Hindus for Human Rights counters accusations of Hindu American Foundation

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Two Indian-American advocacy organizations are at odds with each other on articles published in Al Jazeera.

On Monday, April 19, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) announced in a press release that it had sent five cease and desist notices to Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR) co-founders Sunita Vishwanath and Raju Rajgopal, Rasheed Ahmed of the Indian American Muslim Council, and Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations’ John Prabhudoss. In a press release, HAF said these organizations and individuals had allegedly made libelous statements against HAF, published in two articles by Al Jazeera in the first week of April 2021.

On April 22, Hindus for Human Rights co-founders Sunita Vishwanath and Raju Rajgopal, sent a press release/blog headlined “The Hindu American Foundation is trying to silence us. We’re not backing down.” The blog entry at HfHR’s website hindusforhumanrights.org, appealed for donations to its Legal Defense and Advocacy Fund.

“Since we began in 2019, our work has been praised by champions of justice and equality, and we have also drawn the attention of groups who oppose our work of fighting for pluralism and civil and human rights for all,” the HfHR said, saying that its work which involves alleged violence against minorities in India and expressing concern about alleged foreign donations to Hindu organizations, was being characterized as “defamation” and “libel.”

The HfHR also claimed that it was partly due to its advocacy that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom had recommended India be placed in the list of Countries of Particular Concern, on issues of religious freedom.