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HAF urges California action on rising anti-Hindu hate
Kalra raised concerns in a letter to the California Civil Rights Department's Commission on the State of Hate.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Wed, 17, Jun 2026
- 00:11 EDT
- 44
Hindu American Foundation logo / HAF
The Hindu American Foundation highlighted a surge in bias incidents, vandalism and targeted violence in a letter to the California Civil Rights Department's Commission on the State of Hate on June 9.
In a letter sent to the Commission's Chair Brian Levin and its other members, HAF Managing Director of Policy & Programs Samir Kalra spotlighted the recent incidents of Hinduphobia and hate that the Hindu American community has faced in the state recently.
Kalra said, "This reality is directly reflected in the Civil Rights Department’s own data; the CA vs Hate state hotline revealed that anti-Hindu incidents constituted the second most frequent form of religiously motivated hate in California, accounting for a staggering 23% of all reported religious bias cases."
He continued, "These are not abstract statistics. Our houses of worship — spaces meant for peace and community sanctuary — have faced a systematic pattern of intimidation, desecration and infrastructure sabotage, oftentimes at the hands of others from the broader South Asian community."
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Citing examples, Kalra talked about the Chino Hills Mandir desecration, the attack on Sacramento BAPS Temple's infrastructure and the Bay Area vandalism spree, where temples across Northern California, including the Newark Shri Swaminarayan Temple and Hayward Vijay’s Sherawali Temple, have been repeatedly defaced with hostile, politically charged anti-Hindu graffiti.
Describing the incidents as an attempt to intimidate local worshipers, Kalra also pointed out a series of targeted attacks on members of the Hindu community within the state.
HAF urged the Commission and the Civil Rights Department to improve reporting mechanisms and outreach to the Hindu American community, increase hate-crime transparency, expand security grants and awareness programs for places of worship and community centers, publicly recognize the systemic nature of anti-Hindu bias, and advise state agencies on strengthening efforts to combat anti-Hindu hate.
Kalra remarked, "Hindu Americans are an integral, vibrant part of the California tapestry. However, freedom of religion and the right to practice without fear of violence are foundational."
He added, "We respectfully urge this Commission to formally recognize this dangerous spike in anti-Hindu bias and to prioritize the protection, safety and inclusion of the Hindu American community in statewide anti-hate initiatives."
Anti-Indian online hate has surged in recent years, with reported anti-Indian slurs rising 115 percent between 2023 and 2025 and South Asians accounting for 75% of anti-Asian slurs recorded by Stop AAPI Hate during a recent period, much of it linked to anti-H-1B rhetoric.
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