Hindu American Foundation (HAF) has objected to a move by the Maryland House of Delegates trying to pass House Bill 0418, which will ban the display of ‘Swastika’ on school grounds, including on clothes, bags, folders, and similar items.
According to HAF, the Bill also defines Swastika as a symbol of hate. They said on their website page: “Imagine the shame and bullying our children could face as a result of the state’s misportrayal of the Swastika.”
The organisation tried to explain that the Swastika has been an auspicious sign of goodness and the passing of the Bill could lead to attacks on homes of Hindus and their religious sites, reported Times of India.
Not the First Ban Attempt
Right-wing neo-Nazi groups and white supremacists have repeatedly displayed and used the Nazi emblem. This is why Maryland isn’t the first state to bring in a Bill to ban the the Nazi symbol.
Earlier, the HAF was successful in impeding a similar bill in New York, where the group explained the origins of the symbol to key lawmakers.
In another blog, the group explained the meaning of Swastika saying: “In Sanskrit, the word is a combination of ‘su’ (meaning ‘good’) and ‘asti’ (meaning ‘to exist’). Popularly, this gets translated as ‘all is well’.”
The organisation added, “The Nazi Party adopted the hooked cross (Hakenkreuz in German) as its emblem in 1920. But before that it was used on “Coca-cola and beer bottles. The Boy Scouts in the US and other scouting groups in Europe used Swastikas on badges.”
HAF claims that the House Bill 0418 “conflates the Nazi emblem or hooked cross with the swastika”, and doesn’t make any distinction between them or their history.
(With inputs from Times of India and Hindu American Foundation.)
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