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In the heart of our beautiful city of Chicago, a battle is quietly raging over Hindu nationalism. First conceived in the 20th century by Indian admirers of Hitler and Mussolini, Hindu nationalism is a divisive political project that seeks to transform India into a fundamentally Hindu state where people from other religions, particularly Muslims and Christians, are second-class citizens.
Dominating government policy in India, sparking countless acts of violence against Indian religious minorities, and animating frequent debates among Chicagoland’s 238,000 Indian Americans, Hindu nationalism — which shouldn’t be confused with Hinduism or the tenets of that faith — nonetheless remains largely unknown to many Chicagoans.
As Hindu nationalist organizations prey on the ignorance of local voters to import this bigoted ideology into this diverse city, Chicagoans can no longer afford to remain in the dark.
Chicagoland-based Hindu nationalist groups have scuttled a City Council human rights resolution; attempted but failed to insert Islamophobic language into Illinois state legislation; and invited profoundly bigoted, anti-Muslim religious leaders from India to spread their ideas in Chicagoland.
This story was originally published in chicago.suntimes.com. Read the full story here .
