Inside This Newsletter

2004 Presidential Message

2004 Achievements
Government Education | Legal Activism | Media Education
Hindu Human Rights | Hindu Hate Watch Project | Community Outreach

2005 Plans
Infrastructure | Governmental Education | Media Education
Hindu Human Rights | Hindu Hate Watch | Legal Activism
Community Outreach

2004 Presidential Message

Namaste and Vannakam Dear Supporters,

The end of 2004 marks the completion of one full calendar year of the Hindu American Foundation. We thank you for your support!

HAF serves as a public voice for Hindu Americans.  Our focus is on educating the public, government, media, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) about Hinduism and Hindu issues. Our motto is promoting understanding, tolerance, and pluralism.

You may visit a new web page that lists all of our achievements thus far.  These were made possible by your financial support which we used to pay for startup expenses, infrastructure, & our 2004 campaigns.

HAF belongs to all of you and at this time, we ask for your generous financial support so that we can continue to serve the interests of Hindu Americans.  Please consider a charitable contribution by year-end so that you may take advantage of a tax-deduction for 2004. You may make a contribution online or mail a check to Hindu American Foundation, P.O. Box 48528, Tampa, FL 33647 USA. HAF is a registered 501 (c)(3) organization & all contributions may be fully tax-deductible (consult with your tax advisor).

There is a lot more we would like to do for the community as you can see in our 2005 Plans, but to do that, we need your generous support. Groups representing other communities that do similar work like us have budgets in the millions of dollars.  We would like to raise $200,000 to hire professional staff and setup an office to handle ongoing work, take on new projects, and do the work that cannot be done by our outstanding team of volunteers.  Our goal is to continue to be nothing less than the best and most professional group representing Hindu Americans but we can only be that with your support!

We hope you will donate $101, $501, $1001, $2001, $5001, $10,001 or more.  Also, you may donate appreciated stocks (please contact us for more information).

Additionally, if you would like to a host a Hindu Awareness Campaign program where HAF can talk about the issues facing Hindu Americans to a group of your friends and other interested people in your community, please contact us.

Please review our updated website, our 2004 Achievements and our 2005 Plans, and ask your family and friends to do the same.  They may also sign up online for our newsletter.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Executive Council of the Hindu American Foundation, I thank you again for your support and trust, as we look forward to an even better 2005.

Sincerely,
Mihir Meghani, M.D.
President, Hindu American Foundation

2004 Achievements (click here for details)

Governmental Education Campaign

• HAF ORGANIZED ITS FIRST GOVERNMENT OUTREACH DAY IN WASHINGTON, D.C. & INTRODUCED SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR AT A DINNER RECEPTION ON CAPITOL HILL

  • HAF organized sessions with legislators exclusively to discuss issues concerning Hindu Americans. Throughout the year, HAF continued to meet with key Congressmen (Rep. Crowley & Rep. Ros-Lehtinen), & HAF was lauded by the Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on India.

• HAF AUTHORED 1st EVER CONGRESSIONAL RESOLUTION ON DIWALI

  • This 1st ever resolution recognizing the cultural and spiritual significance of Diwali (Deepavali) was authored by HAF & introduced by Congressman Crowley.

• HINDU AMERICANS REPRESENTED AT NATIONAL MEETING ON FAITH BASED INITIATIVES FOR FIRST TIME

Legal Activism Campaign

• HAF FILED 1st EVER BRIEF BY A HINDU AMERICAN GROUP ON BEHALF OF HINDUS WITH THE U.S. SUPREME COURT IN TEN COMMANDMENTS CASE

  • HAF spearheaded the filing of an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief with the United States Supreme Court in a case involving the placement of a permanent monument of the Ten Commandments on government property.

• HAF SUBMITTED A FRIEND OF COURT LETTER IN FEDERAL COURT IN SUPPORT OF A HINDU TEMPLE IN NEW YORK

  • HAF 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 U.S. federal court.

• HAF ONLY HINDU ORGANIZATION TO CO-SIGN AMICUS BRIEF WITH THE U.S. SUPREME COURT AS PART OF COALITION FOR THE FREE EXERCISE FOR RELIGION

  • The brief, submitted in Cutter v. Wilkinson, argues that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), a federal law that requires state prisons receiving federal funds to reasonably accommodate inmates' religious practices, is constitutional.

Media Education Campaign

• HAF ATTENDED THE RELIGION NEWSWRITERS ASSOCIATION (RNA) ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN WASHINGTON D.C.

  • This annual conference was attended by editors and writers covering religion issues at over 100 newspapers and other media organizations, and included representatives from the Washington Post, New York Times, Chicago Sun-Times, USA Today, & San Francisco Chronicle.

