple saying that they were coerced into making false allegations. In July 2023, OpIndia reported that the artisans under the banner of Bharatiya Majdoor Sangh and Patthar Gadhafi Sangh stated they were threatened to be part of the deep-rooted conspiracy to stall the construction of the grand Hindu Temple.
Some of them contacted Rajasthan High Court Advocate Aaditya SB Soni. They informed him that an advocate from the US named Swati Sawant had misled them into making the complaint, and now they want to withdraw from it. “These artisans have made strong claims that Swati Sawant and her companions impressed upon them and misled them, using false temptations, to make a complaint against the temple management,” the press release read.
“These artisans have made strong claims that Swati Sawant and her companions impressed upon them and misled them, using false temptations, to make a complaint against the temple management,” the press release read.
The next claim these anti-Hindu organisations made was that the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya stands on the ruins of the historic “Babri Mosque” which was demolished in December 1992. “In November 2019, the Supreme Court of India controversially awarded the site to Hindus for the construction of the temple, thereby legitimizing an egregious act of violence against a Muslim place of worship. Despite this, the court acknowledged the criminality of the mosque’s destruction, noting it as an “egregious violation of the rule of law”,” The letter added.
The letter further said, “The proposed float for the parade is a blatant attempt to glorify the illegal demolition of the historical Babri Mosque and celebrate ongoing violence and terror against 200 million Indian Muslims. This is not merely a cultural display but a vulgar celebration of anti-Muslim hate, bigotry, and religious supremacy.”
Now, coming to the assertion that Ram Mandir stands on the ruins of a mosque is completely false. First of all, it was a disputed structure for centuries and Hindus used a legitimate legal system to claim the land. Furthermore, the disputed structure in question stood on the ruins of the Hindu Temple which was proven not only in the Archaeological Survey of India’s report on the land but also during the excavation for establishing the foundation of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya in 2020. Pillars of old temples with Hindu symbols were found and duly reported. In May 2020, OpIndia reported that during excavation, remains of Hindu stone sculptures, including a Shivling, broken idols of Hindu deities, and carved pillars had been found near the site.
List of the organisations opposing Ram Mandir float
The list of the organisations that are opposing Ram Mandir float are:
- Indian American Muslim Council
- Council on American-Islamic Relations
- Council on American-Islamic Relations – New York
- Hindus for Human Rights
- The Federation of Indian American Churches of North America (FIACONA)
- New York State Council of Churches
- Genocide Watch
- Muslim Public Affairs Council
- Association of Indian Muslims of America
- Center for Pluralism
- India’s Civil Watch International
- American Muslim Institution
- Crescent School
- Islamic Circle of North America
- The Sikh Coalition
- Dalit Solidarity Forum
- Great Truth
- Justice For All
- Asian Children’s Education Fellowship
- CAIR-NJ
- Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus
- Ambedkar King Study Circle
Indian American Muslim Council and Hindus for Human Rights are known for their anti-Hindu and anti-India propaganda. In fact, because of their anti-India actions, their X accounts are withheld in India.
The Human Rights Practices report further used the Government of India’s decision to block accounts of organisations like Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR) and the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) on X as examples of transnational repression. The report did mention the reason for the association of HfHR with Soros but in a very questionable tone, as if the Indian government “conspired” against these organisations as they were “working to advance human rights and religious freedom”.
OpIndia has detailed reports on both organisations and how they work against India. The Indian Americal Muslim Council has links [pdf] with the banned Islamic terror outfit, Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). Besides, the Indian American Muslim Council has ties with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) through its founder Shaik Ubaid. The IAMC is a Jamat-e-Islami-backed lobbyist organisation claiming to be a rights advocacy group. In the past, it had reportedly collaborated with and even paid money to various groups in the USA to get India blacklisted by the USCIRF (United States Commission on International Religious Freedom). IAMC had been caught spreading fake news and misinformation to further the Islamist cause in India. It had also been slapped with the UAPA in 2021.
Interestingly, the three organisations had formed another outfit called the Alliance for Justice and Accountability (AJA). As per an article in The Hindu, the Alliance for Justice and Accountability had been at the forefront of leading demonstrations against the visit of PM Modi to Houston on September 22, 2019. Sunita Vishwanath, the co-founder of ‘Hindus for Human Rights’ had also tried to create hysteria and panic among Indian Muslims about the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in 2019. She is also the co-founder of an organisation named ‘Women for Afghan Women’, which is funded by George Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF)/ Open Society Institute (OSI).
In July 2023, BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani questioned Rahul Gandhi for his alleged connections to IAMC’s president Tazeem Ansari and said Ansari has connections with Jamaat-e-Islami. “Even in Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka, the Global Vice President of the Open Society Foundation funded by George Soros was found accompanying Rahul Gandhi. What is extremely distressing is the link with the Islamic Circle of North America. Those in the public domain who will research how the registration process for NRI interaction with Rahul Gandhi in New York ensued will find the contact of Tazeem Ansari – he has an organisational link with Jamaat-e-Islami,” Irani said.
Hindu organisations hit back at propaganda
Hindu organisations in the US have hit back at the propaganda being run by these organisations. Hindu American Foundation strongly condemned the statements made by these organisations. In a post on X, HAF said, “After the thus far unsuccessful attempt to scuttle a Lord Ram parade float in NYC, @CAIRNational @IAMCouncil & partner fringe groups are asking for a federal investigation into Hindu temples and community orgs. These same groups’ actions were previously condemned by NJ legislators for anti-Hindu hate when they pushed a @teaneckdmc resolution asking that prominent Hindu groups like HAF undergo FBI surveillance. We strongly condemn this latest escalation of threats & scare tactics aimed at prominent Hindu temples such as @BAPS & Siddhivinayak temple that serve immigrant Hindu communities from around the world in New York and New Jersey. We ask@NYCMayor @TheJusticeDept @TishJames @DirectorWrayFBI to condemn this atrocious #Hinduphobic targeting emanating from a simple local dispute over a parade float.”
After the thus far unsuccessful attempt to scuttle a Lord Ram parade float in NYC, @CAIRNational @IAMCouncil & partner fringe groups are asking for a federal investigation into Hindu temples and community orgs.
— Hindu American Foundation (@HinduAmerican) August 18, 2024
These same groups’ actions were previously condemned by NJ… pic.twitter.com/YXmWqJ8K3N
Executive Director of HAF, Suhag A Shukla wrote, “Could never imagine that the same groups that protested surveillance of Muslims and their mosques after 9/11 now demand that exact surveillance of prominent Hindu temples & Hindu community orgs—because they didn’t like a parade float. Yet here we are.”
Could never imagine that the same groups that protested surveillance of Muslims and their mosques after 9/11 now demand that exact surveillance of prominent Hindu temples & Hindu community orgs—because they didn’t like a parade float.
— Suhag A. Shukla (@SuhagAShukla) August 18, 2024
Yet here we are. https://t.co/LqtrIbVyEh
OSINT handle ‘Disinfo Lab’ had earlier shared that the HfHR was actively promoting the misleading narrative of ‘Hindu Vs Hindutva’. The same organisation was also seen endorsing the ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva’ conference. As per Disinfo Lab, HfHR was formed in the year 2019 by Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) and the Organization for Minorities of India (OFMI).
