Civil Rights Groups Condemn Hindu Extremists' Call for Muslim Boycott at Dallas Event
Hindu extremist leader Kajal Singhala delivered hate speech targeting Dallas Muslims at a June 29 event organized by two U.S.-based Hindu nationalist organizations, prompting widespread condemnation from civil rights groups and calls for a federal investigation into what advocates describe as the transnational spread of religious extremism from India to American communities.
The controversial remarks were made at Bhartiya Nivas in Dallas, where Singhala, also known as Kajal Hindustani, explicitly called for economic discrimination against Muslims and used derogatory terms to refer to the community. The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Texas) have strongly condemned the incident, with an interfaith coalition filing a police complaint on July 3 urging authorities to investigate the event as a bias-motivated hate incident.
Documented Hate Speech Sparks Outrage
According to a statement published on the Global Hindu Heritage Foundation's website, Singhala repeatedly used the term "jihadis" as a slur to demonize Muslims and called on attendees to boycott Muslim-owned businesses in Dallas. The extremist leader specifically urged support for Hindu service providers while advocating against patronizing Muslim companies.
"She [Kajal Hindustani] also stressed the importance of supporting Hindu carpenters, milkmen, plumbers, electricians, and others, and not giving business to jihadis [slur for Muslims] to save a few rupees, because that money could be used to harm your fathers and brothers,"
The GHHF statement reads, according to the Indian American Muslim Council.
The event was organized by the Global Hindu Heritage Foundation (GHHF) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA), two U.S.-based Hindu nationalist nonprofits that civil rights organizations have identified as having a history of spreading anti-Muslim and anti-Christian hate.
Profile of a Prolific Hate Speaker
Research from India Hate Lab reveals the extent of Singhala's extremist activities, positioning her among the most prolific hate speakers in India today. The data presents a disturbing pattern of escalating rhetoric designed to incite violence and discrimination.
In 2023 alone, Singhala delivered 35 in-person hate speeches, with nine of those including explicit calls for violence. The pattern continued in 2024, when she gave 23 hate speeches, including four that directly called for violence and 10 that advocated for economic boycotts against Muslims.
The Indian news outlet The Quint has described Singhala as a symbol of "hate politics," highlighting her role in promoting religious division and hostility. Her speeches have consistently incited Hindus to pick up arms against Muslims and Christians while calling for their economic and social boycotts.
Civil Rights Leaders Demand Action
The response from civil rights organizations has been swift and unified, with leaders calling for immediate action from federal authorities to address what they characterize as imported extremism.
Mohammad Jawad, IAMC President, emphasized the dangerous nature of the rhetoric and its potential consequences for American communities.
"Kajal Singhala's speech was hateful, dangerous and a direct incitement to economically marginalize an entire community based on their religion. This is the same dangerous rhetoric that has fueled violence in India, and it has no place in a city like Dallas. We call on our elected officials, law enforcement, and federal agencies to take this threat seriously and act before such imported extremism causes real harm here in our country,"
Jawad stated, according to the Indian American Muslim Council.
Mustafaa Carroll, Executive Director of CAIR-TX, DFW, reinforced his organization's commitment to combating hate speech in all its forms.
"The Dallas/Ft. Worth Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-TX, DFW) has long condemned and repudiated hate speech in all of its forms, whether by a person, an organization or a State. We continue to condemn it as new messengers of hate emerge,"
Carroll said in a statement.
Pattern of Extremist Platforming
This incident represents part of a broader pattern of U.S.-based Hindu nationalist organizations providing platforms for extremist speakers from India. The organizations involved have previously hosted controversial figures despite widespread opposition from civil rights groups.
In 2021, VHPA had planned to host Yati Narsinghanand, a Hindu monk who had publicly called for genocide against Muslims. That event was ultimately cancelled following widespread outcry from civil society and human rights organizations.
More recently, in 2022, GHHF organized a fundraiser to support the demolition of churches in India, prompting protests from an interfaith coalition that included the North American Church of God, Ambedkarite Buddhist Association of Texas, Hindus for Human Rights, IAMC, and CAIR-DFW.
"Any charity raising money in the U.S. to destroy places of worship overseas is abhorrent, immoral, and wrong,"
Said Nahela Morales, Board Member of CAIR-DFW, regarding the 2022 fundraiser.
Pre-Event Warnings Ignored
Civil rights organizations had attempted to prevent the hate speech incident through warnings to event organizers. IAMC had publicly urged the event's organizers to cancel Singhala's appearance, warning that she was likely to incite Islamophobic hatred.
Despite these warnings and the documented history of Singhala's extremist rhetoric, the event proceeded as planned, with Singhala delivering exactly the type of hate speech that advocates had predicted.
