For all issues, please contact:
Arvin Valmuci, Communications Coordinator
Email: arvin.v@ofmi.org

2013 Archived News:

OFMI: White House yanks petition to reassess Obama’s hero Gandhi

Washington, DC, Feb. 14 — Early Thursday afternoon, the Obama administration removed from its “We the People” website a petition asking the president to reassess Gandhi. South Asian American community leaders who endorsed the petition said they were deeply disappointed in the administration’s resort to censoring free speech.

OFMI: Gandhi spread racial hatred and was pro-caste says petition to President Obama

San Francisco, Feb. 12, 2013 – A new petition to the Obama administration says Gandhi spent his life spreading racial hatred and praising the “fundamental divisions” of the caste system. Sponsors hope to gather 100,000 online signatures by March 12 to compel the White House to reassess the upper-caste Hindu leader, who President Obama has called “an inspiration.”

OFMI: South Asian Americans Petition White House to Reassess Gandhi

Washington, DC, Feb. 11, 2013 – President Obama often cites Mohandas Gandhi as his hero. At times, he has called him “an inspiration” and “a real hero of mine.” In 2008, he claimed Gandhi’s “spirit and example… extinguished apartheid in South Africa.”

South Asian Americans are so convinced Gandhi was no hero that they have launched a petition asking Obama to reassess the Hindu leader. The truth, states the petition, is that President Obama’s admitted hero was anti-black, anti-woman, and pro-war.”

OFMI: South Asians: New Face Animates American Civil Rights Movement at California Capitol

SACRAMENTO, Jan. 24, 2013 – On Tuesday, South Asians partnered with African-Americans and other community leaders to spearhead a new united front in America’s civil rights movement. The January 22 event, “Justice Rising: A Rally for Universal Human Dignity,” was hosted in honor of the 84th birth anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with the intention of building upon his legacy.

OFMI: South Asians and African-Americans to Honor Dr. King’s Legacy at California Capitol

SACRAMENTO, Jan. 19, 2013 – Before he gave his life for the liberties of all people to be free, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. declared: “An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” On Tuesday, South Asian community leaders will partner with African-Americans and other life-affirming communities to advance the civil rights movement in a rally at the California State Capitol.

OFMI: Delhi Student’s Rape Mirrors New Delhi Leadership’s Rape of India, say Indian Minorities

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 8, 2013 – The murder of Jyoti Singh Pandey, the New Delhi college student who was kidnapped, gang-raped, and died late last month, represents the treatment of India by its politicians, said a human rights group for Indian minorities on Tuesday.

2012 News:

OFMI: Indian Minorities Ask California Governor Brown to Reject Indian Consulate Rally

SACRAMENTO, Sept. 5, 2012 – A U.S.-based coalition of minorities of Indian origin asked Governor Jerry Brown on Thursday to cancel his planned appearance at a Sacramento rally intended to honor the victims of the Wisconsin Sikh Temple shooting. The group insists rally organizer North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) and the Indian state are using the September 8 rally, which features India’s Consul General N. Parthasarthi, to sanitize the reality of India’s ongoing human rights abuses.

OFMI: February Fundraiser Seeks Justice For Victims Of Indian Police Atrocities

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 30, 2012 – A coalition of Sikhs and other South Asian minorities will fundraise for human rights in Punjab in celebration of a partial achievement of justice for murdered human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra.

2011 News:

OFMI: New Report Reveals Indian Police Encouraged Massacre of Orissan Christians

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 8, 2011 – SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 8, 2011 – A human rights report released Wednesday concludes that Indian police forces encouraged mobs of Hindu supremacists during the 2008 massacre of Christians in Orissa, India.

OFMI: A Letter to U.S. Congress: Deny Indian Police Officers Entry

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 29, 2011 – Dear U.S. Representative, We are writing to request your assistance in an issue of distress to the California and national Indian minority communities. Our request is that you would speak in favor of denying U.S. visitor’s visas to three top-ranking Indian police officers based on their involvement in a system that promotes torture as a daily tool for the average officer.

OFMI: U.S. Should Deny Visas For Top Indian Police Officers, Says Human Rights Group

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 22, 2011 – Indian police seeking entry to the U.S. should be denied visas based on involvement in the practice of torture, said a human rights group on Tuesday, citing its new report claiming torture is all pervasive in the Indian police system.

National Post: Gandhi statue ‘a travesty,’ U.S. activist tells Carleton University

OTTAWA, Oct. 6, 2011 – A New York-based activist has taken aim at a Carleton University sculpture he calls a “travesty of history:” A bronze statue of Mohandas Gandhi.

Macleans: Gandhi haters vow to fight statue

OTTAWA, Oct. 5, 2011 – On the weekend, Carleton University and McMaster University both unveiled statues of Gandhi in celebration of Gandhi Jayanti, the political leader’s birthday, a national holiday in India. The celebration was part of the Year of India in Canada, an initiative to strengthen cultural and economic ties between the two countries.

The Charlatan: Gandhi Statue Protest Scheduled

OTTAWA, September 15, 2011 – The debate over whether or not to erect a statue of Mohandas Gandhi on campus is heating up, with a protest now planned for Oct. 2, the same day the statue is supposed to go up.

OFMI: India Denies Minorities Marriage Freedom

SAN FRANCISCO, September 1, 2011 – The central government of India denied on Tuesday the opportunity for Indo-Sikhs to marry as Sikhs rather than Hindus.