• HAF CONTRIBUTES TO HINDUISM COVERAGE

  • HAF continues to interact with political, legal, religious, ethnic, & community reporters across America & in organizations such as RNA & SAJA (South Asian Journalists Association). HAF has also had Letters to the Editor printed in response to coverage of Hinduism and Hindus, in the following newspapers:

    • India Abroad printed HAF’s Letter to the Editor in response to inflammatory comments by the evangelist Zachariah.

    • The Florida Ledger printed HAF’s Letter to the Editor in response to a positive story on Hindu Americans.

    • HAF’s Letter to the Editor was printed in The Florida Times-Union in response to a deficient report on terrorism in Kashmir.

    • The Denver Post printed HAF’s Letter to the Editor in response to a Hinduphobic article by one of their columnists.

    • HAF wrote to the New York Times about its inadequate coverage of this issue & it’s calling His Holiness ‘Mr. Shankaracharya.’.

    • HAF wrote to India Abroad in response to an inflammatory Letter to the Editor from the evangelical missionary group Living Water Ministries.

    • HAF wrote to the Washington Post in response to biased coverage of the outrage of Hindus over the rampant academic abuse of Hindu Gods and beliefs, specifically Prof. Courtright’s book on Lord Ganesha.

• HAF CONTRIBUTES TO POSITIVE COVERAGE ON DIWALI

  • HAF worked with the ANG Newspapers group in the San Francisco area to get prominent coverage of Diwali (Deepavali).

  • HAF was interviewed by USA Today on coverage about the symbolism of light in religion.

  • HAF created a section on our website that explained Diwali (Deepavali) & had messages from Professor Anantanand Rambachan and the following Hindu spiritual leaders: Satguru Bodhinath Veylanswami, Swami Chidananda Saraswati, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Dr. Pranav & Shrimati Shail Bala Pandya, Sri
    Jayendra Saraswathi & Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi.

Hindu Human Rights Campaign

• CONGRESSMAN PALLONE CONDEMNS PERSECUTION OF HINDUS IN BANGLADESH FOLLOWING MEETINGS WITH HAF

• HAF CONDEMNED HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

  • On Human Rights Day, HAF called for the world community to recognize the rights of Hindus and condemned ongoing human rights violations against Hindus worldwide.

• HAF ISSUED POLICY BRIEFINGS ON HINDU HUMAN RIGHTS IN BANGLADESH, JAMMU & KASHMIR STATE, AND PAKISTAN

  • These are being shared with officials in governments worldwide, journalists, and various NGOs.

• HAF INTERACTS WITH HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS

  • HAF met with the Global Human Rights Defence, based in the Netherlands. HAF also continues to communicate with Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, & the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom.

• HAF WRITES TO THE MEDIA ON HINDU HUMAN RIGHTS

  • HAF’s Letter to the Editor was printed in the Florida Times-Union  reminding them of rampant Islamist terrorism in Kashmir, in addition to writing several letters to other newspapers about Hindu human rights.

Hindu Hate Watch Project

• HAF CALLS ATTENTION TO HINDU HATE GROUPS

  • HAF compiled a report of Internet websites dedicated to propagating hatred & violence against Hindus & Hinduism. These websites were shared with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international human rights organization that promotes tolerance and opposes religious prejudice in all of its manifestations. The SWC included a selection of these anti-Hindu websites in a compilation entitled, “Digital Terrorism and Hate 2004.” The report was presented to a Congressional Subcommittee on March 22.

• HAF CENSURED DENVER POST FOR PUBLISHING HINDUPHOBIC COLUMN

• HAF RESPONDED TO INFLAMMATORY REMARKS BY EVANGELIST ZACARIAS IN INDIA ABROAD

• HAF ORGANIZED CAMPAIGN AGAINST DENIGRATION OF LORD GANESHA

Community Outreach Campaign

• HAF NATIONAL HINDU AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

  • This includes a multimedia presentation that educates Hindus about the misrepresentations & defamation of Hinduism in academics, media & government, Hindu human rights issues, & challenges before the Hindu American community. It has been presented in Florida, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, & California.

• HAF MEETS AMERICAN JEWISH LEADERS

  • In September, HAF formally addressed the American Jewish Committee San Francisco Board of Directors. HAF also interacted with leaders of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) during their Annual Policy Conference. In addition, HAF has ongoing interaction with the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

• HAF INTERACTS WITH NGOs

  • HAF has interacted with NGOs representing many religions, ideologies, & purposes to educate them about Hinduism & Hindu issues.

• HAF SUPPORTS BUILDING OF BAPS TEMPLE IN CHINO HILLS, CALIFORNIA

  • HAF raised awareness of the discrimination & hate encountered by B.A.P.S., & educated the public about the contributions the spiritual organization has made all over the world.

• HAF EXPRESSES DISTRESS OVER THE ARREST OF SANKARACHARYA OF KANCHI

  • HAF issued a widely circulated press statement, & also wrote to the New York Times about its inadequate coverage of this issue.

2005 Plans (click here for details)