Diaspora group, Church leaders urge cancellation of Dallas event featuring Indian speaker with controversial record

By A Representative

The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), a U.S.-based civil rights advocacy group, has called for the cancellation of a scheduled event in Dallas, Texas, featuring Indian speaker Kajal Singhala, also known as Kajal Hindustani. The event, set to take place on June 29 at Bhartiya Nivas, is being organized by the Global Hindu Heritage Foundation (GHHF) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA).

In a statement, IAMC expressed concern over Singhala’s reported history of delivering inflammatory speeches in India. The organization cited findings by media outlets and research groups that have accused Singhala of making statements targeting religious minorities, including Muslims and Christians.

IAMC President Mohammad Jawad said the group’s primary concern is the potential normalization of hate speech and incitement in American public life. “We must be clear that there is no place for bigotry, incitement, or religious hatred in our city,” Jawad stated. He urged elected officials, interfaith leaders, and civil society groups in Dallas to oppose the event.

Singhala, a political commentator from the Indian state of Gujarat, has been featured in domestic media and tracking reports by groups such as India Hate Lab. According to their data, Singhala delivered dozens of speeches in 2023 and 2024 that allegedly included calls for violence and boycotts against religious minorities. She has also been subject to legal proceedings in India over some of her public statements.

IAMC also pointed to previous incidents involving VHPA, including a 2021 attempt to host Indian religious figure Yati Narsinghanand, which was canceled following public backlash due to his controversial statements.

Neither VHPA nor GHHF immediately responded to requests for comment on IAMC’s statement. The event remains listed on community calendars as of Thursday.

IAMC describes itself as the largest advocacy organization of Indian Muslims in the United States, with chapters across the country. The group has previously raised concerns about what it describes as the "transnational spread" of religious and political extremism from South Asia to diaspora communities abroad.

Church leaders' plea

A coalition of over 30 Christian leaders and churches from across the United States and India has issued a joint statement condemning an upcoming event in Dallas featuring Hindu nationalist figure Kajal Singhala, also known as Kajal Hindustani. The statement, released by the New York State Council of Churches and The Religious Nationalisms Project, calls for the event’s cancellation, warning that it promotes religious hatred and threatens the safety and dignity of religious minorities.
“Within 24 hours, we gathered signatures from a broad-based and ecumenical group of Christian clergy and laity,” said Rev. Neal Christie, Principal of the Religious Nationalisms Project. “We represent a wide spectrum of Christian denominations—Methodist, Lutheran, Baptist, Anglican, Presbyterian—united by the belief that religious hatred has no place in our communities.”
Christian leaders warned that giving a platform to such ideologies in the United States undermines American values of religious freedom and inclusion, while endangering local South Asian Christian and Muslim communities.
“This ideology has already wreaked havoc across India—churches burned, prayer gatherings attacked, pastors jailed on baseless charges,” said the statement. “Bringing its advocates to U.S. soil, especially in a diverse city like Dallas, sends the dangerous message that hate is welcome here.”
The joint letter denounced Singhala's repeated use of slurs and calls for violence and social exclusion of minorities. Citing her speech record, the signatories argue that hosting her legitimizes hate speech under the guise of cultural or religious expression.
Notably, Singhala has previously been condemned by leading Christian organizations, including the National Council of Churches of Christ, United Methodist Church, and United Church of Christ, among others.
The letter concludes with a call for action: “We urge the venue and local officials to cancel this event immediately. Religious bigotry and hate speech—whether in India or America—must be challenged wherever it appears.”
Signatories include:
- Rev. Neal Christie, The Religious Nationalisms Project
- Rev. Peter Cook, New York State Council of Churches
- Martin Padeti, Texas Indian Christian Coalition
- Daniel Mutyala, Bible Believers Fellowship of Dallas
- Jensen John, Church of The Way Frisco
- Rev. Cece Jones-Davis, The Prophetic Convening
- Jorge Parrott, President, CMM.world
- Pastor MDaimai, World Road Church
Pastor Paul Sunkari, Indian Christian Church of Sacramento
- Elizabeth Mangalwadi, RevelationMovement.com
- Father Joshua Lickter, Incarnation Anglican Church
- Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell, American Baptist Churches of Wisconsin

Comments

Overriding India's constitutional sovereignty? Citizens urge PM to reject WHO IHR amendments

By A Representative A group of concerned Indian citizens, including medical professionals and activists, has sent an urgent appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to reject proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) before the ratification deadline of July 19, 2025.

