Raja Krishnamurthy, an Indian American member of the House of Representatives, said the Justice Department expressed its commitment in a briefing last week with four other Indian American lawmakers, known as the 'Samosa Caucus', Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal and Mr Thanedar.
He had called this meeting in view of the increasing incidents of vandalism in temples across the country.
Krishnamurthy said, "Last week's meeting was an important starting point to address the threats posed by Hinduphobia as the rate of hate crimes continues to rise across the country and American Hindus and their places of worship face harassment, vandalism and even That we are facing serious threats."
“While the Department of Justice has reaffirmed its commitment to expanding its outreach to the Hindu American community, significant challenges remain as we continue to work to protect Hindus and every other American community from hate crimes.”
The Sherawali temple in Hayward, California was vandalized in January, barely a month after a similar incident at the Swaminarayan temple in Newark, New Jersey.
Anti-India graffiti and pro-Khalistan slogans were spray-painted on a California temple, while similar graffiti was left by vandals in another incident.
The MPs had also expressed concern over the spread of misinformation about Hindus on social media platforms.
“We have seen a worrying increase in incidents of vandalism at houses of worship across the country, including Hindu temples,” five lawmakers wrote in a letter to the Justice Department in March.
“We, the undersigned members of Congress of South Asian descent, local agencies, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Division of Civil Rights,” it added.
He had called this meeting in view of the increasing incidents of vandalism in temples across the country.
Krishnamurthy said, "Last week's meeting was an important starting point to address the threats posed by Hinduphobia as the rate of hate crimes continues to rise across the country and American Hindus and their places of worship face harassment, vandalism and even That we are facing serious threats."
“While the Department of Justice has reaffirmed its commitment to expanding its outreach to the Hindu American community, significant challenges remain as we continue to work to protect Hindus and every other American community from hate crimes.”
The Sherawali temple in Hayward, California was vandalized in January, barely a month after a similar incident at the Swaminarayan temple in Newark, New Jersey.
Anti-India graffiti and pro-Khalistan slogans were spray-painted on a California temple, while similar graffiti was left by vandals in another incident.
The MPs had also expressed concern over the spread of misinformation about Hindus on social media platforms.
“We have seen a worrying increase in incidents of vandalism at houses of worship across the country, including Hindu temples,” five lawmakers wrote in a letter to the Justice Department in March.
“We, the undersigned members of Congress of South Asian descent, local agencies, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Division of Civil Rights,” it added.
