Episode 4

full
Published on:

27th Oct 2024

HinduVote Webinar with Mohinder Gulati and Ajay Shah

HinduPACT's HinduVote is conducting a series of voter education webinars leading up to 2024 Presidential and Congressional elections. Join Ajay Shah and Mohinder Gulati discussing American Hindu Agenda 2024 and the hinduvote.org website.

Transcript
Speaker:

We are live and I want to say, first of all, namaste

2

:

and thank you for joining.

3

:

We truly appreciate you

being here with us today.

4

:

We are going to talk about an important

today, which is the election:

5

:

People have said that this may be one of

the more consequential elections that we

6

:

have, this is an election that is going

to, decide America's future in many ways.

7

:

We are doing a project called Hindu Vote.

8

:

A voter education project we

have been doing since:

9

:

But before I get to today's webinar,

let me start with a quick introduction.

10

:

My name is Ajay Shah.

11

:

I am the president of World Hindu

Council of America or VHPA, of America.

12

:

I am also the co convener of HinduPact.

13

:

Which is Hindu Policy Research

and Advocacy Collective.

14

:

It is an initiative of World

Hindu Council of America or VHPA.

15

:

I have been doing advocacy work for most

of my adult life I'm really privileged

16

:

to have Mohinder Gulati ji here today.

17

:

Mohinder Gulati ji is, very

accomplished, individual.

18

:

He is a member of our

core team for Hindu vote.

19

:

He was in his younger days, an elections

officer in India for two years.

20

:

So he actually has on the ground

experience in running the election.

21

:

He recently retired from United Nations,

where he was the chief operating

22

:

officer of Sustainable Energy for All.

23

:

He was also an advisor to Sustainable

Development at the World Bank, where

24

:

he worked At more than 50 countries.

25

:

We are absolutely privileged that Mohenjo

daro is part of our team and is working

26

:

with us on this important initiative.

27

:

So thank you, Mohenjo daro,

and thanks for joining.

28

:

We truly appreciate it.

29

:

As I mentioned a little bit earlier,

this is really one of the more

30

:

consequential elections we are facing.

31

:

We start looking around and

we said, look the Hindu vote

32

:

is really an important vote.

33

:

And why do I say that?

34

:

Let me show this graphic to you and see

what you have to say about this particular

35

:

graphic, let's take a look at this.

36

:

And that screen will show you

evidence as to why I'm making

37

:

the statement I'm making.

38

:

This, Mohinderji and everyone else

who is watching, is the graph that

39

:

we have put together at HinduPact.

40

:

This is the graph that shows

the importance of Hindu vote.

41

:

Okay.

42

:

So if you look at the blue bars

here, this is from:

43

:

The blue bars are the difference

in the votes that president Biden

44

:

got and former president Trump got.

45

:

And this is for battleground

states, which is on the X axis.

46

:

So Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin,

Nevada, Pennsylvania, Florida,

47

:

Virginia, Michigan, and North

Carolina, the battleground states.

48

:

These are the bars that indicate

the differences between the

49

:

Biden vote and the Trump vote.

50

:

The purple bar is the number

of Hindus in that state.

51

:

who are eligible to vote.

52

:

The, Hindu vote in that

particular battleground state.

53

:

And you can see here that the Hindu

vote can be a decisive vote in almost

54

:

all the states except maybe a couple

of them, like Florida and Virginia.

55

:

The Hindu vote has grown since 2020.

56

:

In every state, because of

immigration and naturalization.

57

:

If a candidate pays attention

to this Hindu vote, they can

58

:

actually win the elections.

59

:

And mind you, this is not Indian vote.

60

:

Hindu vote is much larger

than the Indian vote.

61

:

The Hindu vote includes

people from other countries.

62

:

who have come to America.

63

:

For example, the Hindus from Bali,

from Ghana, from Vietnam, from

64

:

Suriname, from the Caribbeans, from

Pakistan, from Bangladesh, you name it.

65

:

And there are a lot of people who

have adopted Hindu Dharma have been

66

:

residents for many generations, or who

have immigrated from some parts of Europe.

67

:

And even countries like Latin

America and Central America.

68

:

So Hindu vote is not just of consequence.

69

:

It is also growing vote and

it's much more diverse vote.

70

:

So you may say that, well, if the

Hindu vote is this diverse, why would a

71

:

candidate pay attention to Hindu vote?

72

:

Why would they not just say, Hey, you

know, I'll just address generic issues.

73

:

Well, there are certain issues.

74

:

If the candidates were to address, then

they will get the deciding Hindu vote

75

:

and will make an impact not just for

the presidential elections, but also

76

:

for the congressional elections for the

House of Representatives and the Senate.

77

:

So what are these issues?

78

:

At HinduPact, we have come up with

The American Hindu agenda for:

79

:

These are the issues that we think

are of importance to all the Hindus.

80

:

We have done a lot of research on it,

consulted, other organizations, and we

81

:

have come up with eight simple issues.

82

:

The first one is.

83

:

We would like to see a

legislation to bar Hindu phobia.

84

:

What do you mean by bar?

85

:

I mean, of course, we all

understand First Amendment.

86

:

We're not saying stop free speech.

