Urging All HSCs To Take Action National HSC

Dear Members and Office Bearers of HSC Local Chapters:

We, the undersigned, urge all members and office bearers of local HSC chapters across all US universities to urgently take action to change your relations with the National HSC based on the evidence presented in the recently published report from the Campaign to Stop Funding Hate (CSFH) - "Unmistakably Sangh: The National HSC and its Hindutva Agenda".  We write to you because we are concerned that your group's affiliation with the national HSC would seem to provide support for the intolerant views of Hindutva organizations.

We understand that many of you may not have been aware of the connections between the national HSC and the Hindutva organizations in India and the US.  However, now that it is apparent that these links do in fact exist, we urge you to act immediately and disassociate yourselves from such groups. We must emphasize that silence or inaction on your part at this moment implicates you in the legitimation of a political agenda of hate and intolerance that we assume you certainly would not otherwise choose to actively support. We are sensitive to the reasons many people may have joined a local HSC chapter: in particular to participate in the appreciation of your heritage, and to help educate others about Hinduism, which as a minority tradition in North America is often not well  understood. In fact, the association of the national HSC with a political
agenda -- of hatred against minorities in India -- likely goes against the very grain of why you joined a HSC chapter.  We urge you to act to ensure that your support for multicultural tolerance is not misused by those with a ulterior political agenda.

We are convinced that most of you do not share the intolerance and  nti-minority agenda of the Hindutva movement, and instead would affirm a politics of equality and peace.  We therefore ask you to act to protect this value system. How you choose to act in the end is of course entirely your decision. We will stand by you on any positive action aimed at strengthening a tolerant and secular value system -- from open public discussions on this issue to a decision to create and promote a new and distinct identity of your own, unconnected to Hindutva and the national HSC.

Sincerely and in peace,