Denial of Hinduphobia in USA: Anti-Hindu 'historian' whitewashes hate crimes against Hindus, denigrates Hindutva
United States 
22 September, 2025
Case Summary
An article denying the existence of Hinduphobia in the United States was authored by Audrey Truschke, a well-known anti-Hindu scholar with a history of downplaying persecution of Hindus like the brutal crimes committed by Mughal rulers against Hindus. Her piece serves as a sinister propaganda effort, spreading falsehoods about the roots of anti-Hindu violence in the West and fuelling hatred against Hindus. On 23rd September 2025, Religion Dispatches published Truschke’s article titled “WHAT IN THE WHAT?? Hindu Nationalism, Explained.” The piece is steeped in animosity toward the Hindu community in the United States, falsely accusing ‘Hindu nationalists’ or ‘Hindutva ideologues’ of threatening America’s social fabric for over fifty years. Truschke argued that Hindus are manipulating American politics by disguising their political goals as religious practice to exploit religious liberty protections. She claimed, “In the last decade, they’ve injected their far-right ideas into California’s textbooks, inspired Steve Bannon, helped elect Trump, attacked local Democratic groups, tanked civil rights legislation, and intimidated Muslim Americans. Their latest agenda item is blocking Zohran Mamdani from becoming mayor of New York City.” Truschke endorsed Zohran Mamdani, a known anti-Hindu and anti-India political figure who has made offensive remarks against Hindus and India. Mamdani also falsely claimed the absence of Muslims in Gujarat, labelled Prime Minister Modi a “war criminal,” described Modi-supporting Hindus as “fascists,” and opposed the construction of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple, a Hindu temple rebuilt after being destroyed by Islamic invaders in medieval India. She even participated in rallies with slogans derogatory to Hindus. Truschke also portrayed Hindutva as an unwarranted ‘Hindu supremacy’ movement. She further dismissed the reality of Hinduphobia by selectively citing ‘scholars’ and ‘progressive’ Hindu Americans. These ‘progressive Hindu Americans’ notably include “Hindus for Human Rights” (HfHR), an organisation funded by George Soros and known for anti-Hindu and pro-Islamist positions. Her article stated: “Hindu nationalists frequently allege that they’re targeted as a religious minority, victims of what they call ‘Hinduphobia.’ Hindutva ideologues have popularised the concept of ‘Hinduphobia,’ but scholars and progressive Hindu Americans reject this framework, noting that no evidence exists for systematic religion-based discrimination or oppression of Hindus in the US.” Truschke falsely accused American Hindus of violence. She also denigrated the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu organisation, by associating it with Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, ignoring the organisation’s extensive social welfare work. Truschke also claimed a BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) operative attempted to assassinate a US citizen, omitting that the targeted individual was Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, an anti-Hindu and Khalistani terrorist known for orchestrating anti-India and anti-Hindu activities, including threats against Indian diplomats and critical Indian infrastructure. Between July 6, 2017, and August 28 this year, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the Canada-based legal advisor of the banned outfit Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), was booked in 22 cases in Punjab on various counts, including terror charges and sedition — apart from a case of sedition and other charges in Chandigarh dating back to 1990. Further vilifying Hindu figures, Truschke targeted Tulsi Gabbard, the former US Director of National Intelligence, implying that only Hindus detached from their heritage and critical of their faith qualify as ‘progressive,’ while those proud of their Hindu identity and nationalist values are labelled extremist and violent. In contrast, she portrayed Sunita Vishwanath of HfHR as a ‘progressive Hindu.’ Truschke also painted Hindus as a violent threat, writing that discussing Hindu nationalism is dangerous due to threats of violence from Hindu nationalists, framing Hindus as potential terrorists. Her article laments the global rise of Hindu nationalism, characterising it as a growing menace that requires counteraction. This article fits within the broader Islamo-leftist agenda actively promoting Hinduphobia in the US. Despite evidence of rising hate crimes and targeted attacks on Hindus and their places of worship, Truschke dismisses Hinduphobia as a fabrication, while subtly normalising anti-Hindu sentiment and violence under the guise of combating ‘Hindu nationalism.’ Contrary to Audrey Truschke’s insufferable denial of Hinduphobia in the USA, the Hinduphobia Tracker has documented numerous instances of anti-Hindu crimes across the country. One notable example involved the University of Houston’s online course, Lived Hindu Religion, sparked outrage for blatant Hinduphobia by misrepresenting Hinduism and falsely portraying it as a political tool of oppression. Taught by Professor Aaron Michael Ullrey, the course pushed controversial narratives, including that Hinduism is not an “ancient, lived tradition” but a construct weaponised by “Hindu nationalists” to silence minorities. American broadcaster NBC faced backlash for demonising Hindu deities in a “comic” sketch on its popular Saturday Night Live show that mocked a Satanic ritual. In September 2025, in Texas, Lord Hanuman, a Hindu deity, was mocked as a “false god” by Christian Republican politician Alexander Duncan, an act of blatant anti-Hindu hatred. That same month in Greenwood, Indiana, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, a Hindu temple, was vandalised and defaced with hateful slogans against India, including “Hindustan, Modi Murdabad” (meaning “Death to India and Modi”), targeting India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In April 2025, in Queens Village, New York, the Hindu flag displayed at a Hindu family’s home was desecrated and thrown into the garbage by an unidentified individual. Authorities classified the incident as a hate crime. Also in March 2025, the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) Senate at UC Berkeley voted against a resolution to officially recognise October as Hindu Heritage Month. The debate saw Hinduphobic behaviour from senators Isha Chander, Jonathan Franco, and Carlos Gonzalez, who displayed disrespectful conduct during discussions.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Hate Speech against Hindus. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Anti-Hindu subversion and prejudice. The tertiary category selected is- Anti-Hindu fake news or downplaying. Hate speech is defined as any speech, gesture, conduct, writing, or display that is prejudicial against a specific individual and/or group of people, which is leading to or may lead to violence, prejudicial action or hate against that individual and/or group. Media plays a specific and overarching reach in perpetuating prejudicial attitudes towards a community owing to unfair, untrue coverage and/or misrepresentation/misinterpretation, selective coverage and/or omission of facts of/pertaining to issues affecting a specific religious group. This type of bias can dehumanise the victim group, making it easier for others to justify harmful actions against them, which aligns with the objectives of hate speech laws aimed at preventing such harm. It is often observed that the media takes a prejudicial stand against the Hindu community driven by their need to shield the aggressor community which happens to be a numeric minority, however, is the one perpetrating violence against Hindus. For example, the media is often quick to contextualise religiously motivated crimes against Hindus, omit or misrepresent facts that point towards religiously motivated hate crimes, justify and/or downplay religiously motivated hate crimes or simply present fake news to stereotype Hindus. Such media bias leads to the denial of persecution and is often used to dehumanise Hindus, leading to justification for violence against them. For example, the media covered several fake allegations of Hindus targeting Muslims and forcing them to chant Jai Shree Ram. Most of these cases were proved false and fabricated after police investigation. These fake news reports were subsequently never retracted or clarified. Such fake news led to the justification of violence and dehumanisation of Hindus based on the argument that since Hindus targeted Muslims and forced them to chant Jai Shree Ram, the dehumanisation of Hindus and violence against them was par for the course and merely a retaliation. Such media bias leads to prejudicial portrayal of Hindus and offers a justification for violence against them and therefore, is considered hate speech under this category. This case is a clear instance of anti-Hindu hate speech targeting the Hindu community. Audrey Truschke, a well-known anti-Hindu historian, previously authored a book glorifying Aurangzeb, the cruel Mughal Islamic tyrant who desecrated numerous Hindu temples, killed thousands of Hindus, and forcibly converted many to Islam. She has whitewashed his brutal history and downplayed the suffering inflicted on Hindus