Hindu Policy Research and Advocacy Collective. Projects: @CHINGARIproject @HinduVoteOrg @AHADHindu @HinduPACT_HAHRI @theHinduLounge
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HinduPACT initiative @HinduVoteOrg Launches #AmericanHinduAgenda and the HinduVote Platform 2026 to mobilize a decisive civic voice on safety, representation, and religious freedom
Press Release:
October 16, 2026
HinduVote, an initiative of HinduPACT, today announced the launch of the American Hindu Agenda 2026 and the HinduVote 2026 platform at elections2026.hinduvote.org, marking the fourth edition of its biennial civic engagement campaign following 2020, 2022, and 2024.
Washington, DC, 2026 — HinduVote 2026 begins from a simple democratic premise: American Hindus are not a symbolic constituency, but a serious civic community whose votes can shape close elections and whose concerns deserve explicit recognition from candidates at every level of public life. Through the American Hindu Agenda 2026 and the HinduVote 2026 candidate engagement platform, HinduPACT invites voters and public officials alike to engage with a clear set of issues central to Hindu Americans, including temple security, equal treatment under civil-rights norms, religious liberty, and fair representation in public institutions.
This year’s launch carries added urgency. In light of the recently failed mass shooting threat connected to Sri Venkateswara Swami Balaji Temple in Palatine, IL, and an attack on the Shree Swaminarayan Vadtal Dham Hindu Mandir in Richmond Heights, Ohio, questions of safety and security are no longer abstract. They are immediate civic concerns. Across the United States, Hindu temples are not merely places of worship. They are religious, cultural, and educational anchors for families, seniors, youth, and small-business communities. When those institutions face threats, the issue is not only public safety, but the full and equal exercise of First Amendment freedom.
In the past three weeks, HinduPACT representatives have visited temples and Hindu communities in more than 15 key states, and additional grassroots outreach is underway to support voter registration, civic education, and wider awareness of the American Hindu Agenda 2026. The purpose is practical and constitutional: to ensure that both voters and candidates understand the issues that matter to Hindus, and that candidates are prepared to commit to them publicly. In closely contested districts and states, that conversation can prove decisive.
The broader national context makes this effort timely. The FBI’s hate crime reporting has repeatedly shown that anti-Hindu bias remains a real feature of American public life, and Hindu institutions have increasingly had to think in terms once reserved for more visibly targeted communities: security planning, community vigilance, and direct engagement with elected officials. An unprecedented exhibition of Hindu hate has compounded the fear that has gripped the Hindu community. A mature democracy does not ask a faith community to remain civically passive while its concerns are minimized. It asks candidates to listen, respond, and lead.
Surinder Dhar, Vice President of HinduPACT, and lead of the HinduVote initiative said,
“HinduVote 2026 is about translating the presence of American Hindus into effective democratic participation. Our community contributes deeply to this country, yet too often our concerns, especially temple security, anti-Hindu hatred, and equal respect in public policy, are treated as peripheral. They are not peripheral. In many close races, Hindu voters can make the difference, and this year voters will rightly ask which candidates understand the safety, dignity, and constitutional rights of our community.”
Ajay Shah, Founder and Executive Chair of HinduPACT, added,
“The American Hindu Agenda 2026 is a civic instrument, not a sectarian one. It asks candidates to engage with real issues affecting Hindu Americans with seriousness, clarity, and accountability. HinduVote has grown with each cycle because our community understands that representation follows organization. When Hindu voters are informed, registered, and united around core concerns, they become impossible to ignore.”
The American Hindu Agenda 2026 asks the candidates to:
· Support legislation to condemn Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu bigotry.
· Support an FBI investigation to determine systemic causes and culprits who have vandalized Hindu temples and Mahatma Gandhi statues across the US
· Provide compassionate support for dependent children who are legal and documented and lose their legal immigration status when they turn 21, as they wait for permanent residency.
· Support merit-based educational and occupational opportunities and the verdict in the “Students for Fair Admissions vs. Harvard” case
· Hold religious theocracies like Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh that egregiously abuse religious minorities accountable, and withhold their US aid. Appoint Hindu representatives in USCIRF and other faith-centric agencies
· Facilitate the repatriation of stolen Hindu artifacts from museums and private collections to their countries of origin through legislation and enforcement.
· Promote a multifaceted partnership with India, a democratic ally, without interference in its sovereign rights.
