The anti-Hindu organisation HfHR, which has a history of siding with anti-India elements and terrorist organisations, was miffed since these Hindu institutions had participated in organising the Diwali festival at London’s Trafalgar Square on October 27.
In a letter to the Mayor of London, which was shared on X by popular user @SuhagAShukla, Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR) expressed “dismay” that the coalition of these Hindu institutions helped in organising the Mayor of London’s recent Diwali event.
Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR) urged the Mayor of London to sever ties with these Hindu organizations and seek new partners to lead future Diwali celebrations. HfHR claimed that these Hindu groups “perform a whitewashing or supportive function for the Hindutva movement in India and the UK.”
A “Hindu” group calling on the Mayor of London to “cut off all ties” with among the most prominent Hindu institutions in the UK, @BAPS and @ChinmayaMission, because they helped organize a #Diwali program.
— Suhag A. Shukla (@SuhagAShukla) October 29, 2024
That’s right…attacking Hindu Mandirs over #Diwali on #Diwali.
A new low. pic.twitter.com/k2P7gjtY4v
Hindus for Human Rights and its history of being anti-Hindu, anti-India
For someone unfamiliar with the organisation Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR), the name might suggest it is a Hindu organisation working for the welfare of the Hindu community. In reality, it is no less than a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
The organisation has been at the forefront of pushing anti-Hindu narratives in the US and UK. It has consistently positioned itself as a defender of human rights while pursuing a darker agenda. The organisation is funded by the likes of the Tides Foundation, an entity linked to funding pro-Hamas rallies on US university campuses. HfHR’s advocacy efforts often align with those of separatist and extremist groups hostile to Hindu interests.
The Tides Foundation itself has been implicated in numerous activities that go beyond mere political advocacy. As documented in OpIndia’s dossier on Wikipedia, Tides is involved in financing several anti-India and anti-Hindu organisations, pushing narratives that distort India’s human rights record and defame Hindu cultural symbols and practices. Their funding of pro-Hamas rallies in US universities further highlights the dubious nature of their agenda. That HfHR receives financial backing from such a source is a clear sign of the broader anti-Hindu nexus being formed in the name of ‘human rights.’ It must be noted that HfHR is not just another benign human rights group. It is part of a coordinated effort to delegitimise Hindu voices in the global diaspora.
Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR) which is an open anti-Hindu and anti-India organisation based out of the US. The organisation presents itself as a defender of human rights. However, its blatant anti-Hindu narrative has been exposed several times. HfHR often uses Hindu symbols and teachings to push its narrative. HfHR does not take a breath before criticising Hindu practices and beliefs. Their selective outrage and twisted interpretations of Hindu text, as she did here, suggest that their primary goal is not to protect human rights but to erode Hindu identity from the face of the earth by smearing it with false narratives.
HfHR was formed in the year 2019 by the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) and the Organization for Minorities of India (OFMI). 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.
In 2021, ‘Hindus for Human Rights’ also endorsed the anti-Hindu event ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva’ conference. It also came up with a “special toolkit” to propagate against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his State visit to the US in June 2023.
In June last year, Congress scion Rahul Gandhi was seen sitting alongside Sunita Vishwanath during an event hosted by the Hudson Institute. In October 2023, the X (formerly Twitter) account of HfHR was withheld in India in response to a legal demand.
