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US state of Georgia has proposed legislation that aims to officially recognize Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu bigotry, the very first of such bills in the United States. The Senate Bill 375 (SB 375) was put forward in the Georgia General Assembly on April 4 and endorsed by a group of bipartisan legislators.
If passed into law, the bill will alter Georgia’s penal code, making it possible for law enforcement authorities to officially acknowledge Hinduphobia while pursuing possible instances of discrimination and hate crimes.
Bipartisan Support for an Emerging Issue
The legislation has been co-sponsored by Republican Senators Shawn Still and Clint Dixon and Democratic Senators Jason Esteves and Emanuel Jones. Its timing is against the backdrop of increased alarm from Indian-American leaders and activist organizations regarding the uptick in Hindu-hate crimes across the nation.
“Over the last few years, we’ve experienced a notable rise in hate crimes against Hindus nationwide,” stated Senator Shawn Still, sponsor of the bill. “This legislation is a crucial step in confronting those concerns and making sure that our laws guard every community.”
The bill, which has been proposed, has defined Hinduphobia as a “set of hostile, destructive, and derogatory attitudes and behaviors towards Hinduism,” and will mandate state and local law enforcement departments to take it into consideration while enforcing anti-discrimination law.
The Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA), an advocacy group that has closely worked with lawmakers on the issue, welcomed the move.
We are honored to partner with Senator Shawn Still and thank him, Senators Emanuel D. Jones, Jason Esteves, and Clint Dixon, for showing support for the Hindu community in Georgia and America,” said CoHNA in a release. “Georgia becomes the first state to bring such a bill, and if enacted, will make history once again.
This bill is an improvement on the efforts made in April 2023, when Georgia General Assembly endorsed a resolution decrying Hinduphobia as well as anti-Hindu bigotry, also acknowledging Hinduism as one of the world’s oldest religions and with more than 1.2 billion worshippers worldwide.
Hindu Community in Georgia
As per the 2023-2024 Pew Research Center Religious Landscape Study, Hindus are around 0.9% of the population of the United States with around 2.5 million practitioners throughout the country. There are over 40,000 Hindus who live within Georgia state itself, most in the metropolitan Atlanta region.
Forsyth County, which has one of Georgia’s largest Indian-American and Hindu communities, was instrumental in the passage of the 2023 resolution, spearheaded by Republican Representatives Todd Jones and Lauren McDonald.
Combating Rising Hate Crimes
The legislation arrives at a time when Indian-American leaders have been raising concerns about rising Hinduphobia in the United States. According to the Hinduphobia Tracker maintained by the Gavishti Foundation, over 1,300 incidents of religiously motivated hate crimes against Hindus have been recorded since January 2023.
Democratic Congressman Shri Thanedar also recognized the problem in a 2024 session with Hindu organizations, urging concrete measures to combat hate crimes against the community.
Activists like Suhag Shukla of the Hindu American Foundation have also emphasized the spread of anti-Hindu prejudice, especially on university campuses, citing a lack of knowledge about Hinduism among policymakers and law enforcement.
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