February 21, 2006

To: Editorial Office, India Abroad
From: Nikhil N. Joshi, Esq., Member, Board of Directors, Hindu American Foundation, Inc.
Date: 2/21/06

Re: In response to various Letters to the Editor in IA 2/17/06 defaming the Hindu American Foundation.

Dear Editor,
Out of deference to India Abroad’s decision to cease publishing letters concerning the textbook issue, this letter only addresses patently false, defamatory statements against the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) in letters by Girish Agarwal, et al, and Raja Swamy (IA, February 17, 2006). A summary of the actual proposed edits and revisions—free from distortions found in those letters—may be found at the websites of the California State Board of Education www.cde.ca.gov/be/ag/ag/science022706.asp or HAF www.hinduamericanfoundation.org.

It is very interesting that while HAF has built strong relationships with such progressive groups as the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and the Coalition for the Free Exercise of Religion, the raison d’etre of radical groups represented by Agarwal and Swamy is attacking Hindu organizations and irreverent defamations of sants and mahatmas such as the Shankaracharya. While HAF welcomes the ostensible votaries of “progressive” South Asian groups to respond to their absence from the progressive scene in the American dialogue, HAF takes great offense to the falsities and accusations contained in these letters.

To wit, the following are verifiable fabrications and ad hominem attacks that call into question the entire content of the letters:

a) HAF never published, announced or disseminated any statements of support for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi vis a vis the Gujarat riots. No such statement is found on its website or on an internet search. Indeed, HAF in its press release condemned the Godhra massacre and the murderous riots that followed throughout Gujarat leaving Muslims and Hindus dead.

b) HAF never took a position on the Tulsa Zoo’s exhibit of Lord Ganesha. We can only assume that the “progressive” writers sought to excuse their own absence from the very important debate over the 10 Commandments in public places with the smokescreen of this outright lie.

c) HAF has absolutely no links to any Hindu nationalist social, political or religious groups in the United States or India. HAF does not advocate for Hindutva, Maoism, Communism or any other political ideology. None of HAF’s founders or leaders is a member of any nationalist organization. Swamy’s non-contextual reference to an article ostensibly written by Dr. Mihir Meghani, fifteen years ago as a teenager, in no way reflects HAF’s current guiding philosophy and is a tired attempt to deflect attention from the real issues that affect practicing Hindu Americans.

As one of the second-generation Indian American co-founders of HAF, I can categorically state that our organization is committed only to the provision of a professional, credible and unaffiliated Hindu American voice for the society in which we were born and raised—the United States. The endorsement and support we receive from the Council of Hindu Temples of North America (representing well over 600 temples), every major Hindu sampradaya and spiritual leader in the U.S., and thousands of members throughout this country confirms our representation of a broad segment of the practicing Hindu American population. The California textbook issue is too critical to allow blatant lies and innuendo to preclude reasoned debate.

Sincerely,
Nikhil N. Joshi, Esq.
Member, Board of Directors
Hindu American Foundation
Tampa, Florida

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