The Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) recently hosted its 5th Day of Advocacy on Capitol Hill, bringing together over 130 Hindu Americans from 15 states. According to a press release issued by the organization, the event focused on bipartisan concerns regarding rising Hinduphobia, a celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, and the experiences of Hindu youth in the United States.

The advocacy event included participation from seven Congressional representatives and 12 staffers representing both political parties. Ahead of the formal gathering, Hindu delegates held more than 50 meetings with staff of Senators and Congressional Representatives and visited over 120 Congressional offices to connect with lawmakers.

“We came together as Americans, sharing stories, and building relationships and singing the national anthem,” CoHNA President Nikunj Trivedi stated in the press release. “American Hindus come from all walks of life—students, entrepreneurs, cab drivers, pharmacists, homemakers, retail workers, engineers, bankers and scientists. We are thinkers, teachers, writers and veterans. It was an honor and privilege to share insights, to educate, and to come together with our lawmakers and our interfaith allies to celebrate the grand anniversary of our country.”

Community and Youth Perspectives

The event featured speakers from interfaith allies, including members of the Armenian and Jewish communities, as well as a city council member from Maple Grove, Minnesota.

A youth panel composed of members from the CoHNA Youth Action Network (CYAN) Rutgers University chapter shared their experiences with campus advocacy. The students discussed their multi-year efforts to secure representation, protest Hinduphobic campus events, engage with university administration, and host an academic conference on Hinduism. Additionally, a national leader from CYAN spoke about the history of Hinduism in America dating back to the Founding Fathers, while other attendees shared their personal life journeys.

Ruchir Bakshi, a Hindu veteran who served in Afghanistan and Iraq during his service in the U.S. Army, also spoke at the event. Bakshi shared how the Bhagavad Gita guided his approach to civic engagement and military service, teaching him to act with discipline and integrity.

Bipartisan Legislative Responses

Lawmakers from both parties addressed the gathering to discuss anti-Hindu hate, temple vandalism, and the role of the community in the United States.

Marking America’s upcoming 250th anniversary, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) stated that “Freedom of religion is one of our greatest rights,” while condemning recent incidents of temple vandalism. Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) highlighted the contributions of immigrant communities to the nation and urged the Hindu community to “demand respect for our contributions in science, medicine, academia, and politics.”

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA) spoke directly to the younger attendees, advising them to speak out against prejudice. “Embrace who you are as Hindus,” Subramanyam said, adding that “being different becomes cool later in life—be proud now.”

The issue of local and state legislation was also raised during the sessions. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) stated that caste-based legislation risks deepening discrimination rather than solving it. Meanwhile, Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA) noted that “Hinduphobia is un-American,” pointing to Georgia as the first state to pass a resolution condemning it.

Other Georgia lawmakers, including Rep. Brian Jack (R-GA) and Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA), praised the community’s civic participation. Jack remarked that “Georgia is leading the way against Hinduphobia,” while McCormick described Hindu Americans as “hardworking, intelligent, family-oriented, robust—that’s the American Dream.”

Research on Anti-Hindu Hate and Policy

The advocacy day also featured presentations from researchers examining issues affecting the South Asian diaspora in American civic life.

Dr. Joel Finkelstein, co-director of the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) and a fellow at the Miller Institute for Secure Communities at Rutgers University, presented findings regarding recent efforts to incorporate caste into U.S. policymaking. Discussing a recent failed legislative attempt in New York State, Dr. Finkelstein stated that “caste has almost no pre-existing narrative in US civic life, making it an ideal test case for isolating the effect of a training narrative,” and urged policymakers to evaluate empirical evidence before changing curricula or laws.

Prasiddha Sudhakar of the NCRI presented a research paper titled From Policy Drift to Purity Grift, which analyzed how online immigration debates have targeted American Hindus. The study indicated that incidents reported generally as “anti-Indian” frequently focused specifically on Hindu traditions, festivals, and temples, often amplified by foreign actors and domestic influencers.

Additionally, political strategist and former Capitol Hill staffer Anang Mittal introduced the Citation Integrity Dashboard. This independent, non-partisan tool is designed to evaluate the transparency, methodology, and verifiable evidence behind high-profile institutional claims concerning India and Hindu Americans.

Sudha Jagannathan, CoHNA’s director of government relations, emphasized the importance of the event’s bipartisan turnout. “It was gratifying to see so many lawmakers—both Democrats and Republicans—unite against temple attacks and anti-Hindu hate, and speak up for religious freedom for American Hindus,” Jagannathan said. “This is the sort of bipartisan support that we at CoHNA are building for the Hindu American community because the future belongs to those who show up and advocate.”

This text was edited with the assistance of an AI tool and has been reviewed and edited for accuracy and clarity by India Currents.