Georgia Becomes First American State To Pass Resolution Condemning Hinduphobia

The Georgia Assembly has passed a resolution condemning Hinduphobia, making Georgia the first American state to do so.

Hinduism is one of the oldest and largest religions in the world, with more than 1.2 billion followers in more than 100 nations. The resolution condemning Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu bigotry noted that Hinduism encompasses a variety of diverse traditions and belief systems with values of acceptance, mutual respect, and peace.

Representatives Lauren McDonald and Todd Jones from Forsyth County, a suburb of Atlanta that is home to one of Georgia's largest Hindu and Indian-American diaspora groups, presented the resolution.

The resolution noted that the American-Hindu community has made significant contributions to many different fields, including manufacturing, energy, academia, health care, research and engineering, information technology, hospitality, and finance.

It also mentioned how the community's contributions of yoga, ayurveda, meditation, food, music, and the arts have enriched American society, been widely adopted, and improved the lives of millions of people.

There have been documented cases of hate crimes against Hindu-Americans over the past few decades

The resolution noted that there have been documented cases of hate crimes against Hindu-Americans over the past few decades in many areas of the nation and claimed that some academics who support the deconstruction of Hinduism and charge its sacred texts and cultural practises with violence and oppression have exacerbated and institutionalised Hinduphobia.

The first-ever Hindu Advocacy Day, held on March 22 in the Georgia State Capitol, was organised by the Atlanta chapter of the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA), who took the initiative in this regard. Over 25 lawmakers, including Republicans and Democrats, joined the Hindu community to learn about their problems, make a commitment to develop measures to safeguard them from discrimination, and enable the inclusion of Hindu voices in significant state decision-making processes.

"It was a true honor to work with Rep McDonald and Rep Jones as well as other lawmakers who guided us through the whole process of getting this County Resolution passed," said CoHNA vice president, Rajeev Menon.

"We also heard that all the lawmakers had been working really long hours given the amount of legislative items on the agenda, but still decided to join us at the Advocacy Day to show how much they value the Hindu community," he said.

The issues faced by Hindu Americans in Georgia are negatively impacting a community

Shobha Swamy, CoHNA general secretary said, "The issues faced by Hindu Americans in Georgia and the rest of the country via false, Hinduphobic narratives are negatively impacting a community that has been hardworking, law-abiding and enriching the fabric of America."

"We urged for their help in combating such bigotry which advances hatred and creates the idea that Hindus and people of Indian-origin need special laws and monitoring due to allegations around some inherent propensity to discriminate," she said.

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