The Hindu community of North America, particularly in the United States of America and Canada are entangled in a recurring cycle of anti-Hindu hate, bias and targeted violence. The minority Hindu community who form the skilled manpower of North America and contribute significantly to the western economies, are unfortunately, the victims of anti-Hindu hate. Representing and following the Hindu traditions and their roots is being labelled as political extremism and radical activities. How can, acknowledging and adopting one’s culture, traditions and dharmic practices be picturised as extremism? But, the western world does it towards the Hindu community.
Across the United States and Canada, Hindu families have been victims of targeted attacks, young Hindu students are targeted in the university campuses and temples are vandalised with derogatory comments. Any effort to preserve, express and defend the culture is irrationally categorised as political extremism. The western countries, who apparently preach secularism, inclusivity to India and other countries, unfortunately don’t adopt & practice those principles in their own land. The so-called developed world acts insensitively while respecting the feelings and traditions of the Hindu community.
Attack on young Hindu students & isolation in school universities
Independent research conducted by various Hindu organisations in Canada and the USA reveal that Hindu students in college campuses face intense social pressure to conceal their dharmic and cultural affiliation. If they courageously defend their dharma and civilisational ethos, they suffer from social alienation, isolation, targeted attacks and are labelled as “extremists”. Similarly, temples, cultural centres and Hindu sacred spaces are repeatedly attacked across North America. They are vandalised and intimidated by the radical and insensitive elements of the western countries. Even Hindu school kids are being bullied for being Hindus. They suffer from isolation and targeted separation.
As per the Hindu America Foundation(HAF) “One in three Hindu-American students report being bullied for their religious beliefs. Fifty per cent of the same children report experiencing social isolation because of their religious identity. What’s worse is that bullying extends far beyond the classroom in the US”. The rate of hate crimes, intolerance towards the Hindu community are spiking at a drastic scale.
Anti-Hindu hate & abuse on social media
Anti-Hindu false narratives and targeted attacks are also rigorously circulated across social media platforms. Hindus are bullied, attacked with harsh comments and abuses. For example, one of the American websites describes Hinduism as the “pig pen of the East”. It further added that “Hinduism is one of the world’s most dirty and dignity destroying religions”. The website goes on to note that Hindus have no morals, take pleasure in the pain of others and engage in domestic violence. Another one noted that Hinduism does not believe in the concept of forgiveness.
Temple vandalism and attack on sacred places
As per the data published by the Hindu American Foundation, Attack on Hindu temples is also a recurring phenomenon across North America. On September 12, 2001, a Hindu temple in Matawan, New Jersey was firebombed with a molotov cocktail. On the same day, a Hindu temple in Medinah, Illinois was also attacked. In 2003, the Hindu Cultural Center in Chandler, Arizona was defaced with Nazi symbols, as a part of a rise in hate group attacks on houses of worship.In April 2006, two teens, Paul Spakousky and Tyler Toumie broke into the Maple Grove Hindu Mandir in Maple Grove, Minnesota. The teens destroyed many sacred statues, and caused over $200,000 in property damage.
In June 2006, a concrete statue was stolen from the construction site of the Sarvajana Mandir in Harvest, Alabama. In July 2007, teens used molotov cocktails to set fire to two lamp posts at the Sri Lakshmi temple in Ashland, Massachusetts. On August 4, 2007, the same group of teens left a number of molotov cocktails on the premises of the temple to burn, where they were discovered by the police. The attacks were not prosecuted as hate crimes. In March 2011, a group of men attacked a security guard at the Sri Venkateswara Temple in Pittsburgh, one of the oldest Hindu temples in the country. They tied up the security guard at gunpoint, and stole three safes from the temple, containing over $15,000 in cash.
On October 14, 2017, vandals were caught on camera in a Hindu temple under construction in West Palm Beach, Florida. The temple had been subject to four cases of vandalism in five months, which included anti-Semitic graffiti, broken windows, and trashing of the interior. In late January 2019, a Kentucky Hindu temple was vandalized with Christian supremacist graffiti. This list of attacks on Hindu temples is much more and is continuing despite several warnings from the Indian officials and diplomatic missions.
Targeted violence on the Hindu community
According to the Hindu American foundation, apart from vandalising Hindu places of worship, the minority Hindu community has repeatedly been victims of targeted assaults for decades. On September 15, 2001, an Indian man was assaulted in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. On the same night, a Hindu faculty member at New Mexico State University was attacked by a group of men in a parking lot. In Augusta, Georgia, a man called in bomb threats against a hotel on 15th Street owned by Indians.
In June 2002, Robert Rowland attacked three Indian Americans in Gainesville, Florida, spraying them with bug spray and harassing them. On June 25, 2003, Boston deliveryman Saurabh Bhalerao was attacked by a group of four to five men while he was out delivering pizzas. The men beat Bhalerao, robbed him, tortured him by burning him with cigarettes, and left him in the trunk of his car, where Bhalerao prayed to Lord Rama to keep calm. On June 1, 2006, the home of a Hindu family in Wayne, New Jersey was vandalized with threats to the family and anti-Hindu slurs. The vandals threatened to burn down the family’s home and kill their kids.
In July and August 2014, a number of homes, parks, and public spaces in Loudoun County, Virginia, were vandalized with anti-Hindu messages. Over 17 incidents of vandalism were reported, including messages that said “No Hindus” and “No Hindus Allowed”. Despite an aggressive response by the community, and organizations such as the Hindu American Foundation, no arrests were made connected to the vandalism.
On May 27, 2016, an Indian taxi driver in Palo Alto, California asked a man parked in multiple spots to move his car. The man began to shout racist remarks at the driver, eventually punching him in the jaw and throwing the driver’s phone at his head. He then ran his car into the taxi and drove away. These are just a few testaments and the list of targeted violence on Hindus is much bigger.
Protest against Sarsanghchalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat’s visit to Canada reflects anti-Hindu bias
Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) Dr. Mohan Bhagwat is visiting Toronto, Canada on August 31 and September 1, 2026. However, many Canadian organisations, including some of the Member of Parliament’s have submitted a petition to the Canadian government to ban the entry of the Sarsanghchalak to the North American country. This shows clear anti-Hindu bias and steep prejudices, against a century-old organisation that has served humanity, without understanding its true essence and work. It also mirrors the hostility that exists towards the Hindu community.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) is irrationally labelled as an extremist and political organisation. However, in reality, it is a voluntary group formed by millions of young people to protect civilization, strive for the nation’s growth and serve humanity. RSS runs educational institutions, health camps, cultural centres etc. for the welfare of the people and to draw an inclusive Bharat. However, this true work is not highlighted and the western world is reluctant to listen and understand this reality. Instead, they indulge in false narratives, anti-Hindu hate crimes and targeted attacks.
Thus, the core question remains. Why protecting and promoting your culture and traditions is picturised as extremism in the western countries. Why does the Hindu community that contributes unequivocally to the economy of North America with strong skilled manpower, is repeatedly targeted and illicitly attacked. It’s high time that the respective governments and institutions of power initiate concrete action against such anti-Hindu atrocities.
