The organisation is engaged in a legal battle over the blocking of its website and social media accounts by the Indian government
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – Hindutva Watch (HW), a Washington-based website which tracks hate crimes against minorities in India, has received the prestigious Eva Lassman “Take Action Against Hate” Award. The recognition came as the website is engaged in a legal battle over the blocking of its website and social media accounts by the Indian government.
On January 16, the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology withheld the X account of @HindutvaWatchIn, under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.
The award was presented by Washington-based Gonzaga University’s Centre for the Study of Hate. It recognises individuals and organisations working to combat hate and promote positive change.
Hindutva Watch, founded in 2021 by Kashmiri journalist Raqib Hameed Naik, has recorded over 4,000 cases of hate crimes against marginalised communities in India. The website won praise from Aaron Danowski, chairman of the awards committee, who highlighted its significant impact in combating hate.
Revealing details of the award on Monday, Naik said: “Hindutva Watch is this year’s recipient of Gonzaga University’s Eva Lassman Take Action Against Hate Award. Early next month, the Delhi high court will hear our petition challenging the illegal and unlawful govt ban on Hindutva Watch, and we hope that the court will overturn it,” Naik wrote on X, adding images from the award ceremony.
The award carries a sum of $500 and its recipients are recognised at the Spokane Human Rights Champions Gala, hosted by Human Rights Spokane.
According to the Gonzaga University, the Take Action Against Hate awards are presented to one individual and one organisation that actively challenge hate and make positive strides of change in their communities, following in the footsteps of Eva Lassman, a Holocaust survivor and widely respected anti-hate advocate.
“The awards committee considers many factors when selecting recipients for the Eva Lassman ‘Take Action Against Hate’ awards, particularly the degree to which the nominees have engaged in action and awareness-building within their community, whether local, national or global,” said Danowski.
Talking about the contributions of the HW, the university noted that Hindutva Watch documents hate crimes and hate speech aimed at religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians, in predominantly Hindu India.
“Hindutva refers to the ideological movement to make India a Hindu nation, and has been closely associated with the political party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Hindutva Watch has been described by The Washington Post as India’s most comprehensive real-time dataset of hate crimes, with over 4,000 cases documented to date,” reads the statement.
It stated that Naik, his family, and his network of volunteers have faced political repression for shedding light on these cases.
The organisation’s efforts have succeeded in attracting international media attention, and Naik recently spoke at the Oslo Freedom Forum about the importance of calling out Hindu nationalism’s dangerous effects.