The June 26 statement from IAMC had explicitly called for the immediate cancellation of the Dallas event, citing Singhala's "long and well-documented history of delivering speeches inciting hate and violence against Christians and Muslims".
Broader Context of Religious Extremism
The Dallas incident occurs against the backdrop of increasing religious tensions and discriminatory policies in India, where economic boycotts against Muslims have become increasingly common and institutionalized.
Recent examples from India illustrate how such rhetoric translates into real-world discrimination. In northern India, discriminatory orders against Muslim restaurant owners have become commonplace, with authorities requiring businesses to display the names and religious identities of owners and employees.
During the annual Kanwar Yatra Hindu pilgrimage, police in Uttar Pradesh have mandated that restaurant owners display their names and those of all employees, with the unstated aim of letting customers know whether Muslims or Hindus run the businesses. This policy has forced many Muslim business owners to either close temporarily, sell their businesses, or dismiss Muslim employees to avoid boycotts.
Calls for Federal Investigation
The civil rights organizations are demanding comprehensive federal action to address what they characterize as a national security concern involving the transnational spread of extremist ideology.
IAMC has called on the U.S. Department of State to revoke Kajal Singhala's visa and initiate immediate steps for her removal from the United States. The organization argues that allowing such extremist rhetoric to be delivered on American soil sends a dangerous signal about the acceptability of hate speech and religious bigotry.
Additionally, IAMC has urged the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to open an investigation into the tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of both VHPA and GHHF. The organization has also called on the Department of Justice to examine the groups' financial ties to the Indian government and Hindu nationalist organizations, including potential violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
Community Response and Legal Action
The local response has been characterized by interfaith solidarity, with Muslims and Christians joining together to file formal complaints with law enforcement authorities.
On July 3, an interfaith coalition of local Muslims and Christians filed a police complaint urging authorities to investigate the event as a bias-motivated hate incident. This legal action represents an attempt to hold the speakers and organizers accountable under existing hate crime statutes.
The complaint filing demonstrates the broader community's concern about the potential for such rhetoric to escalate into actual violence or discrimination against Dallas-area Muslims.
Historical Precedent and Escalation Concerns
Civil rights advocates point to the documented connection between hate speech and actual violence in India as evidence of the potential dangers posed by importing such rhetoric to American communities.
According to human rights documentation, India witnessed nearly 800 hate crimes against Christians in 2021 alone. This statistic underscores the real-world consequences of the type of rhetoric that Singhala has been documented as promoting.
The pattern of escalation from speech to action has been well-documented in India, where economic boycotts have often preceded physical violence against minority communities. Civil rights organizations argue that preventing such escalation in American communities requires immediate intervention at the level of speech.
Digital Media Impact and Amplification
The incident has gained significant attention across digital platforms, with civil rights organizations using social media to document and condemn the hate speech. The Global Hindu Heritage Foundation's own website publication of Singhala's remarks has provided direct evidence of the extremist content delivered at the event.
This digital documentation has proven crucial for civil rights organizations seeking to hold the speakers and organizers accountable, as it provides clear evidence of the discriminatory rhetoric that was promoted at the event.
Interfaith Coalition Building
The response to the Dallas incident has demonstrated the power of interfaith coalition building in confronting religious extremism. The alliance between Muslim and Christian organizations, along with progressive Hindu groups like Hindus for Human Rights, illustrates the broad-based opposition to hate speech targeting any religious community.
This interfaith approach has been particularly effective in countering narratives that attempt to frame the issue as a conflict between different religious communities, instead positioning it as a matter of fundamental civil rights and community safety.
Implications and Next Steps
The Dallas incident represents a critical test case for how American institutions will respond to the transnational spread of religious extremism. The outcome of the various investigations and legal actions initiated in response to the event will likely set important precedents for similar cases in the future.
Civil rights organizations are closely monitoring the response from federal agencies, local law enforcement, and elected officials as indicators of the broader commitment to protecting religious minorities from hate speech and discrimination. The effectiveness of these responses will likely influence both the willingness of extremist groups to host similar events and the confidence of targeted communities in institutional protections.
The incident also highlights the ongoing challenge of balancing free speech protections with the need to prevent hate speech that incites discrimination and violence. As extremist rhetoric increasingly crosses international borders through organized events and digital platforms, American communities and institutions must grapple with how to maintain their commitment to civil liberties while protecting vulnerable populations from imported extremism.
The Dallas Muslim boycott incident serves as a stark reminder that national borders do not confine religious extremism and hate speech, and that protecting American communities from such threats requires vigilant monitoring, swift response, and sustained commitment to the principles of religious freedom and equal treatment under the law.