A New Voice for an Old Religion

Whether it’s the California text books decision or the passage of the Congressional Diwali Resolution, these are not free gifts which have been dropped into the palms of Indian-Americans but rather hard-won victories by advocates, including a band of young second-generation Indian Americans of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF).

How this gutsy young group, born and brought up in America, the product of a western education and culture, took on and upheld the cause of Hinduism makes quite a riveting story. They grew up in an America where there were few Hindu temples or overt markers of their faith, yet they have managed to become articulate interpreters and ambassadors of a religion which is often misunderstood and maligned.

For many Hindu-American children growing up in a largely white Christian America, the faith of their parents was often an embarrassment, something to be hidden from mainstream friends, something they were almost ashamed of, and something which wasn’t ‘cool’.  After all, how do you explain a complex religion which seems to have so many millions of gods with multiple arms and faces? How do you explain deep philosophical concepts to a class full of American friends, when you don’t fully understand them yourself?

While their American peers went to worship in handsome churches where they sat in polished pews, Hindu children were often driven miles away by their parents to small, makeshift temples or a shrine in someone’s basement where they had to remove their shoes and sit on the floor, listening to chants in a language which they often couldn’t understand.

“I remember the embarrassment I felt and the incessant teasing I faced after grotesque media depictions of Indian culture, such as in ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’,” says Suhag Shukla, an attorney, who grew up in the US in the 70’s. “ Back then, there were not many people who looked or lived like me and certainly there was little to no familiarity with our traditions, except for cows, poor people and scary gods.”

Miles away, Ishani Chowdhury was also growing up in American suburbia, just as lost where her religious identity was concerned. “From kindergarten until graduate school, whenever South Asian history or religions was taught, it was filled with misconceptions, stereotypical images, misconstrued texts or outdated concepts,” she recalls. “The results of that to an impressionable teenager is that of inferiority, disgust or even outright shame and hatred of one’s own faith and culture. It’s not uncommon to see Hindus of my generation to be Hindus in name only – not practice or belief.

To compound this, my first exposure to Hinduism was during my years in Catholic high school, and that too by a former nun who had spent a good portion of her time proselytizing in India. Needless to say, the experience left me puzzled and curious about my faith and heritage.”

This may have gone on forever, with young Hindus compromising to fit into a new world by bargaining or distancing themselves from their faith. Indeed, many second generation Indians learnt to live two lives – a Hindu and Indian life at home and an American life at school, struggling to juggle the two disparate personas. As Suhag Shukla recalls, “It was only in college, after meeting other young Hindu Americans and gaining the confidence and the vocabulary to articulate who I was and what I believed in, that I realized that these two identities could comfortably belong in one space.”

It was then that our story takes an amazing 180 degree twist. As these children of immigrants came of age, a sea change occurred in the attitude of many of them.  It was almost as if in becoming American, they had become more Indian and Hindu.  It also helped that the Indian population in the US had boomed in the ensuing years, temples had multiplied and the colors of America had gradually changed.

For too long there hasn’t been any one voice for the Hindu community and most people could get away with disparaging comments about Hinduism because there was no one to give a firm rebuttal. These second generation Indians are American in their outspokenness, in their awareness of their rights and in their ability to take on the establishment, and their advocacy strengths extend to Hinduism and its way of life.  They are young, outspoken, born in America – and they are not afraid to stand up for their faith.

Dr. Mihir Meghani, a young physician specializing in emergency care, was born in Philadelphia and grew up in different cities. His parents came from a humble background but since Gandhiji and Gujarati poet Zaverchand Meghani were close relatives of the family, a spirit of patriotism and justice was passed on to the children as core values.

“From my participation in Hindu and Indian events in the United States, I saw the need for leadership among Hindus and Indians,” he says. “It was clear to me that the focus of too many people in our community was often on things of the past such as their caste, their community in India, and traditions that were outdated.  There was a lack of focus on the important elements to sustain a healthy and vibrant Hindu-American community for the future:  youth leadership, a culture of service, and a commitment to progressive Hinduism.”

Mihir Meghani, Ishani Chowdhury and Suhag Shukla are just some of the young Indian-Americans who have come together to create HAF, a unique organization which has been like a breath of fresh air for the future of Hinduism in America, promoting the Hindu and American ideals of understanding, tolerance and pluralism. In America, where communication and marketing can make or break you, HAF is comprised of savvy Indian-Americans professionals who have seen how other communities, such as the Jewish, have been voices for their faiths.

