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History
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At the beginning of
2001 few Hindu activists began discussing the future of Hindu Americans and how
Hindus can learn from the success of various minorities in America. The terrorist
attacks on America transformed the traditional attitudes of most Americans, including
Hindus. There had been a lot of information in the media regarding Islam, Arabs,
Muslims and terrorism in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks which killed almost
3,000 innocent people.
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The United States alongwith
the civilized world declared war on terrorism by forming a broad coalition against
terrorism. Due to similarities in looks and accent, many Hindus were targets of
abuse, harassment, discrimination, and attacks. It was felt that Hindus needed to
distinguish themselves and let the world know that they too have been victims of
terror throughout Asia and Africa, particularly in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan,
and Bangladesh.
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It was in the background
of these historic events, a group of prominent Hindus from all across America met
on November 4, 2001 at Shree Shakti Mandir (one of the largest Hindu Temples in
North America) in Atlanta, Georgia. They deliberated on the need for Hindus to have
an effective voice to protect our interests and rights in America and worldwide.
It was unanimously agreed that a national forum of Hindu Americans is a necessity
and the new forum would be known as “United States Hindu Alliance” or USHA. The
acronym in Sanskrit, the oldest language of mankind, means “dawn” or “a new beginning”.
It is also the name attributed to the Supreme Being in the feminine form.
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