· Support free speech for all groups on university campuses. Defund academic departments and academicians that actively promote Hindu hatred.
The HinduVote 2026 platform includes tools for voter education and candidate engagement, including the HinduVote 2026 Candidate Questionnaire and the American Hindu Agenda 2026. Together, they are designed to strengthen a confident, informed Hindu civic voice in the United States, one grounded in democratic participation, public safety, and equal citizenship.
About HinduVote:
HinduPACT’s HinduVote initiative promotes universal dharmic values in electoral politics. Driven by the American Hindu agenda, HinduVote focuses on voter and candidate education and legislative issues. HinduVote conducts voter registration, awareness, and get-out-the-vote campaigns in partnership with community organizations and temples. HinduVote has built a state-of-the-art technology platform to support multidimensional candidate evaluation. Visit hinduvote.org
#TempleSafety #StopHinduHate
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Remember, #HfHR is the organization that opposed #Hinduphobia bills. No wonder, even when a Hindu temple and worshipers are targeted, their founder can't talk about Hindu hate in absolute terms.
Thanks to @Hindus4HR Chicago chapter lead Rishab Chatty for speaking to the press about the escalating hate directed towards people of color and minorities in the US. The target this time was a Hindu Mandir, but the shooter’s hate was targeted broadly at all minorities. We need to band together — all of us — to counter this hate and keep each other safe. Solidarity is the best resistance to fascism.
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Ah yes my child, this Indian-born professor-ji he is translating “Vishwa Guru” as “to rule the world!” But no no, true meaning is only to be the teacher of whole universe, the guiding light, not the conqueror-king. Understand? 🧐
Prof. Dr Irfan Ahmad, a professor of Anthropology and Sociology at Ibn Haldun University, told Yeni Şafak in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the 2nd International Conference on Bangladesh Studies that India’s regional ambitions extend beyond South Asia.
He argued that the Vishvaguru vision, which presents India as a global leader, reflects broader expansionist aspirations. Ahmad said that some Indians view neighbouring countries such as Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh as part of India’s civilisational sphere, despite their status as independent nation-states. He also linked these ideas to the historical concept of the “Greater India” project, promoted by some Hindu intellectuals in Bengal during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which portrayed India as a civilisational influence extending into parts of Southeast Asia.
Ahmad further argued that India’s “Look East” policy reflects efforts to strengthen ties with countries such as Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia through shared civilisational and Buddhist connections. However, he highlighted what he described as a historical contradiction: although Buddhism originated in India, it has become a small minority religion in the country. He attributed this decline to the persecution of Buddhists, which he said forced many followers to seek refuge beyond India’s borders.
More with references below!
As early as 1927, historian R. C. Majumdar wrote Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East. He followed it up, in 1944, with Hindu Colonies in the Far East. In his later formulation after Independence, Majumdar wrote about expansionof “Hindu colonies” and “Hindu colonization” at work “all over Asia,” particularly inSouth-East Asia. Majumdar’s idea of Hindu colonization was tied to the idea of “a Greater India.”
academia.edu/73607300/Ahmad_…
Sinha erases BK Sarkar’s religiously exclusivist, masculine and imperially expansionist ideas. Sarkar proudly wrote of ‘this all-round and manly culture that the people of India [Hindus] could organize vast schemes of colonization and conquest’ of ‘races’ outside of India. In early phase of the Christian era, he continued, ‘Hindu colonies were firmly established in Burma, Chinese territories … Cambodia’ through ‘military conquest,’ which ‘promoted the cultural expansion … of the Hindus.’
doi.org/10.1080/13569317.202…
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Happy #Dussehra. May this Dussehra bring victory of good over evil. May the ten-headed Ravana of Hindu hatred be destroyed. May our lives be filled with peace, joy, and prosperity.
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Oh, so now you're rooting for the whole system to burn just 'cause the voters won't hand you the keys? Democracy not stroking your ego hard enough, so it's time for the Molotovs? Cute. Real mature.
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel: "Prayer is meaningless unless it is subversive, unless it seeks to overthrow and to ruin the pyramids of callousness, hatred, opportunism, falsehoods.”🙏🏾🪔✊🏾
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#Breaking #PalatineIL white supremacist is caught planning attack on #HinduTemples. @FBIDirectorKash Please investigate these systemic targeted #HinduHate incidents. This is one of the key items on @HinduVoteOrg #AmericanHinduAgenea2026 We urge temple management to stay vigilant. @AHADHindu
chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2…
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Gun jammed!
