United Hindu Groups Host Two Dozen Vigils Nationwide to Honor Hindus Slaughtered in Pahalgam, India by Islamist Terrorists: Demand Accountability for Pakistan’s State-Sponsored Islamist Terrorism

In an extraordinary demonstration of solidarity and remembrance to honor the victims of the brutal Pahalgam massacre by Pakistan-supported Islamist terrorists, the united Hindu groups, comprising thirteen organizations, organized peaceful vigils across major U.S. cities on April 26 and April 27, 2025.

Americans for Hindus (A4H), Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA), Federation of Indians and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS), Global Hindu Temple Network (GHTN), Global Hindu Heritage Foundation (GHHF), Kashmiri Overseas Association (KOA), HinduPACT, Hindu American Foundation (HAF), Hindu Mandir Empowerment Council (HMEC), Hindu Swaymasevak Sangh (HSS), HinduDvesha, The Avanti Foundation, Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA), and American Hindu Federation (AHF), Voice of Hindus, all came together in solidarity with a unified call to end global Islamist terrorism. 

On April 22, 2025, twenty-five Hindu men in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, India, were executed by Islamist terrorists affiliated with The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba. Eyewitnesses confirm that the terrorists performed a litmus test on each of the tourists to verify their religious identity by asking them to recite Kalma (Islamic prayer) and then stripped them to confirm if they were circumcised.  Upon confirmation of their Hindu identity, the innocent Hindu men were mercilessly executed in front of their families. 

This heinous act of targeted religious violence is the latest in a long history of attacks on Hindus in Kashmir, including the 1990 ethnic cleansing of nearly 400,000 Kashmiri Hindus, the 2000 Amarnath massacre (32 killed), and the 2002 Qasim Nagar massacre (29 killed).

A Nationwide Cry for Justice and Recognition

Thousands of Hindu Americans gathered in rallies across the US, including the ones listed below:

• Washington, DC 
• New York City, NY.  Multiple rallies - Union Square Park, Times Square, in front of the Pakistani Consulate
• Edison, NJ 
• Houston, TX 
•  Dallas, TX 
• San Francisco, CA
• Fremont, CA
• San Jose, CA
• Sacramento, CA
• Ridgewood, NJ
• Parsippany, NJ
• Long Island, NY
• Houston, TX
• Newington, CT
• Wellington, CT
• Columbus, OH
• Chicago, IL
• Los Angeles, CA
• Seattle, WA
• Las Vegas, NV
• University of California, Berkeley

More rallies are planned for the coming days. On May 1st, there will be a vigil in Washington, DC, and on Monday, May 5th, a vigil protest will take place at the Pakistan Consulate in Los Angeles, CA. The Hindu Mandir Empowerment Council (HMEC) has organized a virtual prayer meeting on May 3rd, where temples across the USA are expected to participate.

Participants lit candles, recited prayers, and observed a minute of silence for the twenty-six Hindus whom the Muslim Jihadist terrorists slaughtered. They also carried signs that read, "Justice for Pahalgam," "Stop State-Sponsored Islamist Terror," and “Stop Killing Hindus."  Vigil organizers stressed that this was a matter of human rights and religious freedom, transcending regional or national politics.

Our call is simple, concluded Dr. Ajay Shah, Founder of HinduPACT: “Religious freedom must apply to Hindus too. Human dignity must include Hindu lives too. The victims of Pahalgam are not statistics; they are our brothers and sisters. We will remember and will demand justice. Pakistan-sponsored drip-drip genocide of Hindus must stop.”

"We call upon the world leaders to unitedly fight Islamist terrorism looming over humanity at large and ensure its total destruction,” said Shyam Tiwari, Chief spokesperson for VHPA, calling for decisive action.

The Islamist terror attacks have again highlighted the darkest, most visceral face of anti-Hindu hate. Pahalgam was not an isolated incident, but part of a broader pattern of religiously driven hate against Hindus, said CoHNA president Nikunj Trivedi. “We call upon leaders around the world to fight back against this rising wave of Hinduphobia.”

Suhag Shukla, Executive Director of HAF, stated, “This was a deliberate, brutal assault on innocent people whose only ‘offense’ was being Hindu. Families were hunted, religiously profiled, and murdered in cold blood, making this not just a tragedy for Indians, but a matter of deep concern to all who value religious freedom and human dignity.”

Dr. Romesh Japra, Founder and President of Americans for Hindus (A4H), brings to attention that, “Terrorism will bring down Humanity if not eradicated from the world, and all world leaders must work together to eliminate terrorism as the priority.”

“Tourism cannot whitewash the truth!” stated Uphaar Kotru, President of Kashmiri Overseas Organization. “Each attack reopens wounds we’ve never had the chance to heal. Our pain has been ignored for far too long.”

Core Demands Issued by the united Hindu community to US Legislators:

1.     Recognition of the Pahalgam massacre as terrorism motivated by religion against Hindus.

2.     Official designation of Pakistan as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism” by the United States.

The united Hindu community demanded an UN-led inquiry into systemic anti-Hindu violence in Pakistan and Bangladesh.  Furthermore, they implored the global media to acknowledge the Hindu victims of religious persecution. They demanded that the Western press cease its complicity and sanitizing of Islamist terrorism by calling the perpetrators “militants” or “rebels.”

The vigil also highlighted the historical continuity of attacks on Hindus, from the act of ethnic cleansing in Kashmir to the desecration of temples in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

Other leader statements:

Mohinder Gulati, President of Global Hindu Temple Network America, pointed out “the failure of the international organizations and international financial institutions to enforce the Treaties, Conventions, and their policies in dealing with Pakistan-sponsored Islamist terrorism.”

Sanjeev Kak of The Avanti Foundation strongly condemned the extremely barbaric massacre of innocent tourists visiting Pahalgam by the Pakistan sponsored Jihadi terrorists.

Dr. Amit Desai, spokesperson for Voice of Hindus, said, “We are mourning the brutal killing of Hindu pilgrims in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, a shocking act of terror. We demand justice and global action against such religious violence.”