Sumeet, who is an attorney, was born in Jacksonville, Florida away from any major Indo-centric areas of influence. He says, “Over time, I was saddened when I observed so many Indians born in America seemed to not value the importance of continuing the Hindu culture and traditions because, to them, assimilating meant that there could be no overt efforts to proudly profess our identity or faith.

I wondered what type of exposure our kids would have to the Hindu way of life if second-generation or third-generation parents were unwilling to learn about or practice our faith.  As a practicing employment and labor attorney, I learned that my client can only win if it can effectively show its side of the story to the fact finder.”

Then there is Dr. Aseem Shukla, a pediatric urologist and writer, who became part of HAF to help initiate changes in the way Hinduism was seen by the larger world. He says, “I was frustrated by ignorance in the mainstream media about Hinduism and its basic tenets.  Too often, even well-meaning commentators in the media would so misrepresent our religion that Hinduism invariably came across as ephemeral, inscrutable, indifferent and irrelevant. So we conceived of HAF as an articulate advocate for Hindu dharma framed in the language of many second generation Hindu-Americans.”

“While most of my college peers were dancing at Bollywood themed parties and discussing the latest sari trends,” says Ishani Chowdhury,  “I stepped beyond that and continued my involvement with my temple youth group and movements that would shed a more accurate and informed view of my faith.” Her career as an IT project manager was short lived as she found that her time and resources would be best used in a position that would combine her passion with a paycheck – and the perfect job was Director of HAF.

HAF was born in 2003 with just six members, bringing in a range of expertise and experience, as well as a combination of first and second generation viewpoints. “I think the most effective aspect in our planning was to define not only what the foundation would do, but also what we would not do,” says Suhag Shukla. “This helped us really focus on three major areas of concern: public policy, media and academia.  Over the years, each of these areas has matured as HAF has and our mode of operation has evolved from reactive to proactive.”

In fact Public policy now includes much of HAF’s legal advocacy and human rights work. HAF advocates not only respond to inaccuracies in the media, but also engage journalists at conferences and helps in creating resource materials.  The organizations interaction with academia now includes supporting academics that approach the study of Hinduism in a respectful way.

HAF started small, working as a religious liberty advocacy group when it filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court against the display of the Ten Commandments on public land. It also worked with Americans United on several other legal efforts as well, and gradually took on many issues of hate speech, discrimination and defamation, interacting with leaders in public policy, academia and media about Hinduism and global issues concerning Hindus.

One of the first efforts of HAF led to the acknowledgement of Diwali by Congress, a wonderful symbolic victory for Hindus. “Since our inception, we made recognizing Diwali one of our main goals, and in 2007, this became a reality with HRes 747 and SRes 245 (House and Senate Resolutions respectively),” says Ishani Chowdhury.  “It is an iconic first step in having younger generations feel a sense of pride about their faith and holiday, which is just too often ignored by the media,  and for older generations as it is a reminder that their efforts in instilling their faith have not gone in vain.”

“The greatest achievement in the realm of legal advocacy is getting a progressive Hindu American voice articulated and heard,” says Suhag Shukla who is legal counsel for HAF. “ Prior to HAF, national profile cases dealing with church state or religious liberty issues elicited only Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and atheist perspectives.  Every once in a while, well-meaning advocates would try to present a Hindu perspective, but in those cases the efforts seemed to fall glaringly short of what a distinctly Hindu group could offer.”  She points out that HAF has successfully presented an emic, Hindu American perspective before the U.S. Supreme Court, several state Supreme Courts as well as many lower federal and state courts.

In a David versus Goliath kind of case, the newly created HAF took on the California State Board of Education (SBE) which, says Shukla,  violated not only state law but its own administrative procedures when it began making major decisions behind closed doors and at the expense of the rights of Hindu American parents in its adoption of sixth grade social science textbooks in 2006.

Representing Hindu American parents in California, HAF submitted to the SBE twenty-two “comments” that would streamline the textbook adoption procedures and incorporate “critical” protective measures requiring that the process be clear and transparent to members of the public.

HAF’s lawsuit successfully forced the State Board to revamp its entire textbook adoption process.  Under court order, the California State Board of Education (SBE) accepted comments and proposed changes to its textbook adoption process. The lawsuit cost over half a million dollars, says Shukla, and HAF galvanized the Hindu community to raise the funds for this.

