In a letter, a coalition of human rights and interfaith organizations sent to New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams urging them to condemn and oppose the inclusion of what it has called "an anti-Muslim float at the India Day Parade scheduled for August 18, 2024", has said that the float "celebrates the destruction of the historic Babri Mosque, which was demolished on December 6, 1992, by a mob of over 150,000 right-wing Hindu militants."
Letter co-signers include: Indian American Muslim Council, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Council on American-Islamic Relations-New York, Hindus for Human Rights, the Federation of Indian American Churches of North America (FIACONA), Muslim Public Affairs Council, New York State Council of Churches, Genocide Watch, Center for Pluralism, India’s Civil Watch International, American Muslim Institution, and Association of Indian Muslims in America.
The letter expresses its concern about the Indian consulate's partnership with far-right groups to display the float, which features imagery of India’s Ram Temple. "This temple stands on the ruins of the Babri Mosque, whose demolition led to widespread riots and the deaths of thousands, predominantly Muslims. The inauguration of the Ram Temple in January 2024 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has further fueled religious tensions, resulting in violence and attacks on other places of worship", it says.
According to the letter, "The event’s organizers, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA) and Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), have histories of spreading hate speech and exploiting laborers. Allowing the float at the parade would embolden anti-Muslim actors and undermine New York City’s commitment to diversity and peaceful coexistence."
Text:
We human rights organizations write to bring to your immediate attention a deeply concerning inclusion of an anti-Muslim float at India Day Parade scheduled for August 18, 2024, in the heart of New York City.
This event, organized by the far-right Hindu group Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA), in collaboration with the Indian consulate, alongside Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) and the Federation of Indian Associations (FIA), poses a grave threat to the values of inclusivity and tolerance that New York City and the state of New York proudly uphold.
The VHPA, an offshoot of India's Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), has been designated as a "militant religious organization" by the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) World Factbook. Georgetown University's Bridge Initiative also identifies VHPA as an Islamophobic group. Savera, a research project run by a coalition of civil rights groups, identifies the VHPA as "as a key part of a global far-right ecosystem" due to its "collaborations with other supremacist organizations and ideologies [and] their attacks on US civil society organizations". Moreover, BAPS is under active FBI investigation for forced labor and exploitation of low-caste laborers from India.
These organizations plan to use the 42nd Annual India Day Parade to propagate hate and instill fear among American Muslims by featuring a divisive float of the Ram Temple, a symbol of violence, historical injustice and religious intolerance.
The Ram Temple stands on the ruins of the historic Babri Mosque, which was demolished on December 6, 1992, by a mob of over 150,000 Hindu zealots. The demolition sparked widespread riots across India, resulting in the deaths of thousands, predominantly Muslims.
In November 2019, the Supreme Court of India controversially awarded the site to Hindus for the construction of the temple, thereby legitimizing an egregious act of violence against a Muslim place of worship. Despite this, the court acknowledged the criminality of the mosque's destruction, noting it as an "egregious violation of the rule of law."
In August 2022, far-right Hindu groups transformed the India Day parade in Edison, New Jersey, into a hate event
The inauguration of the Ram Temple in January 2024 by India's Hindu supremacist Prime Minister Narendra Modi has further exacerbated religious tensions in the country, resulting in widespread violence at the hands of what the Washington Post called "triumphant Hindu mobs" and attacks on multiple other places of worship.
The proposed float for the parade is a blatant attempt to glorify the illegal demolition of the historical Babri Mosque and celebrate ongoing violence and terror against 200 million Indian Muslims. This is not merely a cultural display but a vulgar celebration of anti-Muslim hate, bigotry, and religious supremacy.
In August 2022, similar far-right Hindu groups transformed the India Day parade in Edison, New Jersey, into a hate event by displaying a bulldozer, symbolizing the demolition of Muslim homes in India, alongside pictures of Prime Minister Modi and other Hindu supremacist leaders." This incident was condemned by U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez" and investigated by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office and Edison Police Department as a "bias incident."
Allowing such a hateful and bigoted celebration in NYC is an affront to American values and to harmony and peaceful coexistence among our diverse communities. It emboldens Hindu extremists to advance their supremacist agenda in the United States and glorifies acts of violence injustice and discrimination against Muslims.
We implore you to take immediate and decisive measures to prevent the inclusion of a polarizing and divisive float in the parade. It is imperative to protect our diverse communities from such divisive and inflammatory actions and ensure that New York remains a safe and welcoming place for all its residents.
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