We at the Hindu American Foundation write out of high respect for both Rutgers’ dedication to academic freedom, integrity, and standards, as well as the role of free expression in democratic discourse. We also write as a 22 year old 501c3 nonprofit organization, including multiple Rutgers alumni, that represents Hindu Americans, a diverse and heavily immigrant community.
We are deeply concerned about an upcoming event to be held by the Rutgers Center for Race, Security, and Rights on October 27, 2025, titled “Hindutva in America: A Threat to Equality and Religious Pluralism”. Based on organizer messaging, it is to promote a report, Hindutva in America: An Ethnonationalist Threat to Equality and Religious Pluralism, released nearly six months ago.
We want to make this clear: we are not calling for this event to be canceled, but for Rutgers administration to clarify that invited speakers or conference content reflects the organizers’ views, not the university’s; disassociate publicly; and withdraw official logos and/or funding to avoid perceived institutional endorsement as it stands now. We seek clarity in light of the inaccuracy, gravity, and spuriousness of numerous claims the report makes about HAF and other Hindu American advocacy organizations.
Civil discourse necessarily involves the ability to air countervailing perspectives, and credible voices that do not present rank misinformation to the public as settled fact. We support free inquiry and debate, but academic freedom must not be used as a shield for disinformation that demonizes an entire community. Unfortunately, this event, along with associated report, do just that.
- This report presents contested, highly politicized, and biased secondary sourcing and circular references as factual, neutral scholarship. It defines Hindutva as a “supremacist” and “extremist” ideology akin to white supremacy or fascism, and then assigns this ideology to the HAF and other Hindu American organizations despite their demonstrated track records and stated missions and values. It conveniently preempts criticism of this approach by claiming supporters of Hindutva regularly and clearly deny any associations. Many speakers at the upcoming event have explicitly said such denials are evidence of their sure guilt.
- The report represents itself as informative and in the public interest, when in reality it amplifies misinformation to advance a highly partisan and ideological agenda. HAF is not a “proxy” or “affiliate” of the RSS, an Indian organization considered to be the parent of the current ruling party in India, the Bharatiya Janata Party. The report’s claims of ideological and ongoing programmatic ties between HAF and such groups are categorically false. They again provide no evidence other than circular references to secondary materials from sources within their same activist circle to justify their claims, disregarding 22 years of legal documentation, government filings, annual audits, high transparency ratings, and demonstrated track record as a 501c3 nonprofit organization.
- The report uses false, inflammatory, and conspiratorial motivations against HAF and other Hindu advocacy organizations to justify disenfranchisement of Hindu groups whose perspectives they disagree with. Language such as “supremacist” and “extremist” is used frequently. When one examines how each organization describes itself, each of us are involved in community, cultural, philanthropic work, advocacy for civil rights, religious freedom, and educational equity for Hinduism. None of us promote views that are denigrating towards religious minorities in India, or the United States for that matter, as communities.
In light of such concerns, our direct questions to the administration of Rutgers University are these:
Yes or no:
- Do you stand by CSRR’s claims that HAF and other leading Hindu American advocacy organizations are “Hindu Supremacists,” and a threat to equality and religious freedom? Does that include those with chapters at Rutgers, and members that are Rutgers students, faculty, alumni, or parents?
- Do you stand by the recommendations made by the report authors specifically targeting only Hindu American organizations?
- Does the report reflect your stated standards of academic scholarship, discourse, and tolerance?
If the answer to any of the aforementioned questions is no, we respectfully urge Rutgers administration to:
- Clarify that invited speakers or conference content reflects the views of the organizers’, not the university;
- Disassociate publicly;
- Withdraw official logos and/or funding to avoid perceived institutional endorsement at it stands now;
- And issue a public statement reaffirming Rutgers’ commitment to academic integrity, viewpoint diversity, and an inclusive campus environment for students of all faiths, including Hindu students.
We look forward to your responses to the above questions.
Hindu American Foundation
