We are watching as right-wing Hindu American groups harass, intimidate, and endanger academics, including students.

What you're doing is beyond unacceptable. It is unethical, hate mongering, and very, very dangerous. Stop. Now. #Hindutva
Folks, if you are Hindu American and you think: "my goodness, that's not me! I like diversity. I value critical thought. Hindutva is not Hinduism." I hear you.

Know that right-wing groups are promoting intolerance and hate in your name. You have my condolences about that.
If you're wondering what a group who actually advocated on behalf of Hindu Americans would do right now, they would:

Reiterate the right to criticize political ideologies, including Hindutva.
Call for an end to threats and retaliations against all academics.
Stop trying to interfere with academic events. Stop trying to chill academic freedom.
Call out human rights abuses in India.
Seek to protect those of Indian descent who are being demonized for their politics.
Last, but not least --

A group who truly represented Hindu Americans would call attention to the harms of #Hindutva, perhaps especially highlighting its restrictive claims over Hindus.

Anyways, just a reminder of what real community leaders might be doing.

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More from @AudreyTruschke

3 Sep
Periodic reminder —

There are US-based Hindutva proponents that are attacking and smearing scholars, conferences, and even students.

They do not represent Hindu Americans as a group. They’re using this broad-based, diverse community as a smokescreen to promote hate. #Hindutva
We see this, by the way, with other groups also. In the US context, Christian nationalists have done something similar, advocating extreme political views under the guise of religion.

(Oh, the irony of Hindu supremacists borrowing a playbook from a group they rail against).
Birds of a feather flock together.

Hindu supremacists are closest too, not most Hindus, but rather advocates of other supremacist ideologies. They overlap in tone and methods; in some cases, we know of alliances.

Hindutva’s bedfellows are terrifying.
Read 4 tweets
19 Aug
The US Hindutva machine--part of the Global Right--has mobilized to target sponsors of the upcoming Dismantling Hindutva conference.

This is a #THREAD of resources--from the Hindu Right's current favorite academic to hate--for those who find themselves in #Hindutva crosshairs.
First of all, understand Hindutva, which is a hateful a political ideology. Some scholars describe it as authoritarian or populist; others as fascist.

We all agree that it is right-wing, trends towards violence, and is intolerant.

thewire.in/politics/chris…
Terms often used as rough synonyms -- Hindutva, Hindu nationalism, Hindu supremacy, Hindu Right.

Defining Hindutva: hindutvaharassmentfieldmanual.org/defininghindut…

Guide on Hindutva from a Hindu perspective: sadhana.org/hindutva-101
Read 11 tweets
19 Aug
This could be fun —

I have a Yudhishthira joke but it’s kind of a gamble.
I have a Karna joke but I forgot it.
I have a Parikshit joke but it has a bite to it.
Read 9 tweets
17 Aug
Snapshots of #Hindutva culture --

abuse, dehumanization, misogyny oh misogyny, and foul language. Why?

Because I'm a scholar.
Because I work on Indo-Persian history.
Because I work on the Hindu Right.
Because I'm a woman.

Above all, because they hate.
eventbrite.com/e/dismantling-…
For anyone just joining us, please note that Hindutva is not Hinduism.

Hindutva is a narrow political ideology and Hinduism is a broad-based religious tradition. It is offensive to conflate the two. Many Hindus oppose Hindutva, and thus become targets of Hindutva hate.
Sometimes people ask how I know that those attacking me support Hindutva. There are a thousand ways. One is that they proudly claim it sometimes -- This is a type of hate in the open these days.
Read 5 tweets
14 Jul
In-depth reporting on the funding and ideology of the Hindu Right in America. I'm struck by a few things. #THREAD
A smaller group -- representing right-wing interests -- have co-opted the voices of a larger community, by and large without asking about or addressing the concerns of that community.

We see this with other right-wing groups in America. It remains astonishing and saddening.
The specifics -- The Hindu Right is a circumscribed group, but, as the article painstakingly details, they're using a variety of organizations, which claim to speak for far robust communities of millions, to promote hate.

But what about the larger group? They are sidelined.
Read 6 tweets
12 Jul
Hindutva vs Academia: Why Scholars Built a Manual to Fight Harassment thequint.com/us-nri-news/hi…
The article ends with a quote from the man who heads COHNA and is a long-time, known harasser.

Note his bad-faith argument, that the field manual is silencing Hindus. This coming after quotes from multiple scholars who are Hindu about why they wrote this. Think about that.
We cover this in the field manual, including how Hindutva ideologues often target Hindus and how they often make bad-faith bias claims. Such activities hurt Hindus, South Asian Americans, and us all. hindutvaharassmentfieldmanual.org/badfaith
Read 4 tweets

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