87

:

But there are academic departments that

promote, actively promote Hindu hatred.

88

:

They write, they promote papers

and they're funded by some

89

:

government grant or the others.

90

:

So defund these departments,

defund these universities that

91

:

actively promote Hindu hate.

92

:

Okay, let's not use taxpayer

dollars to promote Hindu hate.

93

:

There might be other, situations

where there are corporations and

94

:

other places, which are funding

these kinds of research and we want

95

:

to make sure that is not funded.

96

:

Now, as all of you have seen, there

are at least a dozen cases over the

97

:

last two years where Hindu temples

have been vandalized and Mahatma

98

:

Gandhi statues have been vandalized.

99

:

This has happened without any attempt

to even find the culprit, much

100

:

less declare it as a hate crime.

101

:

What we are asking that the people who get

elected with our votes in Congress or in

102

:

the White House, support the investigation

to determine the systemic causes for

103

:

this kind of vandalism across the U.

104

:

S.

105

:

It's a very simple demand have

an investigation, find out

106

:

what are the systemic causes.

107

:

and punish the perpetrators of that

because this is really a hate crime and

108

:

it has to be investigated as a hate crime.

109

:

The next one is immigration.

110

:

Now, everyone who is probably listening

to this webinar here live or people who

111

:

are listening on Twitter or YouTube,

they already know this, if you today

112

:

come to America legally, I'm not talking

about illegal immigration at all come

113

:

here legally follow all the rules.

114

:

Come using H1 visa, then go and apply

for permanent residency for green card.

115

:

Getting permanent residence right

now is over a hundred years because

116

:

there are country based caps.

117

:

So there are only so many people

from India who can qualify.

118

:

What we are saying is that we

are getting highly qualified,

119

:

highly skilled workers from India.

120

:

Most of them are Hindus.

121

:

This artificial barrier is keeping

them from getting, permanent residency.

122

:

And it actually is hurting America.

123

:

Because these are exactly the kind of

legal immigrants you want in America.

124

:

So expedite the green card for them.

125

:

All you have to do is remove the

country based, caps on the visa.

126

:

Even worse are their children who come

here legally when they're very young,

127

:

two years, three years, four years old.

128

:

When they turn 18, they

don't have green card.

129

:

Their parents don't have a green card yet.

130

:

All of a sudden that kid who has

grown up here, who has come to America

131

:

legally, Is now out of status and the

kid has either goes on student visa

132

:

or some kind of work visa or has to go

back to a country they've never known.

133

:

And again, we are only making argument

for kids who are here legally.

134

:

The next one is supporting the merit

based education and occupation.

135

:

And this is the one where, there's

a lot of studies now after the, fair

136

:

admissions versus Harvard case, where

a recent study of hundreds of thousands

137

:

of students that said that, students

from Indian subcontinent, mostly Hindus,

138

:

would have had 50 percent better chance

of getting admission at Ivy League

139

:

schools if the admission process was

fair and if there were no quotas.

140

:

So the affirmative action policies

were not in place and the numbers were

141

:

not artificially capped at 17, 18%.

142

:

Then these students would have had fair

admission, chances and they would have

143

:

actually 50 percent better odds of getting

into one of these Ivy League schools.

144

:

We want college educational and

occupational opportunities to be based on

145

:

merit and not on some artificial quotas.

146

:

We want the candidates

to actually support.

147

:

this Supreme Court ruling

and not try and override it.

148

:

The other one is we want to hold religious

theocracies like Afghanistan, Pakistan,

149

:

Bangladesh that abuse the minorities, the

Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian

150

:

minorities to be held accountable.

151

:

What we mean by that is America

has a lot of soft power, gives

152

:

a lot of aid to these countries.

153

:

We want to make sure that These countries

are held accountable, so we don't see a

154

:

12 year, 13 year old, 14 year old girl

being, kidnapped and converted to Islam,

155

:

married off to men they don't even know,

who are much older than them, these little

156

:

girls now become, victims in a sex crime.

157

:

You have seen recently what has happened

in Bangladesh, where the Mandirs have

158

:

been vandalized, Hindus have been beaten

on the streets, Hindu businesses and

159

:

homes have been burnt, Hindus have been

forced to resign from their faculty

160

:

jobs and police jobs and other places.

161

:

We want.

162

:

America to exercise its soft power and

hold these, theocracies accountable.

163

:

The next one is very simple.

164

:

There are a lot of statues,

murtis, as we call them.

165

:

Murtis have been actually stolen

or decapitated and the head stolen.

166

:

If you go to Cambodia and you go

to India, the murtis are stolen.

167

:

People are worshipping them.

168

:

These are especially older murtis.

169

:

They've been worshipped

for hundreds of years.

170

:

And next, you know, some morning

people wake up, go to the

171

:

mandir, the murti is missing.

172

:

We want to make sure that these artifacts

that are taken, stolen, given to

173

:

private collectors, gone to, museums,

174

:

these are sacred murtis.

175

:

They be returned so that people

can place them back in mandirs.

176

:

The next one is we want to

make sure that US promotes a

177

:

multifaceted partnership with.

178

:

What I mean is America and

India are natural allies.