Says Mihir Meghani, “HAF also faced the challenge of selling the idea of leadership by qualified young Hindu professionals brought up in the United States as opposed to older immigrants from India, uniquely positioning HAF as a Hindu American organization representing all Hindu Americans and not as an “Indian” group, and running HAF as a group that was going to think and act independently and that was not going to follow the traditional ideology of Hindu activists in America.”

“We developed a very U.S. based focus once the group’s entire board of directors became comprised of U.S. born Hindus and opportunities in legal advocacy presented themselves,” says Aseem. “From there, HAF has evolved a strategy of interacting with elected leaders, media outreach and established itself as a credible human rights organization.”

Over the years HAF has taken on several challenges and created new networks: It has participated in Annual Legislative Days and Capitol Hill Receptions where US lawmakers and influential Hindu Americans shared the dais to discuss issues of concern to Hindu Americans. In 2007, HAF advocates testified at a House of Representatives Congressional Human Rights Caucus briefing on human rights in South Asia.  At the briefing, Ishani Chowdhury, HAF’s Director of Public Policy, highlighted the plight of Hindus in Afghanistan and India’s state of Jammu and Kashmir specifically, and urged assembled political leaders, human rights groups, and the media to focus on the non-proselytizing, peaceful populations of Hindus who are facing persecution and discrimination in South Asia and in other parts of the world

Indeed, this understanding of connecting with the powers that be and giving a articulate voice to Hinduism has been of prime importance. HAF worked to inform Congress of the adverse effects of the R1 visa changes on Hindu temples and centers, for these changes would have disqualified pujaris, shilpis or other necessary temple workers from entering the country and serving at these institutions. Congressional Leaders were urged to write to USCIS asking for a re-evaluation, and for the inclusion of Hindu terminology in the proposed changes.

Forming inter-religion connections is equally important for Hinduism and HAF was represented in a delegation of Hindu spiritual and lay leaders that visited Israel to attend the Second International Hindu-Jewish Summit organized by the World Council of Religious Leaders (WCORL).  Sheetal Shah, Director of Development for HAF, traveled to Israel as a Hindu representative to the Summit.

The nine-point Declaration at the Summit  reaffirmed the common Hindu and Jewish belief in One Supreme Being both in its formless and manifest aspects; expressed their common world view of the sanctity of human life; recognized that all religions are sacred for their people and therefore, no one should denigrate or interfere in the religious practice of others. It recognized the Swastika is an ancient Hindu symbol that was misappropriated by the Third Reich; and it also called for serious reconsideration of the Aryan Migration Theory–a largely discredited, racist theory that posits that an invasion by nomadic, non-Indian tribes conceived the Vedic civilization.

Under the leadership of young Hindu-Americans, HAF also became the first Hindu organization to be part of The ONE Campaign, a global advocacy organization uniting millions of people to press government leaders to fight extreme poverty and preventable disease around the world. A coordinated effort of HAF and Hinduism scholar Professor Jeffery Long, Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, ONE Seva provides a guide to Hindu temples, community centers and individuals on activities and ways in which they can participate in order to raise awareness about global poverty and disease.

The young advocates of HAF have also taken on the serious matter of persecution of Hindus worldwide, bringing attention to the human rights abuses and ethnic cleansing campaigns. “All too often, staffers and Congressmen are unaware of the basic human rights issues faced by Hindus globally, as well as locally,” says Ishani Chowdhury. “The voices of Hindus who face daily legal and physical assaults in Bangladesh, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and India’s Jammu and Kashmir, to mention a few, are often ignored by larger human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International and the media. Hindus are written off in a few sentences, and their stories silenced forever.”

She adds, “As a superpower with 2 million Hindus residing in the US, and billions of tax payer dollars spent yearly in appropriations to many of these countries, it is important to continually educate members of Congress as to where and how much is being spent on nations that continue to violate the human rights of their own citizens, and also to demand greater accountability for that amount.”

The issue of Human rights was a powerful incentive to join HAF for Samir Kalra, who serves on the executive board, because it gave him a unique opportunity to pursue his passion for justice and to advocate on behalf of Hindu minorities. Samir, who lives in the San Francisco Bay area, is a public interest attorney whose father fled from Dera Ismail Khan, a city in northwest Pakistan during the Partition with millions of Hindus.

