FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New Report Exposes Historic and Ongoing Ties Between VHP-A and Violent Militant Groups in India
The report by Savera: United Against Supremacy comprehensively refuted claims by the VHP-A that they are “distinct, legally separate and operationally independent” of the VHP in India, and argued that “the entire Global VHP, including its US wing, must be held accountable for its violent and supremacist actions worldwide.”
Press Contact: David Kalal, Communications Director, Hindus for Human Rights
April 15, 2024 – An explosive new report from the Savera: United Against Supremacy coalition has revealed extensive details about the deep and ongoing ties between the VHP-A (Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America), the oldest Hindu supremacist group in the US, and its sister organization in India, the VHP—a violent militant organization which has been directly implicated in countless instances of violence. The report, which follows Savera’s February report “The Global VHP’s Trail of Violence,” highlights that while the VHP-A has long insisted that it is “totally independent of any other organization,” this posturing is a ruse to conceal the VHP-A’s significant and ongoing material ties to the Hindu supremacist movement in India.
Savera’s new report, however, comprehensively establishes that the VHP-A:
- Was established on the orders of VHP founder and RSS Supreme Leader M.S. Golwalkar, who praised Nazi Germany as a model for the Hindu supremacist movement to follow;
- Has, in its internal documents and publications, repeatedly referred to itself as a unit of the global VHP, in contrast to its public claims;
- Has remained tied to the VHP since its founding through a centralized bureaucratic apparatus, including co-organized programs, training and coordination visits, and overlapping personnel; and
- Supports the VHP financially, transferring at least $7 million to the VHP and its affiliates since 2000.
“This is a rigorous report that leaves no stone unturned in excavating the deep ties between the VHP-A and its Indian sister,” said Sunita Viswanath, co-founder and Executive Director of Hindus for Human Rights. “It is shocking and disturbing to realize that organizations like the VHP-A, whose offshoots such as HinduPACT and HinduACTion continue to exert influence in Congress and in our communities, remain closely tied to violent militant groups in India. Our communities deserve better, and Savera is committed to offering that unified, just, pluralistic alternative.”
“Savera’s first report already established the extent to which the VHP-A’s bigoted politics, and their alliances with white supremacists and anti-Muslim demagogues, are eroding democracy in the US,” said Chaitanya Diwadkar of Ambedkar King Study Circle. “Add to that the details furnished in this report and it becomes clear that the Global VHP, including the VHP-A, is complicit in so much devastation globally. It must be held accountable for its harm both at home and abroad.”
Read the full report here.