179

:

America is our karma bhoomi,

India is our dharma bhoomi,

180

:

but we both practice democracy.

181

:

Bharat India has practiced

democracy for thousands of years

182

:

from the times of Mahajanapadas.

183

:

That's about 3, 000, 3, 500 years ago.

184

:

And we want to make sure that,

and America being one of the more

185

:

prominent democracies today, come and

work together as equals, as allies

186

:

and not government instruments like

USCIRF are not used to malign India.

187

:

And really use those tools

by vested interests to break

188

:

apart this natural partnership.

189

:

So we want the candidates who get

our support to actually promise us.

190

:

They will use these tools,

commissions and agencies that US

191

:

government has for the good of promo.

192

:

And by good, I mean promoting this

multifaceted partnership with India.

193

:

And finally, and I'm sure Maji will

talk a lot more about it, is support

194

:

legislation that promote environmentally

responsible and sustainable development.

195

:

In Hindu, derma, we

consider Earth to be dirty.

196

:

Maa.

197

:

So we have a lot of respect for, Mother

Earth and through sustainable development,

198

:

we can promote, responsible development.

199

:

So I'll stop there and turn

it over to Mohinderji for the

200

:

next part of this webinar.

201

:

Mohinderji.

202

:

Speaker 2: Thank you very much for

this wonderful introduction, Ajayji.

203

:

I wish to all those viewing

this webinar and those who might

204

:

view it later on, happy Diwali.

205

:

It's a little early, but

it's around the corner.

206

:

So wishing you all a

very, very happy Diwali.

207

:

I also want to congratulate those

eligible to participate in the

208

:

voting process on your good fortune.

209

:

I want to congratulate you for that,

that you are able to participate in

210

:

a democratic process in a secure,

safe, And dignified environment on

211

:

not many countries in not many places.

212

:

People are able to do that.

213

:

I have not really been an

election officer in India.

214

:

That was long ago when

we had paper ballots.

215

:

That sounds like a very, very old

times, but I have also seen these

216

:

elections in many other countries where

we know how difficult the democratic

217

:

processes are and how rigged these are.

218

:

So, you are very fortunate to be

participating in a stable, safe, secure,

219

:

dignified, democratic process here.

220

:

And so please do go out, step

out and vote your vote matters.

221

:

As Ajayji said, and he

showed you that graph.

222

:

In a system of first past the

post, this is not a system of

223

:

proportional representation.

224

:

It's a system of first past the post.

225

:

In a system of first past the

post, the swing vote matters.

226

:

And your vote is actually much bigger

than the victory margin in many

227

:

of the states that Ajayji showed.

228

:

Therefore, it is not only your moral

obligation to go and participate

229

:

in the democratic process.

230

:

Be heard.

231

:

Raise your voice, be heard, but

also as a responsible citizen,

232

:

go and vote and participate.

233

:

On the HinduPact website, you will

see several, very useful tools.

234

:

And Ajay ji will talk about that

later One is the temple guide.

235

:

Another is a voter guide one as to

for you as a voter What is it that you

236

:

can do you should do what is that it

is possible what you are eligible to?

237

:

And what is legally permissible?

238

:

What is not legally permissible?

239

:

What are the tools that you can use?

240

:

So there's a whole lot of information

and very, very useful, background and

241

:

the tools available on this website for

you as well as for the Mondays that you

242

:

can, if it is possible, convert these

Mondays into, voter registration centers

243

:

into polling centers so that it is not

only that you are creating this facility

244

:

for increasing the voter participation

of the Hindu community, but also you

245

:

are demonstrating to the community

around you that you are a responsible,

246

:

conscientious Citizen who participates

and engages in these processes.

247

:

So plenty of material are

there Beautifully put together

248

:

by Ajayji and his team.

249

:

Please do go and visit and he

will show you this later What is

250

:

it that you can do as a voter?

251

:

Register not only yourself, but also

your friends your family your neighbors

252

:

Encourage them to register for voting and

use the tools available on the website.

253

:

Get out to vote whether it is mail in

ballots or whether it is early voting or

254

:

whether it is going on the voting day.

255

:

Unfortunately, we don't have a holiday

on an election day, which is the case

256

:

with India and Australia, but not here.

257

:

So you don't get a day off, but

nevertheless go out, and, get

258

:

people to step out, to vote.

259

:

So, Ajayji had talked about the democracy

being 3, 500 year old in India and he has

260

:

given, shown you some wonderful examples.

261

:

Which are available on the

website, but I'll share with

262

:

you one personal experience.

263

:

I had gone to a very remote

village in Himachal Pradesh.

264

:

It is called Malana.

265

:

It is up at about 12, 000 Feet and

in a small village at 12, 000 feet

266

:

They have a small parliament and

they have a village assembly in

267

:

the middle of the village There are

11 seats Which are for the elders.

268

:

So I asked them as to what are these.

269

:

They said, Oh, these are very, very old.

270

:

We, every two years, we elect

twelve, eleven members from

271

:

the village as the elders.

272

:

And they are the ones who

take all the decisions.

273

:

Each member of each family then

contributes one person as a local police.

274

:

And local administration.

275

:

I mean, you can't get more

grassroots level democracy than that.