As Samir Kalra points out, The Hindu Human Rights Campaign has been a major achievement for HAF in educating government leaders, academics, media, and the wider public on the plight of Hindu minorities around the world. He says, “Since the persecution of Hindus rarely attracts media attention or concern from the international community, the annual Human Rights report serves a crucial role in comprehensively documenting human rights abuses against Hindus and advocating on their behalf.”  

This past year, HAF also released their first ever government supplement, which details the amount of monetary assistance received by countries that violate the human rights of their Hindu citizens.  The Human Rights Campaign is a first step in the larger struggle for justice and dignity for millions of persecuted Hindus.

She adds, “Likewise, as residents of the US, we have a need to bring about a greater accuracy of our faith, report any infringements on the principle of the separation of church and state and provide a collective voice for a community that has richly contributed to the multicultural fabric of this nation.”

HAF also hopes to bring a 21^st century viewpoint to ancient customs. “It is time to revamp these age-old rules, especially as regards to non-Hindus, women or so-called lower castes entering the temple while maintaining all other cleanliness rules,” Mihir Meghani says.  “Traditions have their place and they provide a culture its shape and essence; however, when these traditions conflict with our modern sensibilities about equality, humanity, justice, and goodness, those rites and rituals which rob individuals and groups of their respect and humanity should be stopped.”

Nor does HAF want to turn a blind eye to the social ills perpetuated by Hinduism. HAF is compiling a report on caste discrimination, and when The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution in 2007 highlighting the issue of social discrimination in India against the so-called lower castes, HAF appreciated this condemnation of the social discrimination faced by Harijans in the sub-continent.

Promoting pluralism, while adding a Hindu American perspective to regional and national issues, remains a core principle for the foundation.  HAF seems to have finally found its voice and place, and is on the mainstream radar. Since most religious groups in the US have full time offices and paid staff, the challenge had been to make the same possible for HAF, and do things in the professional way. Sheetal Shah says that HAF hosts seven to twelve fundraisers per year throughout the country.

Are there ever any misunderstandings or misconceptions about the work these young advocates do with HAF? “On the whole, there has never been an outright clash in the mainstream due to my work with HAF,” says Sheetal Shah. “Most of my ‘American’ friends find my role and HAF’s work to be unique, interesting and worthwhile for the community.  In particular, my Jewish American friends really ‘get’ the concept of HAF.”

Yet when it comes to Indian-Americans, the perception of HAF is sometimes quite different! Recalls Sheetal Shah: “I have run across a few Indian American (Hindu) friends, who are concerned that HAF might have ‘fundamentalist’ leanings – not so much because they have looked at HAF’s website, but simply because I explain HAF’s role as ‘Hindu advocacy.’”

Indeed, perception becomes reality so it is important to get the word out about HAF’s vision. “For too long, the work of many committed Hindu groups has suffered from a lack of professional flair in their publicity – which can relegate them to oblivion in mainstream media,” says Aseem Shukla. “We are doing substantive and meaningful work every day at HAF, but unless we have a strong PR team that can report on these accomplishments through press releases, op eds, and blogs, then it truly is as if that action never happened.”

For an organization to be successful, a major challenge is getting dedicated volunteers. “We don’t worry about not having every young Indian or Hindu interested in Hinduism, as there are many more who are interested in Hinduism but who still do not know about HAF or have not understood the importance of building a strong, credible and effective voice for Hindu Americans,” says Mihir Meghani.

He explains that there are a large number of young people who practice Hinduism differently than their parents, young people who respect the values of Hinduism or believe in Hinduism’s vision, but don’t follow many of the rituals or practices that their parents did, or even actively go to the temples. He says, “They are still Hindu but their focus is on living as Hindu Americans and not as Hindus somehow displaced from India. Thus, our focus on involving Hinduism’s global vision in the policy and thought of America appeals to them.”

Adds Aseem Shukla: “It is actually quite easy to find people with an interest to volunteer- the true test, however, is finding those that can translate initial enthusiasm into concrete, reliable, long-term action on behalf of the group.  There is truly a large number of Hindus that sense the critical need for a professional Hindu advocacy group, and with a full-time staffed office in Washington, D.C. and the World Wide Web, we are very visible, and heartened to enjoy broad-based support.”

