The US under the democrat rule of Joe Biden is once again coming for Hindu symbols and identities with the latest target being the holy Swastika. The Maryland House of Delegates is considering House Bill 0418 (HB0418)– a bill that falsely defines the Swastika as a symbol of hate and bans its display on school grounds, including on clothing, book bags, folders, and similar items.
Enraged by the bill, a prominent Hindu organisation named Hindu American Foundation (HAF) has started a protest campaign online. By consciously terming or conflating Swastika to the Nazi emblem (hooked cross) used by Adolf Hitler and neo-Nazis around the world, the US is setting a dangerous precedent for the rights of Hindu minorities.
The Maryland House of Delegates is considering House Bill 0418 (HB0418) a bill that falsely defines the swastika as a symbol of hate. TAKE ACTION TODAY TO STOP THIS: https://t.co/mt5h9mQJfv
— Hindu American Foundation (@HinduAmerican) April 9, 2021
In the past, HAF has managed to thwart other such bills as well. A similar bill was introduced in New York, but HAF succeeded in convincing the key lawmakers of the Swastika’s historical origins and use today as a symbol in various religions such as Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, and Buddhism before it was misappropriated by the Nazis.
Hate crime rising in the US against Asians
At a time when hate crime against Asians is on a rise in the US – banning a holy symbol that has nothing to do with the lecherous power posing symbols of the Nazi era, Biden’s ‘progressive-liberal’ country is playing into the hands of racists who will use it as an opportunity to harass and targets the Hindus using the symbol for holy purposes.
Swastika, a Sanskrit word is a combination of ‘su’ (meaning ‘good’) and ‘asti’ (meaning ‘to exist’) — often getting translated as ‘all is well’. It is a symbol central to Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain spiritual life, invoking wellbeing and prosperity.
Meanwhile, the Nazi Party adopted the hooked cross (Hakenkreuz in German) as its emblem in 1920. HAF explained that in early crude translations of Adolf Hilter’s “Mein Kampf” into English Hakenkreuz was substituted for the Swastika, thereby popularising the notion of a “Nazi swastika.”
The organisation also revealed that Hindu leaders had discussed the issue with Jewish leaders at a 2008, Hindu-Jewish leadership summit in Jerusalem resulting in a declaration recognising the importance and positive intent of Hindus using the Swastika.
The fact that the House of Delegates considered introducing the bill to ban the holy Swastika without doing due diligence and a little homework should not come as a surprise to anyone. The inherent Hinduphobic tendencies of some of the legislators of the US rivals even the greatest ‘seculars’ of the country here in India are well known.