On February 27, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) hosted its first ever Hindu Awareness Campaign Fundraiser in Boston, MA.  The main presentation, delivered by HAF's Director of Development, Sheetal Shah, and Executive Council Member, Jay Patel, was followed by an hour long interactive group discussion that focused on developing a Hindu voice in the Boston area.  In addition to describing HAF's efforts to build a credible and effective voice for Hindu Americans within academia, media, and government, the presentation focused on a range of issues and challenges that affect Hindu Americans along with recent successes of HAF.

Within academia, the presentation highlight the misrepresentation of Hinduism in sixth grade textbooks in the state of California and the negative effects that such misrepresentation has upon the Hindu American youth.  Misrepresentation of Hinduism in textbooks included inaccurate statements about Hinduism’s belief in female inferiority along with efforts to simply Hinduism into a “caste, cow, and curry” model.  In 2006, HAF filed and won a lawsuit against the CA State Board of Education (SBE) for this misrepresentation and the inequity in how Hindus were treated in the textbook adoption process.

Secondly, HAF presented samples of gross inaccuracies of Hinduism within various media outlets.  An specific example that was cited in the presentation referenced a 2005 article in the San Francisco Chronicle which stated that Hindus believe in rape as a just punishment for some crimes.  In addition to attending conferences, such as that of the Religious Newswriters Association (RNA), where HAF educates members of the media about Hinduism, the Foundation also created a Media Toolkit booklet which aims to correct common misrepresentations about Hinduism in the general media.  The Media Toolkit is available for all online at http://www.hafsite.org/reports.htm.  

Finally, HAF discussed the lack of a Hindu voice within the government and its efforts to create that much needed voice.  In addition to establishing an office in the Washington D.C. area and hiring a fulltime Director of Public Policy to regularly advocate relevant issues, HAF hosts annual D.C. Legislative Days where key HAF members spend two full days meeting with various US Representatives and Senators to create awareness and garner support for relevant Hindu American issues.

In addition to highlighting HAF's third annual Hindu Human Rights Report and first ever Hindu Hate Watch Report, Shah also discussed HAF's interfaith and community outreach efforts.  In particular, HAF partook in the second Hindu-Jewish Summit hosted by the World Council of Religious Leaders (WCORL) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in Jerusalem, Israel in mid-February.  The goal of the Summit was to increase the understanding between religious leaders of the two religions.  The full press release and the declaration that was signed by the Hindu and Jewish religious leaders is available at http://www.hafsite.org/media_press_release_israel.htm.

The presentation concluded with a brief update on ongoing HAF activities including the 2008 DC Days, the creation of a Caste Report and a Temple Takeover Report, and further outreach efforts.

Individuals in the Boston are who would like to get involved with HAF are encouraged to visit the website at www.HAFsite.org, and contact HAF's office at office@hafsite.org.  Opportunities exist to assist HAF with creating annual reports such as the Hindu Human Rights Report, web development, marketing, along with other areas.  Anyone who would be interested in sponsoring an HAF Awareness Event in their home or the Boston-metro community should contact Sheetal Shah as sheetal@hafsite.org.  Additionally, every summer, HAF hosts an internship program for high school and college students who are paid a stipend to work alongside an HAF Director or Executive Council Member on a specific issue.  Internship details are listed on HAF’s website closer to the summer months.  

HAF hopes to return to Boston on an annual basis and sincerely thanks the individuals who attended and generously contributed at our February 2008 event. 

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