HAF Submits Amicus Letter in Federal Court

The HAF Hindu Awareness Campaign's goal is to educate Hindus in America about the issues HAF is addressing.
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A resolution recognizing the historical and cultural significance of the Hindu festival of Diwali was submitted to the United States House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform, on October 5, 2004.  House Resolution 816 was introduced by Rep. Joseph Crowley (D, NY), Democratic Chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, and was authored with assistance from the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) (www.hinduamericanfoundation.org).

HAF members with Rep Joseph Crowley (D-NY) at HAF reception in U.S. Capitol

"I am pleased to have introduced this resolution recognizing Diwali,” said Representative Joseph Crowley (D, NY) Democratic Chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans as he introduced the first resolution recognizing a festival of religious significance to most Indian Americans.  “Diwali is an important day for Indian Americans and Indians around the world and I am proud to be the sponsor of this resolution," Rep. Crowley continued.

The resolution explains that Diwali, a variation of the Sanskrit word Deepavali, refers to the rows of earthen lamps celebrants place around their homes.  Hindus believe that the light from these lamps symbolizes illumination within the individual that overwhelms ignorance, represented by darkness.  In addition to the spiritual significance the day holds for Hindus, the resolution also explains the importance of the day to Sikhs and Jains.  Sikhs celebrate the release of the Sixth Guru, Hargobind, from captivity by the Mughal Emperor Jehangir and Jains commemorate Diwali as the day Lord Mahavira, the last of the Tirthankaras, attained Nirvana, or liberation, after his death in 527 B.C.

"Diwali is of immense significance to Hindu Americans, and this resolution introduced by Congressman Crowley captures the essence of its spiritual and historical importance to Hindus, Jains and Sikhs," said Aseem Shukla, M.D., Member of the HAF Board of Directors.

	Congressman Crowley meets with members of HAF and discusses the strong impact they have made on issues affecting Hindus.

The Hindu American Foundation, that had hosted a reception on Capitol Hill, and met with several congressmen to discuss issues of concern to Hindu Americans, approached contacts made during those visits to consider official congressional recognition of Diwali.  With official assent, HAF proceeded to provide a draft of such a resolution.  "When the co-chairs of the India caucus, Reps. Crowley and Wilson, agreed to work with HAF to finalize a resolution on Diwali, we quickly grasped this unique opportunity to garner official recognition for this most widely celebrated festival.  We have enjoyed an excellent working relationship with many congressional offices, and we hope to utilize these contacts to gain widespread support for this resolution," said Sheetal Shah, coordinator of the HAF Government Interaction Project.

The resolution effort was the latest in a series of actions by HAF to fulfill stated goals to further understanding of Hinduism and promote the religion’s tenets of tolerance and pluralism.  Mihir Meghani, M.D., President of HAF, explained that the resolution was aimed at promoting awareness of the growing Hindu American community and imparting an official recognition to one of their most important festivals.  "This will not only be the first time Hindus and all Indian Americans are felicitated on Diwali, but in a sense, this resolution is a first step in bringing Diwali into our nation's mainstream.” said Mihir Meghani, M.D., President of HAF.  “Congressman Crowley has once again demonstrated his sincere commitment to Hindu American issues by introducing this resolution," Dr. Meghani added.

You may contact your Congressman and voice your opinion about the Diwali resolution.  To find out the contact details for your Congressman, visit www.congress.org

On September 2, 2004, The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) (www.hinduamericanfoundation.org) submitted an amicus (friend of court) letter, with ten co-signatories spanning the religious spectrum, in support of a request for injunctive relief filed by the Hindu Temple Society of North America in United States federal court on August 4, 2004.  The federal lawsuit, filed on behalf of the Hindu temple by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, and supported by the HAF amici curiae letter, that was one of the last documents accepted by United States District Judge Raymond Dearie for review, claimed that the Supreme Court of the State of New York engaged in a hostile takeover of the prominent Hindu Temple in Queens, New York. 

The Becket Fund and HAF hold that the state court, and an appointed referee who is not Hindu, have unconstitutionally intruded upon the Hindu temple in response to efforts by six dissident members to gain control over the temple.  The referee, Anthony Piacentini, is currently in control over the daily administration of the temple, including determining who qualifies as a “member” and whether a member need be Hindu, because the state court asserts that it has been unable to gain the cooperation of the current Board in restructuring the governance of the temple.  The state court found that an earlier set of the by-laws required the Hindu temple to have a voting membership to decide numerous matters pertaining to the temple, including electing Board members.  The text of the amici letter clarifies that HAF does not advocate for a specific party in the internal temple dispute. 

“Our role is not to recommend how a temple chooses to structure its governance or for whom the courts should rule when temple disputes reach the tragic point of filing lawsuits,” asserts Suhag Shukla, Esq., Legal Counsel for HAF.  “But HAF is concerned that a similar dispute at a church or synagogue would not have ended in the takeover of that institution by an outsider who controls every aspect of that institution from administration to how and when religious rites may be performed.” She also added,  “And certainly, we are, by no means, advocating a position that religious organizations are somehow above the law.  However, there are numerous alternatives a court may avail itself of to ensure that its orders are carried out such as holding uncooperative parties in contempt.  In the instant case, the Supreme Court of the State of New York chose to act in a way that ignores the fundamental principle of separation of church and state.” 

The Becket Fund and HAF claimed in their filings that the state court intruded into every level of temple administration in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution—amendments that guarantee the right to free exercise and equal protection under the law, respectively.  On September 16, 2004, Judge Dearie ruled that the federal court appreciated the important First Amendment concerns raised by the Becket Fund and HAF, but chose to abstain from overruling the state courts at this time.      

“While we are obviously disappointed that the federal court did not reverse the unconstitutional ongoing interference into temple affairs by the New York Supreme Court,” said Ms. Shukla, “HAF will continue to support the Becket Fund in their appeal and continue to spread awareness as to the crucial principles at stake.”  

The text of the HAF letter can be viewed in full on the Beckett Fund website at http://www.becketfund.org/index.php/case/87.html.  The letter that was presented by HAF on behalf of AGNI Corporation, the Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights, the Hindu Human Rights Group, the Hindu International Council Against Defamation, Hindu University of America, Ile Obatala Oya, Kanchi Kamakoti Seva Foundation, Navya Shastra, and the Queens Federation of Churches, discusses how the state court system has burdened the Hindu Temple Society's religious practice:

"The order mandating a state-sponsored referee to determine the method by which the Hindu Temple structures and governs itself; who qualifies as a member, an inquiry which potentially includes determining who qualifies as a 'Hindu; and imposing rule by a majority of state-approved members, absent any legal basis, appears punitive and represents a potentially hostile interference into the sanctity of the Hindu Temple. It also clearly interferes with the Hindu Temple’s ability to function, let alone exercise its religion, as the Board of Trustees, which as an entity has governed the Hindu Temple for the past thirty years, is no longer able conduct its business including appointing, hiring and dismissing priests; exercising authority over the design and expansion of the temple grounds according to Hindu religious principles; managing the scheduling of religious services at the temple; deciding which divinities will be honored as well as the forms of devotion that will occur at the temple; controlling the finances of the temple; and all other aspects of religious and temporal activities associated with the temple."

“The fact that ten organizations representing three different religions signed onto a letter authored by HAF indicates the broad relevance of this issue,” said Mihir Meghani, M.D., President of HAF.  “Furthermore,” continued Dr. Meghani, “It highlights well the role HAF can play in representing Hindu interests in just such a circumstance—something few other Hindu organizations are able to do.”

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