United Hindu Groups Host Two Dozen Vigils Nationwide to Honor Hindus Slaughtered in Pahalgam, India by Islamist Terrorists: Demand Accountability for Pakistan's State-Sponsored Islamist Terrorism

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- HinduPACT, Americans for Hindus (A4H), Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA), Federation of Indians and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS), Global Hindu Temple Network (GHTN), Global Hindu Heritage Foundation (GHHF), Kashmiri Overseas Association (KOA), Hindu American Foundation (HAF), Hindu Mandir Empowerment Council (HMEC), Hindu Swaymasevak Sangh (HSS), HinduDvesha, The Avanti Foundation, Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA), and American Hindu Federation (AHF), Voice of Hindus, all came together in solidarity with a unified call to end global Islamist terrorism.

On April 22, 2025, twenty-five Hindu men in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, India, were executed by Islamist terrorists affiliated with The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba. Eyewitnesses confirm that the terrorists performed a litmus test on each of the tourists to verify their religious identity by asking them to recite Kalma (Islamic prayer) and then stripped them to confirm if they were circumcised. Upon confirmation of their Hindu identity, the Hindu men were mercilessly executed in front of their families. 

Participants lit candles, recited prayers, and observed a moment of silence for the twenty-five Hindus whom Islamist jihadists slaughtered. They also carried signs that read, "Justice for Pahalgam," "Stop State-Sponsored Islamist Terror," and "Stop Killing Hindus." Vigil organizers stressed that this was a matter of human rights and religious freedom, transcending regional or national politics.

Additional prayer vigils are planned in Washington, DC, and Los Angeles, CA. Under HMEC, all Hindu temples have jointly organized a virtual prayer meeting.

This heinous act is the latest in a long history of attacks on Hindus in Kashmir, including the 1990 ethnic cleansing of nearly 400,000 Kashmiri Hindus, the 2000 Amarnath massacre, and the 2002 Qasim Nagar massacre. It is also the historical continuity of attacks on Hindus and desecration of temples in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

A Nationwide Cry for Justice and Recognition

Our call is simple, concluded Dr. Ajay Shah, Founder of HinduPACT: "Religious freedom must apply to Hindus too. Human dignity must include Hindu lives too. The victims of Pahalgam are not statistics; they are our brothers and sisters. We will remember and will demand justice. Pakistan-sponsored drip-drip genocide of Hindus must stop."

Shyam Tiwari, Chief Spokesperson for VHPA, calling for decisive action, said, "We call upon the world leaders to unite in fighting Islamist terrorism looming over humanity at large and ensure its total destruction."

The Islamist terror attacks have again highlighted the darkest, most visceral face of anti-Hindu hate. Pahalgam was not an isolated incident, but part of a broader pattern of religiously driven hate against Hindus, said CoHNA president Nikunj Trivedi. "We call upon leaders around the world to fight back against this rising wave of Hinduphobia."

Suhag Shukla, Executive Director of HAF, stated, "This was a deliberate, brutal assault on innocent people whose only 'offense' was being Hindu. Families were hunted, religiously profiled, and murdered in cold blood, making this not just a tragedy for Indians, but a matter of deep concern to all who value religious freedom and human dignity."

Dr. Romesh Japra, Founder and President of Americans for Hindus (A4H), brings to attention that, "Terrorism will bring down Humanity if not eradicated from the world, and all world leaders must work together to eliminate terrorism as the priority."

"Tourism cannot whitewash the truth!" stated Uphaar Kotru, President of Kashmiri Overseas Organization. "Each attack reopens wounds we've never had the chance to heal. Our pain has been ignored for far too long."

Demands by the united Hindu community to US Legislators:

1. Recognition of the Pahalgam massacre as terrorism motivated by religion against Hindus.
2. Official designation of Pakistan as a "State Sponsor of Terrorism" by the United States.

We also demand an UN-led inquiry into systemic anti-Hindu violence in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Furthermore, the global media must acknowledge the Hindu victims of religious persecution and cease its complicity and sanitizing of Islamist terrorism by calling the perpetrators "militants" or "rebels."

Other leader statements:

Mohinder Gulati, President of Global Hindu Temple Network America, pointed out "the failure of the international organizations and international financial institutions to enforce the Treaties, Conventions, and their policies in dealing with Pakistan-sponsored Islamist terrorism."

Sanjeev Kak of The Avanti Foundation strongly condemned the extremely barbaric massacre of innocent tourists visiting Pahalgam by the Pakistan sponsored Jihadi terrorists.

Dr. Amit Desai, spokesperson for Voice of Hindus, said, "We are mourning the brutal killing of Hindu pilgrims in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, a shocking act of terror. We demand justice and global action against such religious violence."

Media Contact:
Ajay Shah
858 866 9661
[email protected] 

SOURCE HinduPACT