276

:

So these traditions are actually very

old as part of our civilization and

277

:

as a part of our who to vote for?

278

:

Ajayji has already talked about it.

279

:

So I would not go into those.

280

:

Okay.

281

:

This agenda also you have, heard Ajayji,

but when you talk to your candidates,

282

:

and I don't mean only the presidential

candidate, but there's the congressmen and

283

:

the senators, or whether it is even for

the, for your local council, when you talk

284

:

to these candidates, do raise your issues.

285

:

And these issues, Vajayji has talked

about it, but also the local issues that

286

:

affect you, whether that is growing Hindu

hate or whether that is vandalization

287

:

of your temples, whether that is the

curriculum and academy in the school,

288

:

curriculums, you will see, you'll be

surprised as to how much of ignorance

289

:

and, and discrimination and hatred

is there in some of the curriculum or

290

:

some of the local school that you see.

291

:

So be aware of that, raise your

voice, raise it with them, and then

292

:

start participating at all levels.

293

:

That is how your voices will get

heard and how your voices will

294

:

start mattering more and more.

295

:

It's not only the numbers, it

is also that, you are only 1

296

:

percent of the population, but

you pay 6 percent of the taxes.

297

:

That is financial muscle power that

you have, which you are not using.

298

:

So we are punching much

below our weight in the U.

299

:

S.

300

:

democratic process.

301

:

You are contributing

so much to the economy.

302

:

You are contributing so much

to the society that you are.

303

:

Society builders, you are wealth builders,

and you are punching so much above your

304

:

weight in terms of economic contribution

that you should also convert that into

305

:

political weight your voice should matter.

306

:

Learn about your candidates what are their

issues, what are their agendas, what do

307

:

they stand for, who is funding them, who

is endorsing them, who is supporting them

308

:

so that you can see whether, those who are

funding, are inimical to your interest?

309

:

If they are, then how do you counter that?

310

:

And, in the community

mobilize your community.

311

:

When you mobilize your community.

312

:

You get these candidates to come and talk

to your community, whether that's the

313

:

Diwali Mela or whether it is Navratri or

whether that is Celebration the temple or

314

:

whether it is any other community function

invite them and invite them not just for

315

:

Participating in a festival, but also

have a conversation with them about your

316

:

issues Those are the times when not only

you as you invite them to participate

317

:

in the festivals and your celebrations

But also on the sidelines have a meeting

318

:

with them On what your local and national

level issues are and what your agenda is.

319

:

So do raise it with them and slowly start

sensitizing, start making them more aware.

320

:

I'll take a few more minutes just

to talk about the eligibility.

321

:

Most of you know that you are citizens,

you can vote, but also there are people

322

:

who may be on permanent residency.

323

:

They may or may not be aware

of what they are eligible for.

324

:

For the purpose of voting.

325

:

You have to be a U.

326

:

S.

327

:

citizen.

328

:

You have to be above 18 years of age.

329

:

You have to be a resident of the

constituency where you are going to vote.

330

:

There are some, ID requirements in some

places, in some places they are not.

331

:

So be aware of what are the requirements

for you to be able to register

332

:

as a voter and then go and, vote.

333

:

People on the green card, cannot

vote in federal elections in some

334

:

areas for the local elections,

depending on where you live.

335

:

There are some local elections where

they're eligible to vote, but mostly not.

336

:

However, they can still participate

in the election process.

337

:

They can donate, and contribute.

338

:

They can also, volunteer

for election activities.

339

:

So you can do all of those things,

even as a green card, holder.

340

:

One thing more which can be a little

confusing for people is the is is the

341

:

Can you do something on the internet?

342

:

Because that's this is

the age of internet.

343

:

Even if you are Not a voter, even if

you are a permanent resident, you can

344

:

still do quite a lot on the internet.

345

:

Make sure that you are, this is not

a paid activity and make sure that

346

:

that this is on the, on the internet.

347

:

That you are not violating any of the

conditions of use of internet, but

348

:

you can certainly may do forwards.

349

:

You can certainly, do , some

campaigning on the internet.

350

:

You can even use your employer's

computers and internet subject

351

:

to whatever the conditions are.

352

:

But.

353

:

Some places that do that as long as it

is not for advocating for a particular

354

:

candidate or a particular party.

355

:

And some of these are common

sense election day checklist.

356

:

I would not go into it, but all that

I would say is that start getting

357

:

more active, not just at the time

of election, start getting much

358

:

more active, politically engaging.

359

:

Even before that so that then you start

building as Hindus as a community, they

360

:

start looking at you as a vote that

they want to come and campaign to you.

361

:

And therefore they start listening to,

they start listening to your issues.

362

:

Start listening to your voice and that

starts mattering not only for you, but

363

:

also for the broader Hindu community.

364

:

So let me just stop there because now

Ajayji will show you as to give you

365

:

a demonstration of this website as

to how to use it, how to navigate it.

366

:

Do go out and participate in

the election on 5th or before.

367

:

And do take your friends and family

and encourage them, have a conversation

368

:

with them on what are the Hindu issues

and why do they matter and how raising

369

:

your voice with the candidates will

make a difference, not only for you,

370

:

but also for your future generations.

