The Second World Hindu Congress (WHC) is to be held in Chicago of September 8th the theme of ‘Sumantrite Suvikrante’ which means ‘Think Collectively, Achieve Valiantly’. being organised till 9th September, the event will witness the addresses of several renowned spiritual leaders like Dalai Lama, Sri Ravi Shankar, Acharya Lokesh Muni.
According to the website, it states that the event: “for Hindus to connect, share ideas, inspire one another, and impact the common good. It offers Hindus an opportunity to introspect towards improvement and tap into our collective resources to seek tangible solutions to the most pressing issues of our age.”
Mr. Venkaiah Naidu has been invited as the speaker for the keynote address, though there has been no official announcement from the part of the Ministry of External Affairs or the Indian Embassy located in Washington. RSS chief, Mohan Bhagwat and joint general secretary Dattatreya Hosable are also invited to give their speeches in the event which will be marking the anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s speech.
The WHC is a global platform for Hindus ‘to connect, share ideas, inspire one another, and impact the common good’. It is held once every four years and has seven parallel conferences which ‘showcase how the values, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit of the global Hindu community’. WHC also serves as a platform ‘to address critical issues impacting Hindus worldwide, including human rights, discrimination and cultural assaults.’
“The U.S. is a pluralistic place and there is no reason why Hindus should be ashamed… Hispanics, Blacks and Muslims are celebrating their events… As long as you are practicing mutual respect you are OK … More and more Americans are becoming vegetarian, the whole ecofeminism movement was started by Vandana Shiva based on Hindu ideas,” said Rajiv Malhotra a Hindutva campaigner who defended the criticism against the event.