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'Complacency and unfamiliarity contribute to rise in hate crimes’ says HAF director
She highlighted three main reasons behind hate crimes against Hindus
Shukla highlighted the hate crimes against Hindus in the US / Snapshot
Suhag Shukla, the executive director of the prominent Hindu American Foundation, highlighted the cause of the rise in Hinduphobia and hate crimes against Hindus at the Congressional briefing on Hinduphobia organized by HinduACTion.
Emphasizing the numerous recent incidents targeting Hindus in America, such as attacks on temples and instances of Hinduphobia on college campuses, Shukla highlighted three primary causes for these occurrences: complacency, unfamiliarity, and bias within federal law enforcement.
“There's unfamiliarity amongst law enforcement. By the optics of it, they see a kind of brown on brown or Desi on Desi crimes or incidents that are occurring. So they might just think that it's personal or political and the commonality between all of these,” she said referring to the recent instances of unrest by Khalistani supporters.
Law enforcement agencies are currently understaffed and frustrated by negative media attention, she said. There's also frustration with local district attorneys not prosecuting crimes, contributing to a sense of complacency.
Concerns about hate crimes or bias incidents against Hindu Americans are sometimes redirected towards discussions about alleged transnational repression, diverting attention away from addressing attacks on Hindu American individuals and institutions. “Oftentimes when we raise concerns about hate crimes or bias incidents that are occurring, the conversation pivots to alleged transnational repression instead of acknowledging and addressing the attacks on Hindu American individuals and institutions. There needs to be more education of law enforcement for them to be able to recognize what a hate crime is,” she added.
Shukla emphasized that civil rights laws in the country have historically taken time to progress, with people sometimes waiting 10 to 20 years before seeing justice. “The other thing is that I think that it's very important that members of the community report things, build relationships with your local law enforcement, invite them over, not during times of crisis, invite them when there's positive things that are being celebrated in the community to build and cultivate trust and friendship.”
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