NEW DELHI – Representatives of several Indian diaspora organizations in the United States on Friday, September 11, held a zoom conference to address the death threats given to the speakers of the Dismantling Global Hindutva conference by the Hindutva extremists.
Masood Rab, Anil Wagde, Shaik Ubaid, Pieter Friedrich, Aslam Abdullah, Saeed Patel, Quaid Saifi, Zahir Adil were among the attendees.
They have issued the following statement:
The participants in the Dismantling Global Hinduva conference, hosted in the US, have faced an unprecedented onslaught of harassment, intimidation, and even death threats. Yet just two days before the conference began, the acting US Ambassador to India paid a visit to the chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the 96-year-old Indian paramilitary which serves as the primary advocate of Hindutva ideology.
Ambassador Atul Keshap broke the news of his visit, reporting on it in fawning terms which serve to legitimize and normalize a fascistic organization implicated in countless acts of violence against Indian minorities including massacres, rapes, lynchings and pogroms.
In August 2019, US Representative Ro Khanna (himself a Hindu of Indian origin), stated, “It is the duty of every American politician of Hindu faith to stand for pluralism, reject Hindutva, and speak for equal rights for Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists and Christians.”
Expanding upon Representative Khanna’s declaration, we believe it is the duty of the US government to disavow any associations with the RSS which might suggest approval or appeasement, to stand up and speak out against religious nationalism anywhere it is found in the world, and to reject all alliances with fascistic organizations or governments.
Ambassador Keshap’s deplorable meeting with the RSS unfortunately indicates that the US government is prioritizing geopolitical concerns and profits over principles such as pluralism and human rights, and people.
We call upon the US State Department to answer for Ambassador Keshap’s meeting with the RSS and clarify its stance on the organization. We further call upon Ambassador Keshap to resign.
This story first appeared on clarionindia.net