Jenifer Rajkumar Champions Fascists, not Communities #RejectJenifer
Who are We?
Queens Against Hindu Fascism is a collective of progressive South Asian activists, organizers and citizens concerned with the rise of right-wing Hindu nationalism in American politics. We are especially concerned with the creep of Hindu Fascism in New York City and Queens, the most diverse county in the country. Our goal is to hold public officials, political candidates, and institutions accountable for supporting policies which target Indian religious minorities and caste-oppressed people both in America and abroad.
Why Reject Rajkumar?
Jenifer Rajkumar, a candidate for NY Assembly District 38, has received nearly $20,000 in donations in the past year from wealthy Hindu Nationalists from outside of the district and across the country. Jenifer has also openly supported and welcomed Prime Minister Modi to NYC. This is in contrast to the progressive values Rajkumar claims to support. Jenifer claims she is bringing back honor to politics and restoring sacredness to public service. However, her record on issues related to South Asian religious and caste minorities reveals a disturbing history of influence from dangerous right wing Hindu Fascists. We must hold our leaders accountable when they claim to promote a progressive agenda here and enable fascism abroad.
Rajkumar Openly Receives Support from Hindu Fascists:
(Donations received between January 1, 2019 — January 31, 2020)
- Received $10,400 from Dinesh Paliwal, the wealthy CEO of Harman International, and family. Paliwal has publicly supported Modi and criticized protests against CAA. He is on the Global Board of Directors for the U.S India Business Council which commended Modi’s re-election in May, 2019. He is also on the Board of Directors of Raytheon, one of the largest U.S. military defense contractors.
- Received $2500 from Vijay Goradia, the billionaire CEO of Vinmar International. In 2019, Goradia welcomed Modi in a video on Twitter for Howdy Modi saying, “on behalf of all Houstonian but especially the large indian diaspora here, I extend you a warm welcome, Mr. Prime Minister.” He also said that “…as a member of Advisory Council for the Ministry of Petroleum under Dharmendra Pradhan, I can vouch for this growing relationship between India and Houston.” Dharmendra Pradhan is a controversial BJP leader and currently the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Minister of Steel in the Second Modi Ministry. Goradia also participated in a business leader roundtable with Modi in Houston.
- Received $4000 from Kamla Gupta and Rajiv L. Gupta, Chairman of Delphi Automotive. Kamla and Rajiv run the Ujula Foundation which has donated to Ekal Vidyalaya, an organization that creates schools in villages to spread RSS ideology.
- Received $1000 from Raj Bhayani, a Brooklyn based neurosurgeon. Bhayani is on the Core Committee of ModiforPM.org, has been honored by BJP America and played a key role in bringing Modi to Madison Square Garden in 2014. In June 2019, he also hosted a fundraiser for Tulsi Gabbard, a well know champion of Hindu Fascism. Bhayani also agreed to pay the United States $1,109,000 to resolve civil allegations that he and his practice paid kickbacks and submitted false claims to federal healthcare programs for services provided to residents in adult homes in violation of the False Claims Act.
What is Hindu Fascism?
Hindu fascism, also known as Hindutva or Hindu nationalism, is a right-wing political ideology that guides the current ruling party in India, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is a majoritarian political ideology and far-right ethnonationalist movement. Hindu nationalist groups in India like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were inspired by Nazi Germany and Mussolini’s fascists in Italy. Hindu fascism’s aim is to concentrate power, land, and resources in the hands of the oppressor castes and to make India a Hindu ethnostate. Watch more here and read more here.
Why Oppose Hindu Fascism?
Hindu fascist organizations combine their cultural and political power with violence to oppress minorities, quash dissent and subvert Indian democracy. Their leaders have openly called for violence against Muslims and Christian minorities. Since their spread and rise to power, South Asia has seen an alarming rise of anti-Muslim violence, lynchings, rapes, and other acts of intimidation against religious minorities and caste-oppressed people. Hindu nationalism would not be possible without the cultural and financial support of the United States diaspora, so it’s imperative to challenge candidates like Rajkumar, who platform Hindu nationalists. Among Hindu nationalists’ many recent actions, the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is especially egregious. The CAA works in conjunction with the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR) to create an anti-Muslim, anti-minority, religious litmus test for citizenship in India and sets the legal foundation for the largest network of concentration camps in the world. Hindu nationalists have no place in American politics and stand for values antithetical to the progressive values of the broader South Asian-American community. This is why we are demanding that Jenifer Rajkumar come clean and disavow his Hindu nationalist ties.
What does Hindu fascism have to do with the United States?
A network of Hindu fascist inspired organizations, collectively called the Sangh Parivar, has established national and local organizations throughout the U.S., including the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), Sewa International, and Ekal Vidyalaya. They spread Hindu fascist propaganda through seemingly innocent methods like government briefings, cultural events, charity work and youth religious camps. President Trump and other Congressional leaders, were in attendance at the 2019 Howdy Modi event. Trump and Modi held hands and made speeches promising to uplift each other’s agendas. The Indian government’s actions resemble Trump’s actions, such as the Muslim ban and the African country ban, building detention centers for asylum seekers, placing severe limits on refugee populations, and other xenophobic, anti-immigrant policies.
What are we asking progressive South Asians to do?
- Challenge Rajkumar on her ties to Hindu fascism via telephone, email, and social media;
- Ensure Rajkumar does not get elected; Only support candidates who have publicly disavowed Hindu Fascism.
- Encourage your friends, family, and other community members to stop funding Rajkumar and other individuals with ties to Hindu fascism;
- Spread the message that supporting Hindu fascism is supporting genocide.
Contact us:
- Email us at queensagainsthindufascism@gmail.com
- Follow us on Twitter @ NoHindutvaNYC
UPDATE (March 3, 2020): Jenifer responds to our calls by saying she is “proud of everyone who supports me.” See video:
