Attacking the problem sometimes requires playing with the same rules and arguably, is exactly what happened in Trinidad.

"More Hindu Americans will engage with the humanities and arts. More Hindu Americans will go into politics, organizing, and advocacy. And more Hindu Americans will stand up for their rights" Last weekend there was an epic debate about 1st Gen versus 2nd Gen. This weekend, the article by @aryanshinde21 shows how much we can't predict what the future will hold when we have younger and younger voices standing up in the face of adversity. This is an incredible period of Hindu consolidation in North America, one step at a time. americankahani.com/perspecti…

"Undercutting Hinduphobia: Why South Asian Left Fears the Rapid Growth of Second Generation Hindu Americans" A brilliant article by @aryanshinde21, CoHNA youth leader and head of our CYAN UC Berkeley. CoHNA’s leadership team has many 2nd generation voices, but that does not stop the tropes of dual loyalty against any Hindu in North America, who is publicly proud of their faith and their roots. Proud of our youth for standing up and speaking up against #Hinduphobia and those who seek to deny anti-Hindu hate. Read n share @AmericanKahani americankahani.com/perspecti…

The Conservative Movement in the USA has completely lost the plot.

“The second generation’s task is not to reimagine Hindu traditions ourselves, but to build the educational infrastructure that will enable future generations to do so from a place of authenticity.” As a second gen…this is gold.

BREAKING🚨: Mississauga City Council has unanimously passed a resolution condemning Hinduphobia. This is a major milestone since Mississauga is the second Canadian city to take this stand and offer public reassurance to its Hindu minority. It is a huge relief coming after years of rising violence against temples and Hindu individuals. Making it even more poignant, this happened as we mark the one-year anniversary of the medieval style invasions of Hindu temples and violence against devotees on Nov 4, 2024. #Hinduphobia We thank Councillor @dipikadamerla for introducing the motion and the entire city council for their leadership in taking this stand. @carolynhparrish @citymississauga 🙏🏿 Let's all work to tackle anti-Hindu hate and bigotry.

After @RUCSRR’s anti-Hindu conference & @JDVance’s public Hindu flub, @vjgtweets @anangbhai @indumathi37 @ShawnBinda started a critical conversation on what an American Hinduism should look like. My HAF colleague, Raj Rao, brilliantly stakes out a middle ground. Give it a read!

A very engaging video by @ShawnBinda ! Such efforts are the very need of the hour when attacking Hindu Dharma is the new normal not only in the west, but also across Bharat. Hats off to the valiant efforts by Shawn! Keep up the phenomenal DharmaSeva. piped.video/R-ZC2sQnUss?si=OnrL…

A thoughtful and well-articulated piece by @ShawnBinda , who is on CoHNA's Advisory Council. Thank you. We have had many discussions with him about learnings that Hindus in North America can take away from the experience of his diaspora ancestors and community, who kept alive the flame Hinduism through generations of hostility.

I have long admired the longevity of Hindu culture amongst Caribbean Hindus. In fact, in the early years of our married life, my husband and I, as second-generation Hindu Americans, regularly attended Vishnu Mandir in Tampa, FL. The Sunday format was participatory and meaningful. And the shared meal and joint clean up at the end built community. @ShawnBinda eloquently shares what previous generations did to accomplish these traditions and what he is doing and what others can do to build a path forward for Hindu Dharma in the diaspora.

My response to @vjgtweets I agree with somethings but have a different opinion on the path forward. It's been awhile since I wrote a long form essay and I welcome the opportunity to clarify my own thoughts open.substack.com/pub/hindul…

A few weeks ago, @indumathi37 and I published our first article, “Symphony: An Invitation to Imagine Diasporic Hindu Futures.” This article came out of many conversations about trends and discourse we observed both in online spaces and in our personal lives. We started with that inspiration to think about the core of Hinduism, or Sanatana Dharma, what it means to bring this core framework to America, and what the future might look like for our children. We will be discussing Symphony and our experiences with @raghman36 on Wednesday on the @themerumedia podcast. See you then!

While visible Hindu temples and statues may seem like a prevailing concern for Indians (Hindus) outside India, there is an important perspective that often gets ignored—particularly among those who have never experienced the lack of public expressions of their Hindu faith. When you have grown up in a land where your Hindu practices were relegated to basement satsanghs or high school auditoriums hidden from public view, large statues and mandirs that inspire awe and amazement create a profound change in psyche. I stated this publicly in Brampton, Ontario, at the inauguration of the 54-foot Bhagwan Shiva statue. This represents a new normal for a generation growing up in Canada and the USA. I grew up watching my father transport a makeshift contraption he built—shelves that could display small murtis and pictures from our home—to high school auditoriums every Sunday. This was our "altar" for weekly satsangh. I don't expect everyone in the diaspora to grasp this because you haven't experienced it. I did. Today, though, my kids will not have to live through that because of the work my parents' generation did to move the needle forward with public expressions of Hindu identity. While the jury is still out on the succession plan to maintain these temples, I do believe they matter.

Where I differ is I see value in tradition, participating in something that has continued for however long. But I do know that this tradition (for my own personal history) has undergone changes. What my parents did growing as a Hindu in Trinidad is not necessarily the same as what they ended up doing when they were 60 years old in Canada. It is also true is that what they did may not have necessarily been the same as what my ancestors did in Uttar Pradesh/Bihar before boarding a boat and coming to the Caribbean. It's something I have been thinking about since I started making videos in 2016 and it's important for Hindus in North America to start thinking about these things.

Snakes in our backyard

Starting now!

Dear Indians, Please stop engaging with anti-Indian and anti-Hindu handles. Report where necessary, and block. Do not quote. If you want to rebut, use a screenshot. It is all about engagement. Please stop feeding and funding the trolls.

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you, as I myself could have gone the disgruntled route. I was the youngest director elected to the temple I attended in 2006 (the same temple my father was the founding President of). I served in that role until 2016 when I was voted out (along with my father) by the same temple congregation. This entire story could warrant a novel on intergenerational dynamics, Hindu traditions, and a whole slew of other topics (I was also involved in a lawsuit as a result of this entire ordeal.. Story for another day) The problem I do see, however, is an apathy among 2nd Gen to take action. Laying blame is not going to solve anything. I chose another route. Being voted out freed me to focus on teaching classes at temple and being everything to the next generation that I never had—the person they could approach with questions, the person they could debate with, etc. It's also brought me to YouTube and social media, among other things. We can't just criticize from the sidelines—2nd Gen need to get moving and quite literally be the change they want to see (sorry for the cliché).