‘Bridge Initiative’ at Georgetown Univ. biased against Hindus, says Indian think tank
Updated: December 23, 2023 3:36
A report by the Centre for Integrated and Holistic Studies (CIHS), a New-Delhi based think tank, has said that the Bridge Initiative at Georgetown University in the United States is biased against Hindu organisations and Hindu community.
In a 22-page report titled ‘Expose on glaring bias against Hindus: Georgetown University’s Bridge Initiative’ published on December 4, 2023, the CIHS has raised concerns about “academic integrity and objectivity of the research and publications” by the University’s Bridge Initiative and its “agenda-driven bias against the Hindu faith, heritage and culture.”
Referring to ‘Hindutva in Britain’, a report published recently by the US-based Bridge Initiative at Georgetown University and the UK’s Community Policy Forum, an entity claiming to protect Muslim interests in the UK, the CIHS said, “The report (dated November 24, 2023) aspired to falsely implicate Hindu-centric organisations for anti-India, anti-Hindu unrest in Leicester, UK.” Leicester had witnessed anti-Hindu violence and vandalism following a match between Pakistan and India in September 2022.
The CIHS report also criticised the labelling of Hindu organisations as the promoters of “Islamophobia”.
“In 2021, the Bridge Initiative published a flawed and malicious fact sheet concerning world’s largest Hindu-centric people’s movement, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) which is headquartered in India. In that fact sheet, Bridge Initiative falsely implicated several American Hindu organisations, including Hindu American Foundation (HAF), calling them as the promoters of Islamophobia,” the CIHS in its report said.
According to the think tank, “The report (‘Hindutva in Britain’) is a component of a larger context that encompasses a series of publications by the Bridge Initiative. These publications also make controversial claim of an ongoing Muslim genocide in India.”
The Bridge Initiative “faced extensive criticism for their agenda-driven bias against the Hindu faith, heritage and culture. The inaccurate portrayal of Hindu-centric organisations, especially within the American Hindu community in the United States, has triggered debates and legal consequences for the Bridge Institute,” the CIHS report said.
HAF filed a lawsuit against the Bridge Initiative for “wrongly accusing them of Islamophobia” as it argued that the fact sheet contained “factual errors and false insinuations”.
The CIHS report also alleged that despite facing criticism for lack of academic rigour and displaying institutional bias, it continued to publish ‘factsheets’, without addressing the serious concerns raised about their scholarship and merit. “These documents often labelled as factsheets on global Hindu-centric organisations have been highlighted for blurring distinctions between Islamo-phobia and Islamo-fascism,” the CIHS said in its report.
The persistent allegations and the funding by figures like Saudi businessman Alwaleed Bin Talal, coupled with the anti-semitic underpinnings of some supporters, add layers of complexity and suspicion, the report further said. “The case in context surrounding the Bridge Initiative at Georgetown University, particularly its propagation of biased and inaccurate information against Hindu communities and organisations, raises profound concerns about ethical responsibilities of academic institutions,” the CIHS report added.
The Bridge Initiative has been accused of “repeatedly spreading misinformation and biases” against Hindu organisations and Hindus, specifically American Hindus living in the US, the CIHS said.
“On May 25, 2023, .. a deeply flawed and misleading factsheet by Bridge Initiative at Georgetown University targeting Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA) sparked a widespread criticism with assertions labelling it as a repeat offender of Hindu-phobia and peddler of anti-Hindu sentiment,” the report said.
“In 2022, the initiative came up with an erroneous proposition that Muslim Genocide in India was underway.”
Founded in 1789, Georgetown University is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit institution in the United States and has a complex history reflecting broader societal attitudes, including those related to slavery and racial discrimination. In 1993, a partnership was established between Foundation pour ‘Entente entre Chretiens et Musulmans in Geneva and Georgetown University. This collaboration culminated in the creation of a centre focused on enhancing mutual comprehension between Muslim world and West and facilitating dialogue between Islamic and Christian faiths.
