The recent appointment of a Hindu nationalist community leader to an interfaith council under the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has raised “concern”.
In September, the DHS appointed Chandru Acharya – a director at the Hindu Sawamsayvak Sangh (HSS) – to their Faith-Based Security Advisory Council, a 25-member council that provides the federal department with “advice and recommendations”.
But activists and academic groups in the US have raised concerns about HSS’s association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an Indian Hindu supremacist organisation that aims to make India, a multicultural and secular democracy, a Hindu Rashtra (nation).
According to the London-based outlet Middle East Eye, Acharya confirmed his association with the HSS, which describes itself as an apolitical organisation engaged in cultural and religious issues within the Hindu community, but denied any affiliation between the HSS and the RSS.
He also told the Middle East Eye, “If members of the RSS abandon the core philosophy of Hinduism and think that they are superior to others, they are supremacist.”
Growing influnce of Hindu far right
Rashid Ahmed is the executive director of the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), which has been raising the alarm about the growing influence of the Hindu far right in the US.He told Al Jazeera that the “concern” was not about Acharya “as a person”, but about his association with a group inspired by the RSS.
Founded in 1925, the RSS is a proponent of Hindutva ideology, which believes in the dominance of the Hindu faith and culture in India and considers Muslims and Christians to be an obstacle to the goal of achieving a Hindu nation.
According to its website, the HSS “owes its inspiration” to the RSS.
“HSS USA is … inspired by a long lineage of Hindu movements in India, including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which have helped rejuvenate the society and take Hindu civilization forward,” the website read.
HSS USA may not necessarily agree with all that these organizations and leaders espouse, but we take inspiration from their larger vision and the spirit for preserving, restoring, and advancing Hindu culture, ideals, and values,” it added.
The HSS, which operates in nearly 40 countries and has more than 170 chapters in the US, has organised events featuring members of the RSS and its affiliates, including its current chief Mohan Bhagwat.
It also sponsored an event in the US state of Georgia in August where Sadhvi Rithambara, a leading member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), an RSS-affiliated organisation the CIA has labelled a “militant religious outfit”, was the speaker.