Hinduism and Caste: Explaining Caste-Privilege and Ending Caste-Based Discrimination

March 16, 2015 By Padma Kuppa

My fellow Hindu American Foundation member, Raman Khanna, recently posted on the subject of caste at Aerogram, refuting yet another piece that was written that equates Hinduism and caste. During my early years as a leader at the Hindu American Foundation, when I joined the Executive Council, the Foundation published a report entitled Hinduism: Not Cast in Caste, in order to seek an end to caste based discrimination. That caste is not equal to Hinduism cannot be said enough, and as my co-blogger Ambaa... Read more

Farce or Dialogue: Who should be discussing Proselytism & Pluralism?

March 1, 2015 By Padma Kuppa

I recently received an email about an event at Georgetown University’s Berkeley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, where Rick Warren and Ruth Messinger will be the keynote speakers on Sharing the Message? Proselytism and Development in Pluralistic Societies: A Public Dialogue. On perusing the site, it appears that no one from the Indian or Hindu community will be on a panel during the day-long dialogue. India is home to one of the most pluralistic societies I know, and... Read more

A Hindu Eulogy for Leonard Nimoy: I am not Spock, I am Spock.

February 27, 2015 By Padma Kuppa

Star Trek: The Next Generation became religious worship in my uncle’s home around when their oldest started high school and was unwilling to go to church. I had just moved back to the United States to go to graduate school in Long Island. Monthly, often fortnightly trips, to their house in Connecticut became my respite from the rigors of graduate school and relief from homesickness for family in India. It fit in with my needs – cuddled up next to... Read more

Race, Religion & Human RIghts

August 29, 2014 By Padma Kuppa

Editors’ Note: This article is part of the Public Square 2014 Summer Series: Conversations on Religious Trends. Read other perspectives from the Patheos community here. This summer has been one of ups and downs, showcasing the critical relationship between race, religion and the struggle for human rights. My summer began with a workshop in June: along with about 150 others, ranging from representatives of various religious groups to public policy makers, I had an opportunity to listen to experts and ask them questions about... Read more

Hindu Activism in America: Moving beyond bias, with India’s election of the BJP and PM Modi

August 5, 2014 By Padma Kuppa

Editors’ Note: This article is part of the Public Square 2014 Summer Series: Conversations on Religious Trends. Read other perspectives from the Hindu community here. For the last decade, I have been focused on developing interreligious understanding, after being excluded from the city-sponsored National Day of Prayer event in my family’s hometown of Troy, MI – all because the organizers didn’t want Hindus and others who didn’t exclusively believe in the Nicene Creed involved in their annual event. Because of my interfaith... Read more

Preserving Human Rights Through Article 26 of the UN Declaration

July 20, 2014 By Padma Kuppa

As a Board member of the Hindu American Foundation, I have had the opportunity to share what advocacy is with some stellar college students who join HAF’s Congressional Internship program each summer. Current intern Tej Desai recently shared his experience after a month in DC where HAF’s main offices are, but it is former intern Suneeta Israni’s thoughts on the importance of the Hindu American Foundation’s annual Human Rights Report and its relevance to Article 26 in the UN Declaration of Human Rights that... Read more

Working for Human Rights, against Human Trafficking: Locally and Globally

June 1, 2014 By Padma Kuppa

Almost a decade ago, I discovered a kindred spirit when I served on the city’s ethnic issues board – formed because we are the city with the second highest ethnic diversity in MI. This friend and I had much in common: mothers with children around the same ages, families who were happy to support our activism, taking on leadership roles in our respective houses of worship (the Hindu temple and a United Methodist church), enthusiasm to embrace and engage the... Read more

Five Years of Patheos and the Best of my Blog: A Hindu Path to Peace and Pluralism

May 5, 2014 By Padma Kuppa

As Patheos celebrates its 5th anniversary, I went down memory lane to pick a few to highlight. I started with my first piece for the site written in early 2010, and probably my briefest ever, about God in 100 words, followed by one in June where I was invited to write on the future of Hinduism. I was placed alongside my friend Suhag Shukla, Executive Director of the Hindu American Foundation, and academics and scholars I revere, such as Gavin... Read more

Freedom Of Faith Act – Something for All Faiths

April 21, 2014 By Padma Kuppa

We have a common understanding that every American should be able to freely practice his or her faith – we are free to choose to have any faith or none at all. As an activist in my local community, nearly ten years ago, I helped start an interfaith group to make sure we honor that commitment to and inclusion of religious diversity at the grassroots level. This year, as the Troy-area Interfaith Group celebrates its tenth annual National Day of... Read more

Faith, Hope and Love: Rev. Dana Trent and her Hindu Husband, Advocates for Pluralism

March 26, 2014 By Padma Kuppa

Earlier this year, a friend who is the President of the Interfaith Dialogue Association in Western MI and host of the radio show Common Threads, spoke with Dana Trent and her husband, Fred Eaker about their interfaith marriage – and I was intrigued. Dana is the author of the book, Saffron Cross: The Unlikely Story of How a Christian Minister Married a Hindu Monk, a book that I was fortunate to read this past week. The book reaffirms my belief that... Read more