One wonders what drives these advocates in pursuing the thankless task of safeguarding and nurturing Hinduism day after day, sometimes in hostile or indifferent environments. Perhaps Suhag Shukla voices the feelings of the rest when she recalls her childhood in America at a time when Hinduism was unknown and unsung in the mainstream and almost a burden to bear, till she understood its greatness.

“As a mother, I don’t want my two sons to have to wait that long for this realization,” she says. “ If we are in an environment where Hinduism is understood and appreciated, thousands of second and third generation Hindu Americans can live and breathe in that one space from the very beginning.  And that is what I believe HAF can do and is doing – .that is, help create that environment where Hinduism is better understood and a Hindu voice is heard.”

To that, Aseem Shukla adds a thoughtful point: “As Hindu Americans, we must work tirelessly to expose others to our story, our way of life, our proven pluralistic traditions.  That is why I hope HAF helps convince some Indian-Americans that being a proud Hindu and an American is critically important to maintaining not only our way of life, but the pluralistic traditions of America itself.”

HOW TO BE A HINDU 101

All the young leaders of HAF give an A plus to their parents for imparting Hinduism to them in trying circumstances, often in isolated hamlets far away from India. “My parents, my father in particular, instilled in me my deep pride in Hinduism from childhood,” says Sheetal Shah. “Although they forced me to sit through various pujas which I did not understand, in the end they always took the time to discuss the philosophical underpinnings of Hinduism with me.  They encouraged me to question that within the religion which I did not understand, and helped me search for the answer.  It is this ability to question and probe, so unique within Hinduism, which has stayed with me and continues to motivate me.”

Mihir Meghani’s parents inculcated Hindu values in him and while growing up, he sought to learn about India, Hinduism, and spirituality by reading books and Hinduism Today magazine, participating in camps and conferences, meeting Hindu saints and leaders in social service, and supporting activities to strengthen Hinduism and India.

Aseem Shukla credits his devout parents for imparting to him a heritage of social service, as he had in his family a freedom fighter, a superintendent of police in post colonial India and the founders of a Vedic pathshala in Gujarat.  Nikhil Joshi, who was born in Jacksonville, Florida away from any major Indo-centric areas of influence, says: “My parents were our sole source for learning about Hindu dharma, scriptures, and teachings along with a few families in town who shared my parents’ interests. We had no access to a Hindu temple.”

Pawan Deshpande, born in Canada and reared in Massachusetts, recalls, “Growing up we did not have a temple in the nearby vicinity but we made up for that with weekly classes on Hinduism in the basement of a local home.  Just as my interest in Hinduism has grown over time, so too has the local community and we now have a dedicated Chinmaya Mission temple, thanks to the efforts of the collective community.”

Samir Kalra, raised in Fremont, California, says, “My parents were very influential in my interest in Hindu philosophy, culture, and history.  I can remember being fascinated as a child by stories of great Hindu kings, saints and leaders.  Going to the local Hindu mandir for religious and cultural events was also a large part of my childhood and adolescence.  These experiences helped produce a lasting interest in Hinduism and a sense of pride in being Hindu.” 

BEING HINDU IN BELGIUM

“I was born in India and spent the first 15 years of my life there. When my father got transferred to Belgium when I was 16, it was a major culture shock to me, being in a place where I did not even speak the native languages – French and Flemish. There were no Hindu temples in the immediate area and we would have to travel 60 miles to visit the Hare Krishna temple. The Hindus in the area would celebrate Diwali and it would seem surreal because it would be a much subdued affair than what we did in India.

I got married to a second generation Hindu American and have two kids now. It is a top priority for us to raise our kids in an environment where they don’t have to follow the practices of another religion because their friends do it. I want my kids to embrace the practices of Sanatana Dharma and be proud Hindus who understand the gems of wisdom Hinduism teaches.

– Sangeetha Chandrakantan, HAF supporter

Rocking the Boat

“Where I have met some resistance is from those in our own community who are content in an insular Indian American existence and fearful of engaging the majority or rocking the boat in the necessary struggle for equal access and rights.  In many instances, those community members hold a misconception that standing up for one’s rights, especially those of religious freedom, is necessarily anti other religions.  Slowly but surely, I think we are convincing many that this is simply not true and in fact, such a struggle is quintessentially American.”

–         Suhag Shukla

© Lavina Melwani