371

:

Become more aware if you need

more information on some of

372

:

those issues, more details.

373

:

So that you can have a more informed

conversation with your representatives

374

:

There is a lot of material available on

the website Website use that material

375

:

or otherwise you can get in touch

with us to seek more clarification.

376

:

We have people who are more Knowledgeable

about it and can respond More accurately

377

:

to your questions so that you are

much better informed in engaging in

378

:

conversation with your, local candidates.

379

:

Thank you very much for listening to

me and thank you very much, Ajayji.

380

:

I hand it over back to you and

I'll stop sharing the screen.

381

:

Speaker: Thank you, Mohinderji.

382

:

That was incredibly helpful, very

useful, and the way you articulated

383

:

it made all the difference.

384

:

So thank you very much.

385

:

Mohinderji mentioned about

a website that we have.

386

:

And this is a very unique website and I

am really proud to say that not because

387

:

we have created this As part of HinduPAC,

but because really if you compare it

388

:

with a website for any advocacy group,

faith based advocacy group, from any

389

:

faith, I think our website is head and

shoulder above any other website you'll

390

:

come across for a similar purpose.

391

:

And once I show you, You will

know why I'm saying that.

392

:

And as a Hindu, you're going to be proud

of the fact that you as a Hindu community

393

:

have a resource that is unparalleled

from anything you would have ever seen.

394

:

So let me share my screen

and go over the website.

395

:

So the website is Hindu vote dot o r g.

396

:

That's h i n d u v o t e dot o r g.

397

:

And this Hindu vote website

is as multiple aspects to it.

398

:

I will show you a few of them

without taking up too much time.

399

:

And then you can explore

the website on your own.

400

:

So you can see that this

website has multiple components.

401

:

Mohinderji mentioned tools you

can see the tools for voters.

402

:

We are right here.

403

:

I'll quickly show you the tools for

voters that we have, and there's

404

:

still time to use these tools.

405

:

So for example, you can see that.

406

:

Using this website, you can pledge to

register, register to vote, verify your

407

:

voter registration, you can request

absentee ballots, you can sign up for

408

:

election reminders, or you can look up

the donors who's donating to a candidate.

409

:

Really simple for example, if you

want to check the voter registration,

410

:

you click on this link here.

411

:

And it gives you a simple link and

it goes to you know, you put your

412

:

first name, last name, address,

your birth date, email address.

413

:

We don't hold this information.

414

:

This goes directly through a third

party to the government to broker, which

415

:

brokers between the different states.

416

:

It goes to your state and the

information that we get from the state.

417

:

Again the privacy policy, terms

of services, all of that is here.

418

:

And you get information back

from the state that shows you if

419

:

you're registered to vote or not.

420

:

Very important because we want to

make sure that you have registered

421

:

and your registration should show up.

422

:

So this is, and there are

other tools like that, right?

423

:

So I'll not go over all the tools.

424

:

Please explore on your own.

425

:

Again, it's.

426

:

Hindu vote dot org.

427

:

We also track a number of bills.

428

:

These bills are all here

from the Hindu perspective.

429

:

And we also have a legislative report

card which says how many legislators like

430

:

people in the House of Representatives

or Senate support a bill that we

431

:

support as Hindus or oppose it.

432

:

The guide that Mohinderji

showed is voter guide.

433

:

It's right here.

434

:

We also have the Hindu American agenda.

435

:

And there's one more thing,

and I'll show you that.

436

:

So, Mohindraji talked about the agenda.

437

:

He also briefly kind of flashed on the

screen the candidate questionnaire.

438

:

So we converted this

agenda into questionnaire.

439

:

And this questionnaire was, as a survey,

was sent to all the candidates for

440

:

House of Representatives and the Senate.

441

:

So it basically went out to

1, 076 candidates who are

442

:

running for various offices.

443

:

Republicans, Democrats, Independents

you know, Green Party candidates,

444

:

and everyone you can think of.

445

:

Okay, so all of them got the

survey and as they fill out, I'll

446

:

show you where the answers come.

447

:

We also have a unique guide for temples

and non profits, and this is the guide

448

:

which tells the mandirs and the non

profit what they can and cannot do

449

:

legally during the election, like setting

up the polling booth or setting up

450

:

the candidate debates, they can issue

statements, how they could do all that

451

:

without jeopardizing their 501c3 status.

452

:

So with that, let me first, before I

go to the main website, these are the

453

:

standing posters and we have been putting

these informative standing posters on

454

:

in various, on several Mandir premises.

455

:

So you can see we have now about, I think

we have reached about, 30, 35, 35 or so.

456

:

And I think by election, we will

have reached about 50 of these

457

:

Mondays where we are putting up the

posters about need to, you know,

458

:

why do we need to register to vote?

459

:

We also have podcasts available as

part of our conversations over coffee.

460

:

But now Without further ado, let me

just show this main website that we have

461

:

created that I've been talking about.

462

:

So Hindu vote guide to elections 2024.

463

:

So you come here and the first

thing you see is you can have

464

:

it in many languages by the way.

465

:

And, but you can come to this website

and you can enter any zip code or you

466

:

can enter an address, any address in us.

467

:

And you can search the candidates.

