US lawmakers seek Department of Justice briefing over hate crimes on Hindu temples

WASHINGTON: In the wake of increasing attacks on the Hindu temples in the country, United States lawmakers, led by Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, wrote a letter to the US Department of Justice to brief on the status of investigations into recent vandalism at houses of worship across the US.

In the letter, written by the members of congress of South Asian descent including Shri Thanedar, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal and Ami Bera noted that these attacks on the temples have contributed to increased collective anxiety among Hindu Americans.

We have observed an alarming increase in incidents of vandalism at houses of worship across the country including at Hindu mandirs (“temples”). We, the undersigned Members of Congress of South Asian descent, write to request a briefing from the Department of Justice on the status of investigations concerning these crimes to better understand existing law enforcement coordination between local agencies, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Civil Rights Division”, the letter read.

“Attacks at mandirs from New York to California have contributed to increased collective anxiety among Hindu Americans. Leaders from these impacted communities have expressed there are unfortunately “no leads” on suspects, leaving many to continue to live in fear and intimidation”, it added.

The Congressmen also expressed their concern over the law enforcement coordination regarding these ‘bias-motivated crimes’. The Congressmen said in the letter, “Our communities remain concerned about law enforcement coordination regarding these bias-motivated crimes, and they are left wondering if there is appropriate federal oversight to ensure equal protection under the law”.

“The number of incidents and the closeness of the timing of incidents raise troubling questions about linkages and the intent behind them. It takes relatively few coordinated acts of hate to create fear nationally within a community that has often been marginalized or neglected, and we must work collaboratively to combat hate against all religious, ethnic, racial, and cultural minorities in America”, it added.

“We therefore request that you provide us with an understanding of what the Department’s strategy is specifically concerning hate crimes targeting Hindus in the United States. Given the urgency of the situation, we ask that you provide us with a briefing no later than Thursday, April 18th”, letter read further.

Additionally, the Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi shared about the development and described the details of the letter on his official website.

“On Friday, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi led US Representatives Ro Khanna (CA-17), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), and Ami Bera (CA-06) in a letter requesting a briefing from the Department of Justice on the status of investigations into recent vandalism at houses of worship across the country, attacks on mandirs, and the Department’s broader strategy against hate crimes targeting Hindus in the United States”, he said in a news release.

Meanwhile, the Hindu American Foundation, which shared the letter written by the US Congressmen, said that many of the attacks featured Khalistani slogans and themes meant to cause “fear and intimidation” in the Hindu American community and lack of action is raising concerns and urgency of this briefing.

“Many of these mandir attacks featured Khalistani slogans & themes meant to cause “fear & intimidation” in the Hindu American community. The lack of arrests is raising concerns & increasing the urgency of this briefing”, it posted on X.

The Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) thanked the Congressmen for raising the issue and asked for a national discussion on Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu hate to tackle the root cause of these attacks.

“We thank @CongressmanRaja, @ShriThanedar, @RoKhanna, @RepBera and @Repjayapal for finally conveying the deep fear that has been haunting the #Hindu community in the US. We ask for a national discussion on #Hinduphobia and #antiHindu hate to tackle the root cause of these attacks. We also ask for other lawmakers at all levels, to step up and take action”, it posted on X.

“We are glad to see some much overdue attention to the issue of repeated and frighteningly frequent attacks on #HinduTemples. We’ve been calling attention to the slew of 6 or more attacks in just the Bay Area #California between Nov 2023-Jan 2024, but the problem is older and deeper. 2022 saw its own set of attacks on Hindu temples in #NewYork and elsewhere”, it added.

A Hindu temple in the US state of California was defaced with pro-Khalistani graffiti. This incident comes weeks after Swaminarayan Mandir in California was vandalised with anti-India graffiti. The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) shared information about the vandalisation of California’s Sherawali Temple in a social media post on Friday. A photo of the defacement was also shared by the HAF.

On December 23 last year, a Hindu temple was defaced with pro-Khalistani slogans in California’s Newark city. The pictures were shared on X by the Hindu American Foundation, showing slogans scribbled on the walls of the Swaminarayan Mandir Vasana Sanstha.

Images showed hateful slogans against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the wall of the temple. At the time, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had taken note of the incident and reiterated that extremists and separatists should not be given space. (ANI)