Attack on Hindu freedom of religion

*Trigger Warning* Hinduphobia, racism, Nazis

**Screenshot** Dharmics celebrating a festival with their ancient swastika symbol. Image description: A swastika symbol designed with orange, red, and yellow flowers and lamps. The red flowers are the right angles of the symbol, bordered with orange flowers, and surrounded by yellow flowers. The four dots are represented by four red flowers and four lamps. The whole symbol is surrounded by a red flower border, which is itself surrounded by orange flowers and more lamps, with another red flower border. That is surrounded with more yellow flowers and lamps.

There's a Hinduphobic campaign going on in California right now. The state legislature has a bill to ban the swastika, completely ignoring that the swastika is an ancient auspicious symbol of Indigenous Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains and that banning it is a direct attack on our freedom of religion.

The Nazis called their symbol hakenkreuz which means "hooked cross". It's all explained in this article I wrote that shows plenty of evidence of this historical fact. If the California legislature or anyone else wants to ban the Nazi symbol then they should be clear that they're talking about the hakenkreuz NOT the swastika so that minority Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains are not vilified, criminalized, and attacked for simply existing.

Note that Dharmics (Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains) face attacks not just from the racist, ignorant, and patriarchal right, but also from the racist, ignorant, and patriarchal LEFT.

Also note that this is happening in California, a state that has made a million businesses out of culturally appropriating everything Hindu for almost 100 years.

Also note that there have been bills like this before in New Jersey, New York, and Maryland - all states where there are a lot of Hindus. A bill like this has also been proposed in New South Wales in Australia, another place where there is a high concentration of Hindus. Do you know what this means? It means this is not just coming from an earnest but misguided leftist desire to fight Nazis. It's coming from actual bigotry. The left hates Hindus.

This is why the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) have a petition asking the California Assembly to make the bill clearly name the hakenkreuz and not the swastika. I ask you to support this petition and educate your communities about the difference between the hakenkreuz and the swastika. If you live in California, please sign this petition and share it with your community.