Concerns are rising about bias against Hindu Americans in social spheres, affecting their identity development.
New Delhi: The United States of America which portrays itself as the flag bearer of secularism and human rights often finds itself on the wrong side of history, given the misdeeds done by the successive governments there, in terms of both principles.
According to estimates, the United States is home to approximately five million people of Indian origin, with a significant portion identifying as Hindu. The rise of Hinduphobia in the U.S. is an alarming trend, but it rarely finds its appropriate space, whether in media or in the political circles.
Ahead of the presidential elections on November 5, Hindus for America First, a newly created grassroots organisation, has announced its support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for his ‘Pro-India’ policy but whether his victory will erase the Hinduphobia is a matter that only time will tell.
Several experts discuss how Hindu Americans often face harassment and prejudice in public life, including during political campaigns and even in the educational sphere. According to them, many Hindu American students feel socially isolated due to their religious identity, with significant numbers reporting negative experiences related to discussions about Hinduism in schools, and they highlight that this is largely due to the “bias against Hindus in educational institutions starting from schools”.
Arvind Kumar, a Hindu American leader, founder and President of California Parents for the Equalization of Educational Materials (CAPEEM), which has filed two very high-profile religious rights lawsuits in federal courts, talking to TSG said, “The school curriculum in U.S.A. has institutionalised bigotry against Hindus. The origin of Hinduism is described using the Aryan Race theory and the origin of the Vedas is attributed to the Aryans, and when challenged, we were told by professors in academia, bureaucrats in the Department of Education, as well as judges in courts of law that this was scholarship.”
He further claimed that among students, Hindus are not permitted to choose the areas of their research topics in the history and religion departments at Ivy League universities.
“While students from other religions are allowed to work on the areas pertaining to their beliefs, Hindu students are told that they can only work on topics that present Hinduism as a collection of oppressive practices and the white people as the saviours from these practices”, he said and added that this mindset prevails.
In the past few months, several incidents of attacks against Hindus and Hinduism have created a debate in the United States, and Indian American lawmakers had recently written to the Department of Justice seeking an investigation on the recent surge in attacks on Hindu temples and places of worship.
But the deep-rooted biases and the race baiting amongst the political and institutional circles in the U.S. are a matter that needs synergy amongst the policy makers to erase the mindset which focuses on ‘White Man’s burden to civilise the people of every other race’.
Professor Kundan Singh, who teaches at Sofia University in California has written a book named ‘Colonial Discourse and the Suffering of Indian American Children’ in which he argues how the colonial mindset portrays Hindus and Hinduism in a negative light in school textbooks, which psychologically impacts the Hindu American children, instilling in them inferiority and shame regarding their culture and civilisation.
He states, “In American academia, Hindus are shown in a bad light, as texts on them portray them as hierarchical and oppressive. Even in the sixth standard school textbooks, Hindus are shown in such a narrow sense. The rampant conflation of Hinduism with caste and by default, with hierarchy and oppression causes shame which ultimately impacts the healthy identity formation of the Hindu American children.”
The presidential elections in the U.S.A. are happening at a time when the world is witnessing one of the most turbulent phases of this century. Former U.S. President Donald Trump who is known for his controversies recently condemned the violence against Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh and vowed to protest Hindu Americans if he comes to power. Several Hindu Americans have been supporting him but whether Trump, if elected will erase the bias against Hindus in education and other social spheres is a matter that only time will decide.