CoHNA Denounces Attempts to Spread Misinformation about our Statements in Sacramento Bee
October 6, 2024: Virtual: In a blatant disregard for facts, Sunita Viswanath is spreading false information about CoHNA, via inflammatory social media posts. In doing so, she is relying on the human tendency to not read the actual article or data actually referenced in the post – a biased one sided piece recently published in Sacramento Bee. CoHNA has ONE mention in the article – pasted below for reference. Yet, Viswanath is quite eager to plant words in our mouth and claim we have asked for increased “monitoring” of one group or another.
CoHNA has made no statements about the Sikh community and Gurudwaras. We remain laser focused on issues impacting Hindus living in the US and Canada-esp the growing Hinduphobia and violence against our sacred temples. On the other hand, Viswanath & Co. are continually trying to interfere and influence Indian politics, even importing Indian laws and conflicts into the US via manufactured controversies.
A primary exhibit here is of course the repeated and multiple attacks on Hindu temples under the guise of so-called “anti-India” speech from Khalistani groups. Viswanath & Co. love to downplay these attacks and tell lawmakers that this hate is political speech and not anti-Hindu. Yet, strangely enough, this political speech has been targeting ONLY Hindus and Hindu temples.
Now, for some background into this bizarre story by the Sacramento Bee. Joe Rubin, an “investigative reporter,” spent over an hour grilling a CoHNA spokesperson, asking leading questions, and making provocative statements. We presume this was an attempt to bait us into speaking words he could twist to drive a particular agenda. He failed despite his best efforts.
But that doesn’t stop Viswanath and the broader eco-system that works in tandem to label, defame, and silence Hindu organizations. What direct questions failed to elicit can be implied through a campaign of innuendo, especially since these privileged individuals have broad institutional power and associated platforms that amplify their voices.
Viswanath and her oddly named “Hindus for Human Rights” enjoy no support from any reputed Hindu organization due to their constant anti-Hindu activism and questioning the intentions of their own community. For example, in a recent tweet, Viswanath questions whether the attacks on Hindu temples are really the work of Khalistani extremists – even after knowing that the Tulsi Mandir (which is practically in her backyard) was attacked TWICE in 2022 by these extremists and was prosecuted as a hate crime.
Comically, Rubin insisted that CoHNA’s grassroots campaigns – where our California based members and supporters reached out and asked their lawmakers to help address multiple temple attacks – is actually “lobbying.”
The insinuations and the slanted story he published are perfect evidence of WHY CoHNA pushed back against the AB 3027 bill. In our letter, we had argued that any past and future advocacy for victims of Khalistani violence (e.g. for Krishnan Iyer, who was attacked in a Taco Bell) would be twisted into “transnational repression.” True to our predictions, Rubin says Hindu organizations seeking help and educating policymakers are guilty of “soft transnational repression.”
CoHNA stands firmly against such blatant Hinduphobia and slandering. We will continue to educate policymakers about issues impacting our community. We will lean on them to speak out against hatred and bigotry and ensure that our community is protected.
About CoHNA
CoHNA is a grassroots level advocacy and civil rights organization dedicated to improving the understanding of Hinduism in North America by working on matters related to the Hindu community and by educating the public about Hindu heritage and tradition. For more information, please visit https://cohna.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and on Instagram.