Press Release | February 10, 2025 | Subscribe  

ASC presents at The Religious Nationalism Summit Feb 6, 2025.

Kavneet Singh speaking on religious nationalism.

American Sikh Council (ASC) representative Kavneet Singh attended the Religious Nationalism Summit which was held at the United Methodist headquarters in Washington DC on Thursday Feb 6, 2025. This all-day conference was attended by about 60 attendees.

The focus of the conference was, ‘Countering Religious Nationalism and Multi-Faith Public Awareness in Today’s Political Climate’.

Kavneet Singh participated and was invited to speak on the Sikh perspective of how Sikhs are being impacted by Hindutva repression for decades.

The conference was attended by various religious faiths groups which included, Sikh, Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Buddhist and Hindu. Several local and many national religious advocacy organizations actively participated in this important event.

Kavneet Singh, Ria Chakravarthy and Dr. Evangeline Rajkumar during the panel discussion.

The conference included strategies to protect democracy, religious freedom, human dignity and human rights regardless of faith and/or identity in the US or abroad.

Kavneet Singh presented the harsh impact and reality of the Sikh experience with facts and references vis-a-vis the Brahminical Hinduism now known as Hindutva. He elaborated how the core of the Sikh religion is being hollowed out while decimating the Sikh heritage too, at a rapid pace, so as to coopt the faith into the corrosive sea of Brahminical Hinduism, permanently.

Shelly Fudge of the Jewish Voice for Peace another very articulate speaker was visibly moved on hearing the Sikh representative. She along with others pledged to continuing to support each other for positive change.

Ria Chakravarthy of the Hindus for Human Rights presenting the Hindu perspective.

Ria Chakravarthy an advocate for Hindus for Human Rights articulated the ongoing Hindu Nationalism agenda set by the RSS/BJP juggernaut, out to not only oppress all minorities but also snuff out all the same and moderate voices of Hinduism. 

Keith Swartzendruber of the National Council of Churches – NCC, highlighted the need for support and collaboration of all faiths to fight the scourge of government supported suppression of various religious minorities.

Rabbi Or Zohar from Rochester, an Israeli Jew who recently moved to the US shared his views about the rapid change of the moderate Jews to the right, reducing the chances of a two-state solution and for any long-term peace, with the indigenous Palestinian population.

Ari Zonneveld the founder of Muslims for Progressive Values, really pushed the boundaries of interfaith, by beseeching the audience to strongly work towards a genuine collective peacemaking process while stopping all kinds of religious nationalism(s).

American Sikh Council (ASC) continues to collaborate and work with all civil society organizations which align with ethical values in order to help humanity without impinging on each other to make a better world.

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The American Sikh Council is the umbrella organization representative of Sikhs in the United States. It is an elected body of Sikh Gurdwaras and institutions. Currently 76 Gurdwaras and other Sikh institutions across the nation are members of ASC. The major governing purpose of the organization is to represent the collective view of Sikhs in the United States. ASC works to promote Sikh interests at the national and international level focusing on issues of advocacy, education, and well-being of humankind.

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