More on the Hindu Liberation Workshop
Azi Khalili, International Liberation Reference Person for South, Central, and West Asian-Heritage People, recently led the Hindu Liberation Workshop for North America and the Caribbean. [See the articles “Hindu Liberation for North America and the Caribbean,” by B—, and “Impacts of the Hindu Liberation Workshop,” by S—, on page 74 of Present Time No. 205.]
At the first Hindu liberation workshop, Azi had shared that we are all the right Hindu, that there is no “better than or worse than,” that Hindus in the diaspora are not “less than.”
Much of what is called “Hindu” is directly connected to Indigenous spiritual traditions rooted in specific lands, tribes, languages, ethnicities. The two sides of my family pray to different gods and goddesses depending on the lands and villages they are from.
The workshop support groups were organized by caste. Caste has separated our people and communities. Harshness, violence, and oppression have been installed by caste for many years. In my support group I found it useful to focus on connection and enjoying each other. A good contradiction [to distress] is noticing that we have each other in the present. We need to keep building our relationships and trust to be fully aware of this.
I led a class on transforming society, as Hindus. (Azi added the “as Hindus” part.) I said that many people are suffering and being killed while a tiny group is making huge profits. The massive and increasing concentration of wealth in the hands of a few is the fundamental problem of our times. It is propped up by racism, imperialism, war, sexism, LGBTQ oppression, poverty, young people’s oppression, and all the other oppressions. It is robbery. It is a crisis of capitalism.
People’s heritages have been used against them to justify fascism, oppression, violence, and exploitation. Revolutionary histories have been suppressed and hidden in a deliberate miseducation process. We can learn about Hinduism’s revolutionary history and play a powerful role in the transformation of society. We get to embrace what is useful and stand with integrity against oppression.
Los Angeles, California, USA
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion list for leaders of South, Central, and West Asian-heritage people
(Present Time 205, October 2021)