The Hindu American Foundation's third annual Hindu human rights report details violations against Hindus in areas where they are minority. It extends the scope of earlier reports by covering the nations of Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Trinidad and Tobago, in addition to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir. The human rights violations are in the areas of violence against women, murder, ethnic cleansing, temple destruction, socio-political ostracization, disenfranchisement, discrimination and forced conversions. As with previous reports, it has been instrumental in advancing knowledge and activism with other interfaith and human rights organizations, as well as elected officials and government agencies.

Extremist websites with hate against Hindus and Hinduism are the focus of this document in the conviction that if left unchallenged, these websites will perpetuate hatred at best, and breed violence at worst.  This report provides an overview of the methods used to demean Hinduism and the individuals and organizations responsible for the content.  Whether by maligning Hinduism as “devil-worship” to promote a fear of Hindus and their beliefs, demeaning Hindu scriptures and deities, or falsifying Hinduism’s teachings and principles in order to claim the religious superiority of other traditions, these individuals and organizations seek to undermine tolerance and pluralism.  This is the first report to systematically document hate against Hindus on the Internet, an issue of serious concern to Hindu-Americans and Hindus globally.

Hindu Americans comprise one of the fastest growing populations in the United States. Of the 1 billion Hindus worldwide, the Hindu American population currently numbers around 2 million, but this does not include the estimated 32 million others who derive inspiration from Hindu spirituality and practice Hindu teachings such as yoga and meditation. With growing numbers comes an increasing awareness of a place in American dialogue and the need for the accurate portrayal of the faith in line with its beliefs and practices.  The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) presents herein, some short answers to common questions about Hinduism. This has been created with the help of noted Hinduism scholars and religious leaders. We sincerely hope this will serve as a useful primer for many.  

With a growing number of Hindu Americans comes an increasing awareness of a place in American dialogue and with rising alarm Hindu Americans note the dichotomy between their perception of the faith they practice and the faith that is described in mainstream media. Too often, media coverage of Hinduism relies on stereotypical fallacies and the analyses of Hindu “experts” who are rarely practicing Hindus themselves and lack insight into the faith that comes from such practice. The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) presents some of the common omissions and oversights in media coverage of Hinduism. Each typical error, derived from actual references in print and broadcast media, is followed by elaborations and alternative suggestions in a collaborative effort to correct these inaccuracies.

HAF’s second annual report on human rights abuses against Hindus in 2005 covers Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Fiji, Pakistan and the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The 105 page report individually documents over 500 incidents of murder, arson, rape, desecration of temples, usurpation of property and other forms of violence against Hindus in Bangladesh. According to the report, Pakistan witnessed a spate of Hindu temple destructions, kidnappings and forced conversions of Hindu girls. Outside of South Asia, the report notes that despite comprising 38% of the island nation’s population, Hindus and their religious institutions are routinely attacked in Fiji. The report highlights the persecution of Afghanistan's Hindu minority and the involuntary deportation of the exiled Hindu refugees from foreign nations. The report also addresses the continued ethnic cleansing of Hindus in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir as a result of Islamic militancy.

A 71 page report that compiles media coverage and first-hand accounts of human rights violations perpetrated against Hindus because of their religious identity in Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The report specifically denounces Bangladesh for a long-history of anti-Hindu atrocities that have recently spiked following the ascent of the Bangladeshi National Party-Jamat-e-Islami coalition. The report also dicusses the consequence of Pakistan and Al-Qaeda sponsored Islamist violence in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir that has left tens of thousands of Hindus and Muslims dead, and 350,000 Hindu victims of religious cleansing. Similarly, the Pakistan government is condemned for systematic state-sponsored religious discrimination against Hindus through elaborate “anti-blasphemy” laws, and for failing to investigate numerous reports of millions of Hindus being held as “bonded laborers” in slavery-like conditions.