468

:

So, for example, I'll

put a zip code:

469

:

This is a zip code in San

Diego, for example, right?

470

:

I don't need to enter address

because I already have a zip code.

471

:

Otherwise, I enter the address

and it maps to the same thing.

472

:

And then I click on search.

473

:

When I click on search here.

474

:

I see all the candidates for House

of Representatives, for the U.

475

:

S.

476

:

Senate, and some other information

like tools and videos and articles

477

:

and all of the other stuff.

478

:

So now I say, well, you

know, this is interesting.

479

:

I have a Republican, I have

a Republican and a Democrat.

480

:

Republican in this case is Peter

Bono, Democratic Scott Peters

481

:

Democratic Senate candidate is

Adam Schiff, and the Republican

482

:

Senate candidate is Steve Garvey.

483

:

Well, let me find out a little

bit more about Adam Schiff.

484

:

Right.

485

:

Just want to know about him.

486

:

So I click about on Adam Schiff.

487

:

Now, remember the goal is of this

website is to help a decision.

488

:

We don't endorse a candidate.

489

:

We want you to be informed.

490

:

So you make a decision as to whether the

candidate is worthy of your vote or not.

491

:

Okay, so we look at, there's a

brief bio, social media handles.

492

:

And once you keep going down,

you say, okay, well, who is

493

:

giving money to this candidate?

494

:

How much has the candidate raised?

495

:

Remember, this is as of the reporting

date that is available, that is

496

:

available on federal elect site.

497

:

And this might be a little older for

Adam Schiff because he was in the house.

498

:

We have to, you know, we'll make sure

this connected to a Senate campaign.

499

:

We get to hear more about

this Senate candidacy.

500

:

So you'll see for all the candidates.

501

:

You'll see some contribution they

have received, loans, everything

502

:

else, again, it's directly from the

Federal Election Commission website.

503

:

We also have listed the political action

committees for example, Americans for

504

:

Hindus Hindu American political action

committee, IPAC americans for Hindus,

505

:

have they endorsed this candidate or not?

506

:

Are they supporting, have they funded it?

507

:

If Adam Schiff was funded by them,

you would actually see an amount here.

508

:

Since he has not received the

money or endorsement, you don't

509

:

see any amount of funding here.

510

:

And you can see MGAGE is a Muslim

Political Action Committee.

511

:

MPAC is again, Muslim

Public Affairs Committee.

512

:

BAPS has its own public affairs, Sam.

513

:

We want to give you a neutral

view of who is supporting or

514

:

not supporting the candidate.

515

:

Okay, so that is where is the

candidate getting money from?

516

:

The second is a really, really unique

way of representing a candidate.

517

:

What we have here is all the

relationships that Adam Schiff has.

518

:

So, for example, Adam Schiff As you

can see here is a Democrat if there

519

:

was substantial amount, we would

have listed major donors, we would

520

:

have listed the name if that was in

public domain and available as current

521

:

information, then we can see the issues

that are important to Adam Schiff.

522

:

So for example, he has talked about racism

and reflections on racism in America.

523

:

And there's a source, you can

click on it, you can explore it.

524

:

That is a speech that he has given

at the House of Representatives.

525

:

He has talked about racial

bias in healthcare, right?

526

:

These are the issues that

are important to him.

527

:

He has also talked about

Israel and anti Semitism.

528

:

So you can see the source

where he has talked about that.

529

:

He has also talked about

the Russian interference.

530

:

And, the title of the news item

was the quiet anger of Adam Schiff.

531

:

And he talks about Russian

interference and then his key writings.

532

:

There's some key writings here

telephone metadata from Reform

533

:

Act that he talked about the

domestic phone records and all that.

534

:

He talked about the Freedom of Press

Act that he has written about which

535

:

is the Daniel Pearl Foundation Freedom

of the Press Act that was passed.

536

:

And then he has issued a

statement of support for Israel

537

:

as official house statement.

538

:

That is his key writing.

539

:

So you can now you can look at his record

and you can say, is this candidates?

540

:

Does this candidates

values, writings, thoughts?

541

:

caucus membership.

542

:

Does it align with your thinking?

543

:

Does it align with the

Hindu interest or not?

544

:

Right.

545

:

And the questionnaire that we

talked about a little earlier,

546

:

this is the questionnaire.

547

:

This questionnaire aligns

with the Hindu agenda.

548

:

So you can see that we'd ask about the

candidates vision and why, what they want

549

:

to do, why they want to run for election.

550

:

There are three questions about that.

551

:

Very simple.

552

:

Then the Hindu hatred question and the

Mandir vandalism question is combined

553

:

into a single question and that is To

counter the growing hate instances do

554

:

you support this House Resolution 1131

that was proposed by Shri Thanedar

555

:

in condemning Hindu phobia, anti

Hindu bigotry and other purposes?

556

:

So we want to know if a candidate Whether

it's Adam Schiff or his opponent or any

557

:

candidate running for Congress, House

or Senate, what is their response?

558

:

They've all been sent this custom link,

and they click on the link and they

559

:

respond to this simple question that

should take no more than five minutes to

560

:

respond to, if they have thought about

these issues, then it automatically

561

:

gets populated on this website.