Designing the edge, erasing the river: Sabarmati Riverfront and the dissonance between ecology and planning

By Mansee Bal Bhargava, Parth Patel Across India, old black-and-white images of the Sabarmati River are often juxtaposed with vibrant photos of the modern Sabarmati Riverfront. This visual contrast is frequently showcased as a model of development, with the Sabarmati Riverfront serving as a blueprint for over a hundred proposed riverfront projects nationwide. These images are used to forge an implicit public consensus on a singular idea of development—shifting from a messy, evolving relationship between land and water to a rigid, one-time design intervention. The notion of regulating the unregulated has been deeply embedded into public consciousness—especially among city makers, planners, and designers. Urban rivers across India are undergoing a dramatic transformation, not only in terms of their land-water composition but in the very way we understand and define them. Here, we focus on one critical aspect of that transformation: the river’s edge.

FSSAI defies Supreme Court order on food warning labels, citing 'trade secrets' for withholding vital information

By A Representative India’s food regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), is facing strong criticism for deliberately delaying the implementation of crucial warning labels on High Fat, Sugar, and Salt (HFSS) food products. This comes despite a clear Supreme Court order on April 9, 2025, which mandated the completion of the "entire exercise" within three months. Adding to the controversy, the FSSAI is reportedly hiding expert reports and over 14,000 public comments under the pretext of "trade secrets."

Ecological alarm over pumped storage projects in Western Ghats: Policy analyst writes to PM

By A Representative In a detailed letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, energy and climate policy analyst Shankar Sharma has raised grave concerns over the escalating approval and construction of Pumped Storage Projects (PSPs) across India’s ecologically fragile river valleys. He has warned that these projects, if pursued unchecked, could result in irreparable damage to the country’s riverine ecology, biodiversity hotspots, and forest wealth—particularly in the Western Ghats.

‘Act of war on agriculture’: Aruna Rodrigues slams GM crop expansion and regulatory apathy

By Rosamma Thomas* Expressing appreciation to the Union Agriculture Minister for inviting suggestions from farmers and concerned citizens on the sharp decline in cotton crop productivity, Aruna Rodrigues—lead petitioner in the Supreme Court case ongoing since 2005 that seeks a moratorium on genetically modified (GM) crops—wrote to Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on July 14, 2025, stating that conflicts of interest have infiltrated India’s regulatory system like a spreading cancer, including within the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).

Civil rights coalition condemns alleged abduction of activist Samrat Singh by Delhi police

By A Representative The Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), a collective of civil and democratic rights organisations, has strongly condemned what it describes as the illegal abduction of psychologist and social activist Samrat Singh by a team of Delhi Police officials. The incident occurred on the evening of July 12, 2025, at Singh’s residence in Yamunanagar, Haryana.

Gurdial Singh Paharpuri: A lifetime of revolutionary contribution and unfulfilled aspirations

By Harsh Thakor* Gurdial Singh Paharpuri, a Central Committee member of the Communist Party Re-Organisation Centre of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPRCI(ML)), passed away on July 2, marking a significant loss for the Indian Communist Revolutionary movement. For six decades, Singh championed the cause of revolution, leaving an enduring impact through his lifelong dedication to the global proletarian movement. His contributions are considered foundational, laying groundwork for future advancements in revolutionary thought. He is recognized as a key figure among Indian Communist revolutionary leaders who shaped the mass line, and his example is seen as a model for revolutionary communists to follow.

Historic Supreme Court ruling grants tribal women equal right to inherit property

By Raj Kumar Sinha* The Supreme Court of India has delivered a landmark judgment declaring that denying tribal women inheritance rights solely based on gender is unconstitutional. The court affirmed their equal right to ancestral property, stating that refusing a share in such property to a tribal woman or her legal heirs on the basis of sex is both unjust and unconstitutional.

A disconnect between data and daily life: India's inflation puzzle

By Hemantkumar Shah* In recent news, the government has announced that the inflation rate has reached a six-and-a-half-year low. According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation for June stood at just 2.1 percent, down from 2.82 percent in May. This is the lowest rate in 77 months, and the ministry even claims that food prices have fallen by 1.06 percent compared to last year.

Search This Blog