World Hindu Council of America
(Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, Inc.)
Office of the Vice President, Networking
80 Forest Park Dr, Waltham, MA
781-330-1691; sanjaykaul@hotmail.com
National Office: VHP of America, P.O. Box 2009, Natick, MA 01760.
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
June 9, 2020
World Hindu Council (VHPA) Statement on the Press Release Issued by Massachusetts Asian American Commission in Support of Black Lives Matter.
As American citizens of Indian origin and as human beings, we are furious at the gruesome murder of George Floyd. We condemn the killing of George Floyd in no uncertain terms. And we stand for racial justice, equality, and civil rights. "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," embodied in our Declaration of Independence should be our guiding spirit. Hindu ethos, as expressed by a poet eloquently says, “A true Hindu is the one who feels the pain of others.”
As people of faith, we feel the pain of injustice and the killing of George Floyd.
We fully endorse the right to peacefully protest injustice. As Rev. Martin Luther King said, “we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
However, we are unambiguously against riots and looting, and the attacks on those entrusted to protect us. We are against
glorification of an individual with questionable records. We are against extreme and irrational condemnation of our social and judicialsystems.
Specifically, we do not agree with the following statements in the AAC press release.
1. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) continue to benefit from the “model minority” and their historic proximity to “White Privilege”
While Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) are “model minorities,” the second part of the statement is both incorrect and outright insulting. It needs to be removed. Continue on page:2