562

:

If they have not responded to, then it

will just say, waiting for the responses.

563

:

And then there are affirmative action,

what do you think about affirmative

564

:

action, about the immigration policy,

about international human rights, about

565

:

the foreign policy again, it mirrors

exactly the Hindu American, American Hindu

566

:

agenda is reflected in this questionnaire.

567

:

And then there are some more, And that

is what the candidate we think that

568

:

these are important questions for our

community to know about for example

569

:

what the candidate thinks about the gun

control issue and about the abortion.

570

:

Again, we are passing no judgment on it.

571

:

We just want to know what

the candidate position is.

572

:

And then here are the, remember I told

you that the, we track the voting records

573

:

or who is who is sponsoring a particular

legislation or a bill or resolution.

574

:

And we are, we follow that and we

say, okay, does this, candidate's

575

:

position in alignment with the

position that we as Hindu PAC on

576

:

behalf of the Hindu community hold.

577

:

And if there's no position

taken, then you'd see an A.

578

:

But in case of Adam Schiff, if you go

down with the Hate Crime Commission Act

579

:

of 2023, we think it should be supported.

580

:

Adam Schiff has supported it.

581

:

So we give them a thumbs up.

582

:

If there are cases where we don't support

it, we'll give them a thumbs down.

583

:

And there's one more part of this website.

584

:

Now, this is important part of the survey.

585

:

This is we want to know here

what you think about a candidate

586

:

as a voter in his constituency.

587

:

Has he been involved with the Hindu Hindu

American community in his constituency?

588

:

Do you think he appreciates

the Hindu American community?

589

:

If you don't know, you

can just say neutral.

590

:

I'm just randomly picking, right?

591

:

Because he's not my senate candidate.

592

:

So I don't know really

whether what he is doing.

593

:

I'm just demonstrating

a website at this stage.

594

:

Do you believe that he would be a strong

advocate for US India relationship?

595

:

I don't know.

596

:

I would just say, yeah, sure.

597

:

Why not?

598

:

Do you believe that this candidate

is aware and appreciates of the

599

:

growing level of hate being directed

at the American Hindu community?

600

:

We saw that he supported one legislation.

601

:

We'll just say strongly agree.

602

:

And does he promote merit based

educational opportunities?

603

:

If you don't think he

agrees, then you can say no.

604

:

Again, I'm just demonstrating a website.

605

:

I don't know what his position

is on any of these things.

606

:

So this is how we vote.

607

:

And then, you know, You can then if there

are enough number of survey responses to

608

:

make it statistically significant, then

you would see the survey responses here.

609

:

The idea is that you want to know

what your fellow Hindus are thinking

610

:

about this particular candidate.

611

:

And that is yet another way

of judging the candidate.

612

:

So we have five different

ways of judging a candidate.

613

:

You judge the candidate based on the,

what voters in his or her district

614

:

saying or state saying about the

candidate from the Hindu perspective.

615

:

What are the bills or resolutions that

the candidates supporting, whether

616

:

they're in agreement with the position

that we as Hindu Pact have taken.

617

:

We have here a response to

the questionnaire that we

618

:

sent, all the relationships.

619

:

and the speeches that the

candidate has given and all the

620

:

political action committees and

funding that candidate gets.

621

:

So these are the ways that we evaluate

a candidate using this website.

622

:

Again, very unique, haven't

seen this and any other faith

623

:

based website at all so far.

624

:

Now, let me go back and

show you one final thing.

625

:

I'll remember I had mentioned earlier

that we actually track the candidates

626

:

and we We have a legislative report card.

627

:

So let me show you what that looks like.

628

:

These are the bills that we track.

629

:

A quick demo on what we are tracking.

630

:

So all the bills at what

stage the bills are in.

631

:

Hindu vote website is absolutely critical

for all the Hindus because they can

632

:

see what is going on without going

through, all the news items and fumbling

633

:

through all the sources to find out

what is important of Hindus in Congress.

634

:

You can just go to this one page and

you can see all the bills in House and

635

:

Senate that are being tracked by HinduPAC.

636

:

To make things even simpler, we

also have a legislative report card.

637

:

So every two years we update this and

we say, okay, you know, how are the,

638

:

in the past and this current Congress,

what are the bills that are important?

639

:

Same bills that we showed

earlier in the bill tracker.

640

:

Now we have all the candidates.

641

:

who have opined on these

bills one way or the other.

642

:

And we can show you who are supporting

Hindu causes with a thumbs up and

643

:

who are supporting, not supporting

the Hindu causes with thumbs down.

644

:

Now these are politicians, so

you can see some of them have

645

:

a thumbs up and thumbs down.

646

:

So now we leave it to you whether,

you know, to weigh the pros

647

:

and cons if they're one thumbs

up and one thumbs down, right?

648

:

But this is how we, we have 160

candidates all scored over here.

649

:

Okay.

650

:

So with that done, I go back to

this website and I want to show

651

:

you a couple of other things.

652

:

These are some really two of

our leaders Deepak Karthik is

653

:

leading the Hindu vote initiative.

654

:

And she's the executive

director for Hindu vote.

655

:

Deepthi Mahajan is the co convener

of HinduPact, a Hindu policy

656

:

research and advocacy collective.

