“It is a win against the far right,” wrote Audrey Truschke, a South Asian history professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey
Audrey Truschke, a South Asian history professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey took to Twitter to celebrate the dismissal of a lawsuit against her by Hindu American Foundation (HAF) calling it “a win against the far right!”, reported americanbazaaronline.
Besides Truschke, HAF had also named US based activists, Hindus for Human Rights co-founders Sunita Viswanath and Raju Rajagopal, Indian American Muslim Council executive director Rasheed Ahmed and Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America Chairman, John Prabhudoss.
The HAF in their 2021 lawsuit had objected to articles that appeared in Al Jazeera, stating five Hindu American groups including the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) received $833,000 in US federal funds despite their alleged ties to Hindu far-right groups like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The article also highlighted that HAF received the maximum share of the funding.
Audrey Truschke, was named in the lawsuit even though she was not quoted in the articles but only shared them on social media. The author of the articles, Raqib Hameed Naik was named in the lawsuit but not as a party to the legal case.
“This lawsuit is proof that groups like the Hindu American Foundation do not represent all Hindu Americans. We were not scared into silence.”
The HAF suit said that the articles and their sharing on social media led to “lost donations and reputational damage” for the organization. Dismissing the lawsuit on Dec 20, US District Judge for the District of Columbia, Amit Mehta said, “The court lacks personal jurisdiction and Plaintiff has failed to state a claim.”
“HAF fails to plausibly plead that any statement made by any defendant is verifiably false,” the judge said noting that “most of the statements in question were opinions.”
“Accordingly, this court finds that HAF fails to plead actual malice and thus fails to state a claim of defamation against all Defendants,” Mehta said.
“US District Judge Amit Mehta dismissed the Hindu American Foundation’s lawsuit against our co-founders Sunita and Raju and 3 other US activists who speak out against the political ideology of Hindu nationalism,” Hindus for Human Rights stated.
“This was a scare tactic intended to silence individuals and organizations who are bravely standing up to the rising force of Hindu nationalism–in the United States, India, and across the Indian diaspora” it said calling it “a huge win for all of us who believe in religious pluralism, civil rights, and human rights!”
“This lawsuit is proof that groups like the Hindu American Foundation do not represent all Hindu Americans. We were not scared into silence,” it said. “This dharmayuddha, or fight for justice, is not over.”
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