Current Status
Hindus began to immigrate in large numbers to the U.S. since the mid-1960s, and due to sheer hard work, have economically prospered to become the second-most affluent religious community. Consequently the Hindu community has built an impressive religious infrastructure consisting of temples and community organizations. Yet the status of Hindus does not reflect well in the mainstream socio-economic-political discourse of their host country. Quite often American Hindus are content with being an invisible community within the redundant terms of “Indian American,” “Asian Indian” or even more perverse “South Asian.” The former cannot be accommodative of Hindus in the U.S. who have come from outside India, and simply ignores the Hindus who are born in the U.S., including a large number who have come to the Hindu fold from other religions.
Suffice to say that American Hindus are not yet a “people” as there is no underlying community bonding that could relate one American Hindu to another, and with the rest of the Hindus around the world. There are plenty of spiritual practices and religious celebrations, temples, Diwali fairs, youth summer camps, ashramas, organizations, sampradayas and sects, and yet when it comes to a socio-economic-political issues, there is no Hindu community in the U.S. (though there are individuals who put up a face but in vain). The U.S. Hindu community does not exist because a rationale for it has never been articulated, which in turn points to a lack of visionary leadership. As America navigates through the post-modern world and attempts to usher in a post-modern society, the need for U.S. Hindus to exist as a “people” could not be more apparent than ever before.
The Missing Hindu “Mayflower Compact”
Many centuries have passed since the pilgrim-colonists landed in Plymouth and declared themselves as a civil body politic in their “Mayflower Compact” which even today forms the nucleus of the rationale for the existence of the American nation (Ref. – excerpt from the original Mayflower Compact : “... Having undertaken, for the Glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith ... by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one of another, Covenant and Combine ourselves together into a Civil Body Politic ...”). Hindu immigrants also came here along with subconsciously carrying Sanatana Dharma with them. Yet, there is no Hindu version of “Mayflower Compact” that could transform the U.S. Hindu community into a body politic for the preservation, sustenance and propagation of Hindu Dharma in the U.S.
But why have a Hindu community?
Living among an overwhelming religiously exclusivist population, the American Hindus, sooner or later, will be confronted with socio-economic-political challenges that will have a fundamental religio-ideological dimension to them. These issues may relate to religious practices, education, health, or any other aspect of daily life. There will be certain situations where the socio-political discourse in America will go beyond the elemental protective provisions of the U.S. constitution and would rely on the religious constructs of its citizens for public policy formulations. Hindus would readily lose out under such circumstances because even the seemingly antagonistic religious communities in America share much of the basic exclusivistic features, being siblings of the same religious tradition emanating from the Middle East. To address such situations in the foreseeable future, American Hindus need to build a community of their own, which is Hindu in content, character and expression.
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Comments
I enjoyed reading your articles on school child crinching when topics of India comes into his classroom. Really beautiful article....
I am trying to reach out to Mr. Pradip Parekh as I am also a Bollywood Filmmaker and would like to communicate with him. How to reach him??
Thanks,
Alok
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