under his reign. In her recent article, Truschke falsely accused Hindu nationalism or Hindutva of being a supremacist and violent movement, demonising Hinduism as a whole and inciting hatred against Hindus in America at a time when anti-Hindu crimes are rising. It is important to note that 'Hindutva' is often used as a euphemism to make the targeting of Hindus more palatable. Hindutva is essentially a unifying ideology for Hindus, which became imperative for Hindus to find and preserve their cultural identity, which was being eroded and attacked due to Islamic invasions, British colonisation, Christian theological impositions and conversions. Hindutva is not a destructive ideology, as some attempt to portray, but one that is used as a unifying edifice for Hindus. Hindutva is also often used as a euphemism to target Hindus on the whole and their religious identity and faith. It is essentially semantic jugglery to confuse Hindus into believing that their own persecution by supremacists is somehow 'justified' because the specific victims espoused an ideology (Hindutva) which deserves the onslaught. The use of the term ‘Hindutva’ merely as a façade to mask animosity towards Hindus was clearly demonstrated at the “Dismantling Global Hindutva” conference held in the USA, in which Audrey Truschke participated. At this event, speakers openly stated that Hindutva and Hinduism were indistinguishable, arguing that to “dismantle Hindutva”, one would necessarily have to “dismantle Hinduism” itself. This conflation reveals the conference’s true intention: to attack not only the political ideology of Hindutva but the Hindu faith and community as a whole. The practices of targeting Hindus and their religious and cultural identity, and justifying that victimisation and dehumanisation by using euphemisms like "Hindutva", stem from inherent animosity and hostility towards Hindus. The accused further claimed American Hindus manipulate politics and exploit religious liberty protections, making baseless accusations that they sought to block Zohran Mamdani from becoming mayor of New York City. She ignored the fact that Mamdani is a rabid anti-Hindu figure who falsely accused Hindus and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of eradicating Muslims from Gujarat—a fabricated claim—while labelling Modi-supporting Hindus as fascists. Mamdani also opposed the construction of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple, a shrine that had been desecrated by Muslim invaders and rebuilt after years of dedicated effort by Hindus, and he participated in protests where anti-Hindu slogans were raised. Despite clear evidence of Mamdani’s anti-Hindu hostility, Truschke presented Hindus as aggressors trying to hijack and manipulate American politics. This classic tactic of smearing an entire community with unfounded accusations fosters hatred, discrimination, and subjugation of Hindus in the United States. Furthermore, Truschke quoted the group “Hindus for Human Rights,” an organisation known for its anti-Hindu, anti-India, and pro-Islamist stance, to deny the existence of Hinduphobia. She dismissed all evidence of discrimination and violence against Hindus in the US as fabrications. Moreover, Truschke accused American Hindus of violence without evidence, which again fuels unwarranted hatred and increases the risk of future attacks on the Hindu community. She also denigrated the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu organisation renowned for decades of extensive social service, by associating it with extremists and the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, Nathuram Godse. This deliberate attempt to malign a respected Hindu institution underscores her intense animus toward Hindus. Truschke further targeted Hindu political figures in the US, including Tulsi Gabbard, for not conforming to her leftist worldview, reflecting deep-seated hatred for Hindus who express pride in their identity. She portrayed all Hindu nationalism as dangerous and attempted to frame Hindus as potential terrorists, perpetuating a narrative of fear and hostility toward the Hindu community. Contrary to Truschke’s claims, the Hinduphobia Tracker has documented numerous anti-Hindu hate crimes across the US. Denying or downplaying the reality of Hinduphobia exemplifies deep-rooted hatred that silences Hindus and allows their oppression based on religious identity to continue unchecked. The statements and narratives advanced by Truschke meet the criteria of anti-Hindu hate speech and are therefore being included in the Hinduphobia Tracker’s hate crime database.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Others
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
female
Sources 
