WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): HinduVote, an initiative of HinduPACT, today announced the launch of the American Hindu Agenda 2026 and the HinduVote 2026 platform at elections2026.hinduvote.org, marking the fourth edition of its biennial civic engagement campaign following 2020, 2022, and 2024.
Washington, DC, 2026 — HinduVote 2026 begins from a simple democratic premise: American Hindus are not a symbolic constituency, but a serious civic community whose votes can shape close elections and whose concerns deserve explicit recognition from candidates at every level of public life. Through the American Hindu Agenda 2026 and the HinduVote 2026 candidate engagement platform, HinduPACT invites voters and public officials alike to engage with a clear set of issues central to Hindu Americans, including temple security, equal treatment under civil-rights norms, religious liberty, and fair representation in public institutions.
This year’s launch carries added urgency. In light of the recently failed mass shooting threat connected to Sri Venkateswara Swami Balaji Temple in Palatine, IL, and an attack on the Shree Swaminarayan Vadtal Dham Hindu Mandir in Richmond Heights, Ohio, questions of safety and security are no longer abstract. They are immediate civic concerns. Across the United States, Hindu temples are not merely places of worship. They are religious, cultural, and educational anchors for families, seniors, youth, and small-business communities. When those institutions face threats, the issue is not only public safety, but the full and equal exercise of First Amendment freedom.
In the past three weeks, HinduPACT representatives have visited temples and Hindu communities in more than 15 key states, and additional grassroots outreach is underway to support voter registration, civic education, and wider awareness of the American Hindu Agenda 2026. The purpose is practical and constitutional: to ensure that both voters and candidates understand the issues that matter to Hindus, and that candidates are prepared to commit to them publicly. In closely contested districts and states, that conversation can prove decisive.
The broader national context makes this effort timely. The FBI’s hate crime reporting has repeatedly shown that anti-Hindu bias remains a real feature of American public life, and Hindu institutions have increasingly had to think in terms once reserved for more visibly targeted communities: security planning, community vigilance, and direct engagement with elected officials. An unprecedented exhibition of Hindu hate has compounded the fear that has gripped the Hindu community. A mature democracy does not ask a faith community to remain civically passive while its concerns are minimized. It asks candidates to listen, respond, and lead.
Surinder Dhar, Vice President of HinduPACT, and lead of the HinduVote initiative said,
“HinduVote 2026 is about translating the presence of American Hindus into effective democratic participation. Our community contributes deeply to this country, yet too often our concerns, especially temple security, anti-Hindu hatred, and equal respect in public policy, are treated as peripheral. They are not peripheral. In many close races, Hindu voters can make the difference, and this year voters will rightly ask which candidates understand the safety, dignity, and constitutional rights of our community.”
Ajay Shah, Founder and Executive Chair of HinduPACT, added,
“The American Hindu Agenda 2026 is a civic instrument, not a sectarian one. It asks candidates to engage with real issues affecting Hindu Americans with seriousness, clarity, and accountability. HinduVote has grown with each cycle because our community understands that representation follows organization. When Hindu voters are informed, registered, and united around core concerns, they become impossible to ignore.”
The American Hindu Agenda 2026 asks the candidates to:
- Support legislation to condemn Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu bigotry.
- Support an FBI investigation to determine systemic causes and culprits who have vandalized Hindu temples and Mahatma Gandhi statues across the US
- Provide compassionate support for dependent children who are legal and documented and lose their legal immigration status when they turn 21, as they wait for permanent residency.
- Support merit-based educational and occupational opportunities and the verdict in the “Students for Fair Admissions vs. Harvard” case
- Hold religious theocracies like Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh that egregiously abuse religious minorities accountable, and withhold their US aid. Appoint Hindu representatives in USCIRF and other faith-centric agencies
- Facilitate the repatriation of stolen Hindu artifacts from museums and private collections to their countries of origin through legislation and enforcement.
- Promote a multifaceted partnership with India, a democratic ally, without interference in its sovereign rights.
- Support free speech for all groups on university campuses. Defund academic departments and academicians that actively promote Hindu hatred.
The HinduVote 2026 platform includes tools for voter education and candidate engagement, including the HinduVote 2026 Candidate Questionnaire and the American Hindu Agenda 2026. Together, they are designed to strengthen a confident, informed Hindu civic voice in the United States, one grounded in democratic participation, public safety, and equal citizenship.
About HinduVote:
HinduVote is an initiative of HinduPACT, a U.S.-based advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the interests, civil rights, and civic participation of American Hindus. Through public education, policy engagement, and grassroots outreach, HinduPACT works to ensure that American Hindus are fairly represented in the nation’s democratic life. Visit https://hinduvote.org
About HinduPACT:
The Hindu Policy Research and Advocacy Collective (HinduPACT) is dedicated to the advocacy and policy research of issues concerning the American Hindu community. HinduPACT promotes human rights, voter education, and policies impacting American Hindus, aiming for peace and understanding through informed policy initiatives and grassroots advocacy. Visit https://hindupact.org
Contact HinduPACT:
Ajay Shah, Founder and Executive Chair
ajay.shah@hindupact.org
(858) 866-9661
Surinder Dhar, Vice President, Lead, HinduVote
surinder@hindupact.org
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