Jammed rifle prevented an apparent mass murder plot at worship center in #PalatineIL near Aurora
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HinduPACT retweeted
Strongly condemn the vandalism of sacred Durga Puja Murti’s in Kushtia, Bangladesh. Hindu minorities deserve safety to celebrate without fear. @bangladesh_pmo @BDMOFA must investigate urgently, ensure protection, and uphold religious freedom for all. #ProtectHindus #Bangladesh
Four sacred idols being prepared for Durga Puja were vandalized at Khayerchara Sarbojonin Matri Mandir in Kumarkhali, Kushtia, Bangladesh, on October 9, ahead of the festival.
Since the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, 2024, Bangladesh’s religious minorities have faced deeply alarming violence and insecurity. Minority organizations have reported killings, rape and other sexual violence, intimidation, and attacks on homes, businesses and places of worship.
The Kushtia incident demands urgent attention. Bangladesh’s Hindus deserve to celebrate Durga Puja without fear. They must also be able to wear religious attire and display sacred symbols openly, including on public streets, with their safety and dignity protected.
I urge Hindu organizations in India and worldwide, alongside international human rights organizations, to demand an impartial investigation, accountability and effective protection for vulnerable communities.
@VHPDigital @VHPANews @HinduAmerican @CoHNAOfficial @HinduPACT
@amnesty @hrw @MinorityRights @FrontLineHRD @ICJ_org
Please raise your voices and press the authorities for action. Religious freedom and minority protection must be guaranteed in practice.
#Bangladesh #DurgaPuja #ProtectHindus #MinorityRights #ReligiousFreedom
thedailystar.net/news/crime-…
apnews.com/article/cdc099660…
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HinduPACT retweeted
@JDVance can criticize immig. & fraud, but calling mutual, voluntary work (emps free to leave) “indentured labor” insults Indian indentured laborers’ memory & disrespects hardworking staff. Disappointed.
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WAIT. Why is #DurgaPuja getting rebranded as “Sharad Utsab” (autumn fest??) and #Pongal as “Tamil Harvest Festival”?! Drop your theories NOW before this gets buried!!
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HinduPACT retweeted
@antonioguterres did you ask @MIshaqDar50 about three Hindu and other minority girls getting abducted and sexually trafficked in #Pakistan? Or were you “bought off” by their hospitality?
#SaveHinduGirlsInPakistan
For over two decades in different roles, I have seen Pakistan as a source of solidarity & solutions. But what has always stood out to me is the resilience of the Pakistani people & their determination to build a better future.
My message is simple:
The @UN stands with the people of Pakistan. And I thank the Pakistani people for standing up for the world.
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HinduPACT retweeted
Blasphemy laws are no place in modern society. #saudiarabia remove these archaic laws
bbc.com/news/articles/cq14d4…
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HinduPACT retweeted
No Hindu place of worship is safe in Pakistan 😢😢😢
#PakistaniTerrorists
thestatesman.com/world/pakis…
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HinduPACT retweeted
We condemn vandalism of the Sh. Swaminarayan Hindu Temple Vadtaldham at Richmond Heights, OH while priests and devotees were inside. @RichmondHtsOH and @PoliceRichmond must act to find perpetrators and protect the Hindu community and our places of worship. @FBIDirectorKash pl investigate this as a hate crime
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HinduPACT retweeted
"Sikh & South Asian" ઉલ્લેખને લઈને HinduPACTનો CAPAC સામે વિરોધ @HinduPACT @CAPAC
.
newindiaabroad.com/gujarati/…
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“Sikh & South Asian” is an offensive and divisive framing that marginalizes people of Indian origin, especially Hindus, and fractures communities of the #IndianSubcontinent. Every @CAPAC member must disassociate themselves from this post
@SuhasforVA @RepBera @ShriThanedar @RepJayapal @RoKhanna @CongressmanRaja
Our nation is seeing a disturbing rise in racism & xenophobia against Sikh & South Asian Americans.
No one should feel unsafe in their home because of their faith, identity or color of their skin. It is incumbent on all of us to stand up to anti-Asian hate, wherever it appears.
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We are proud of pilot #CaptSmitMachchhar for his bravery after he was stabbed and seriously injured while trying to stop an an attempt to crash a #flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv, and saving the lives of 174 people on board
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