A Hindu student is barred from entering a recent event at Concordia
MONTREAL (Aug. 20) – Allied Voices for Israel (AVI) is standing with the Hindu community in the wake of a hateful event that took place at Concordia University on Friday where Hindu students were barred from entering and one was injured. We call on Concordia to denounce Hinduphobia immediately.
Prior to the incident, our friends at the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) urged Concordia to reconsider the event, “The Struggle Must Continue! Hindutva fascism in India and in the diaspora, and its impacts on minorities,” organized by the South Asian Diaspora Action Collective (SADAC) and with support from organizations such as Academics for Palestine, the Concordia Student Union, and others.
CoHNA laid out a list of reasons explaining why the event was problematic, including that labeling Hindu Canadians as “Hindutva fascists” in the midst of an ongoing genocide of Hindus in Bangladesh was deeply offensive. It also questioned the choice of the date August 15th, which is the anniversary marking the end of over 200 years of British colonial rule in India.
Despite the organization’s pleas, the event went ahead as scheduled. Several Concordia Hindu students and community members attended to peacefully observe but were denied entry. One Hindu student’s hand was injured when organizers tried to shut the door on him.
“We have heard from dozens of students at Concordia who experienced a hostile and threatening environment simply for being openly Jewish on campus and it is disheartening to see our friends in the Hindu community being subjected to the same bigotry,” said Daniel Koren, Founder and Executive Director of AVI.
“Now more than ever, our communities must stand together in solidarity against all forms of hatred. Concordia must condemn Hinduphobia and ensure that professors and student groups are not given a free pass to promote hateful ideologies on campus,” he said.
コメント