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"SAHI" सही (sahī) (صحیح‎)

Borrowed from Persian صحیح‎ (sahih), from Arabic صَحِيح‎ (ṣaḥīḥ).

Definition: True, Correct, Right, Just.

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People in the South Asian subcontinent and across its diaspora communities come from a variety of traditions, speak hundreds of languages and practice every major world religion. But the diversity that makes the region so unique faces an existential threat from within, connected to a global rise in fascism. 

 

India is in the grips of one of the largest, oldest and wealthiest fascist networks on the globe. This network — led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and including India’s ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — subscribes to a political ideology called Hindutva. Hindutva is a fascist political ideology, with origins coeval to European fascism in the 1920s and 30s, which seeks to reshape India into a Hindu rashtra (nation). The Hindutva vision sees no place in India for its various minority communities, despite the fact that Muslim, Dalit, Bahujan and Adivasi communities have long been an integral part of India. Hindutva relegates these communities to second-class citizenship and targets Muslims as an irreconcilable other. Hindutva is not Hinduism, a peaceful faith practiced by over a billion people.

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OUR MISSION

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Students Against Hindutva Ideology (SAHI) is an inter-university, inter-faith, progressive student coalition focused on changing behaviors in the South Asian diaspora in consort with the pro-democracy struggle against Hindutva on the subcontinent. We aim to build a network of students within universities across the United States that will organize, educate and agitate in support of the frontlines, invoking a universal struggle against fascism. We believe that college students — and young people more broadly — have an important role to play in bridging geographical and generational divides through research, legislative campaigning, and direct action. 

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OUR VALUES

 

1. The protection of democratic, socialist, secular and feminist values within the subcontinent and its diaspora communities.

2. Justice and equality for all South Asians, particularly those most marginalized by Hindutva: Muslims, Dalits, Christians, Kashmiris, Sikhs, Adivasis, gender minorities and other religious and ethnic minorities. 

3. Self determination for the people of Kashmir.

4. The abolition of caste.

5. Allyship, coordination, and collaboration with progressive South Asian organizations, activist groups, and various diasporic communities across the world.

6. Collective commitment to learning and unlearning, self-critique, community accountability, and continued organizational improvement. 

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OUR WORK

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Resistance

 

As students in universities across the world, we are aware that our power lies not  just in what we say, or how we say it, but where we say it from. Students Against Hindutva Ideology was born out of an understanding of the informative and performative power of protest and is dedicated to speaking up whenever necessary against injustice and oppression through our various chapters.

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Research & Education

 

As a group constituted by students at research universities, SAHI seeks to become a locus for research that seeks to understand and combat Hindutva. We hope to collectivize the research expertise and training of college students into integrated networks that share information and ideas in a productive and stimulating exchange.

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Legislative Action

 

SAHI works at the local, state and federal levels to support efforts and campaigns aligned with our values. We aim to educate politicians while also holding them accountable to the values that impact our base. We also function through our various university chapters to organize informational and/or direct action for our communities.   

 

Consciousness & Solidarity Building

 

SAHI hopes to amplify the work and voices of those on the frontlines in South Asia and to connect protestors in South Asia to a solidarity network in the diaspora. Within our own communities, we work to promote open dialogue and combat bigoted rhetoric as well as misinformation campaigns. Beyond this, we hope to offer strategic and material support to intersectional struggles across the world against the rise of global fascism.