657

:

Deepa and Deepti have done

a lot of show appearances.

658

:

They were in the Shree Iyer show,

which is a very popular show on

659

:

Vibhuti Jha's show called Jaipur

Dialogues and various others.

660

:

So please, check them out.

661

:

The links are on our website.

662

:

We do a podcast.

663

:

We just released them

yesterday, three of them.

664

:

So check out the podcast.

665

:

You'll see the link to the

podcast on our website as well.

666

:

Okay.

667

:

With that Mohinderji, that is

pretty much what I had to cover.

668

:

I'll turn it over to you

to see if other comments.

669

:

Speaker 2: Now, thank

you very much Ajayji.

670

:

Even I learned quite a

bit in your presentation.

671

:

Navigating through the website all the

all the wonderful work that has been done.

672

:

I can tell you that this level of

information, this level of awareness,

673

:

this level of that created, it is

not common to see this level of, the

674

:

information and the tools being made

available to the voters anywhere.

675

:

I have seen it in many other countries

where I've worked from the World Bank

676

:

and the United Nations, this level

of voter education, voter awareness,

677

:

the level of information that you

are putting at the tips of their

678

:

fingers to be able to make an informed

choice and a conscious decision.

679

:

That is very rare.

680

:

So, heartiest congratulations to you and

your team for having done this great work.

681

:

You're part of our team.

682

:

I'm a newbie.

683

:

So you have inducted me recently.

684

:

So I'm still learning my way

through more and more impressed.

685

:

As I see, I'm getting

more and more impressed.

686

:

One appeal that I would like to make

to the Hindu community here in the US

687

:

is do make better use of your mans to

create awareness in the Hindu community

688

:

about the public policy choices.

689

:

We are not talking about

the partisan politics.

690

:

We are not talking about party politics.

691

:

We are not talking about

electoral politics.

692

:

We are talking about public policies.

693

:

And the Mondays should be at the

vanguard of creating awareness.

694

:

In the Hindu community or the temple

communities on what are the public

695

:

policies, how they affect you, what are

the pros and cons of those, and what is it

696

:

that you can do about it, what you need to

do about it and what you can do about it.

697

:

So become much better, much

more informed citizen about

698

:

the policies that affect you.

699

:

And the Mandirs should play that

role because that is one place

700

:

where everybody gets together.

701

:

And also for the Mandir executives,

They also should inform themselves

702

:

that being a 501c3 or religious based

does not mean that you will not speak

703

:

up for the concerns of your community.

704

:

You should be the anchor You should be

the leader of raising the concerns of

705

:

your community for the welfare of your

community so that is the only appeal that

706

:

I would make and not a self promotion,

but I would just like to say that I'm

707

:

a president of the Global Hindu Temple

Network America and Managing trustee of

708

:

Global Hindu Temple Network in India And

that is what we are trying to do through

709

:

Global Hindu Temple Network that is The

temples should become the, not only the

710

:

places of religious worship, but also

places of social consciousness and re

711

:

energization of the Hindu communities

everywhere should become center of

712

:

social activities, cultural activities,

religious activities economic activities,

713

:

but bring more social cohesion and

public policy awareness, not only for

714

:

yourself, but also for your community.

715

:

younger generation for your children

and younger generation and bring them

716

:

to the temple, become aware of the

public policies that will affect their

717

:

future and become much more proactive.

718

:

So, again, happy Diwali and wish

you all a wonderful election day

719

:

and a wonderful election results.

720

:

Speaker: Thank you.

721

:

Thank you, Mohinderji.

722

:

And I'll close with one final appeal.

723

:

All this take a resources

and a lot of funds.

724

:

So my appeal to the community would

be that please go to hindupac.

725

:

org slash donation.

726

:

And just go to our website, click

on donation button on hinduvote.

727

:

org, click on donation button anywhere,

any of the websites, so hindupac.

728

:

org or hinduvote.

729

:

org, click on the donation button

and help us as much as you can,

730

:

because none of this is done on cheap.

731

:

It does take a lot of resources, to

develop a sophisticated website like this,

732

:

we would appreciate the community support

in enhancing support and maintaining this

733

:

website and really create a professional

grade, resource for our community.

734

:

We are a 501c3.

735

:

All the donations are

absolutely tax deductible.

736

:

And again, we are not

endorsing any candidates.

737

:

We are just providing tools for voter

to evaluate the candidates who will vote

738

:

in, alignment with the Hindu community.

739

:

So with I will everyone happy Diwali and

happy election thank you for Namaste.

740

:

Speaker 2: Namaste to everyone.

741

:

Speaker: is you know

Show artwork for HinduLounge: Conversations over Coffee

About the Podcast

HinduLounge: Conversations over Coffee
Join hosts Ajay Shah and others as they talk to fascinating guests about contemporary Hindu issues and Hindu dharma
HinduLounge: Conversations over Coffee is brought to you by HinduPACT, Hindu Policy Research and Advocacy Collective, an initiative of World Hindu Council of America (VHPA). HinduLounge: Conversations over Coffee brings you fascinating guests to talk on issues from American Hindu perspective.

About your host

Profile picture for Ajay Shah

Ajay Shah