One of the largest Sikh houses of worship in the US is calling on the Trump administration to investigate a non-profit it has alleged is working as a “foreign agent” on behalf of the the Indian government and prime minister Narendra Modi.
The Fremont Gurdwara Sahib, which said it draws 5,000 Sikh worshippers every week and is a “fulcrum” of the Sikh community in the US and around the world, has asked the Department of Justice to launch a national security investigation into the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), to determine whether the Pennsylvania-based non-profit should be required to file as an Indian foreign agent.
Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, any such determination by the DoJ would require the HAF to publicly disclose details of its activities, including meetings with lawmakers, and any contracts and financial arrangements it has with the Indian government.
“The HAF has facilitated meetings between foreign principals and US lawmakers, platformed foreign principals at their own events, and consistently and unequivocally advocated for the interests of the BJP on both domestic and foreign policy matters,” a representative for the Gurdwara wrote in a letter last week to Pam Bondi, the US attorney general.
The HAF denied the claims. In a statement the group said it was a non-partisan tax-exempt charity that is wholly independent and American and has “absolutely no affiliation or ties to any organization or political parties in the US or abroad”.
It also hit out against what it called “coordinated campaigns” against the HAF by the Khalistan separatist movement, which is seeking to establish an independent Sikh state.
“To discuss these dangerous and false accusations against us from activists supporting transnational violent separatist movements focused on India, [the] HAF welcomes the opportunity to meet with attorney general Pam Bondi, FBI director Kash Patel, director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, as well as all homeland security officials,” the HAF said.
The allegations and counter-claims come at a tense time between Sikhs who support an independent state and the Indian government. Individuals connected to the Indian government have been accused in both Canada and the US of waging a campaign of transnational repression against Sikhs outside of India after the 2023 assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian advocate for Khalistan.
This story was originally published in theguardian.com. Read the full story here.