The Charlatan: Disagreement Over Gandhi

OTTAWA, September 1, 2011 – A Facebook group of almost 150 members is showing opposition to a statue of Indian icon Mohandas Gandhi that is set to be installed at Carleton Oct. 2.

OFMI: Indian Minorities Greet Congressman McClintock

STOCKTON, August 29, 2011 – Over a hundred minorities from India, including many Sikhs and Dalits, turned out on Saturday evening to greet Congressman Tom McClintock in Stockton.

OFMI: South Asians in USA Question Badal’s Vision of Liberty

SACRAMENTO, July 29, 2011 – During his July 29, 2011 visito to Sacramento, Manpreet Badal of the Punjab People’s Party was presented “Faces of Terror in India,” a report by Sikh Information Centre about state-sponsored terrorism in India, and a copy of a memorandum by Organization for Minorities of India entitled “Does Manpreet Badal Offer a Vision of Liberty.”

OFMI: Ambedkarite Rally Upstages Gandhi’s Dandi March

SAN FRANCISCO, March 28, 2011 – Protesting Indian government corruption and demanding that Mohandas Gandhi’s statue be removed, Indian minorities hosted a rally in front of that statue in San Francisco on Saturday. Calling the event an “Ambedkar Rally,” Bhajan Singh, an organizer of the rally, stated: “India’s corruption starts with Gandhi, the father of India.”

OFMI: Indian Diaspora Divided by Gandhi-Inspired Dandi March II

SAN DIEGO, March 14, 2011 – Marking the 81st anniversary of Mohandas Gandhi’s historic Salt Satyahgraha, a group opposing corruption in India began a 240-mile protest march on Saturday. They were surprised, however, when counter-protesters braved the early morning chill to claim that Gandhi himself is a primary source of corruption.

2010 News:

OFMI: Gandhi Scholar to Discuss Racism at UM-Flint

FLINT, Michigan, Nov. 15, 2010 – Gandhi expert Col. G. B. Singh (U.S. Army, ret.) will visit the UM-Flint campus on Monday, December 6 for a discussion about allegedly racist behavior of Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi. The event was organized by Organization for Minorities of India and Ambedkar Association of North America (AANA) in cooperation with UM-Flint’s Diversity Council and University Relations. Singh will speak at 5 p.m. in the university’s Loving Cultural Lounge.

Yahoo! News India: Was Mahatma Gandhi a Racist?

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 8, 2010 – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi — commonly referred to as ‘Mahatma’, is known the world over as a symbol of truth and non-violence. That’s why many may find it surprising to know that the ‘Father of the Nation’ has his share of detractors.

The Bay Citizen: To Some Indians, Gandhi No Hero

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 7, 2010 – Tucked away in a parking lot behind San Francisco’s Ferry Building stands a life-sized statue of Mohandas K. Gandhi, a worldwide symbol of non-violence.

The Sacramento Examiner: The business of Gandhi’s statues and the rising human rights’ violation

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 6, 2010 – On 141st anniversary of Mohandas Gandhi’s birthday, the Organization for Minorities of India (California) staged a unique protest in San Francisco on October 2, 2010. Protesters gathered at Ferry Building at 11 AM where a statue of M.K. Gandhi stands since 1988. Demonstrators held banners and distributed flyers to send the message that Gandhi’s non-violence was merely a facade to practice covert violence, racist ideology, and immoral and deviant sexual behavior. They demanded that his statue should be removed, and replaced either with that of an American Hero or Dr. B.R. Ambedkar who was a great Human Rights activist and an Alumni of Columbia University New York.

Silicon India News: Indian Minorities Demand Removal of SF Gandhi Statue

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 4, 2010 – Gandhi is the man who is identified for his powerful weapons – truth and non-violence. But in San Francisco a group of activists advocating for minorities in India want to remove his statue alleging racism and sham non-violence, reports John Cote from the San Francisco Chronicle.

OFMI: Indian Minorities Demand Removal of SF Gandhi Statue

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 3, 2010 – On Saturday morning, a group called the Organization for Minorities of India demanded the removal of the bronze statue of Mohandas Gandhi standing behind the San Francisco Ferry Building.

UPI: Group wants Gandhi statue removed

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 2, 2011 – A group advocating for minorities in India is lobbying for the removal of a statue of Mohandas Gandhi in San Francisco.

My Fox Atlanta: San Francisco Activists Want Gandhi Statue Removed, Allege Racism, Violence

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 2, 2011 – A group of protesters in San Francisco Saturday planned to demand the removal of a statue of Mohandas Gandhi, hoping to expose the ’racism and sham nonviolence’ of the famously nonviolent Indian leader, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

San Francisco Chronicle: Daily protest watch: Today’s winner — Gandhi!

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 1, 2011 – It doesn’t take much to whip up a protest in San Francisco – two people and a bad idea will do – but Gandhi? Really? A group billing itself as the Organization for Minorities of India plans to protest today to demand the removal of the bronze statue of Mohandas Gandhi that has sat in the plaza behind the Ferry Building since 1988.

OFMI: Indian Minorities Will Protest SF Gandhi Statue

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 30, 2010 – Organization for Minorities of India (OFMI) will protest against the San Francisco Ferry Building Gandhi statue at 11:30am on October 2. Calling the statue a “contradiction and a source of dishonest history,” OFMI leaders say their goal is to get the statue replaced by one of either Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. or low-caste Dalit leader Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.

OFMI: Controversy Over Proposed Gandhi Statue at California Capitol

WEST SACRAMENTO, April 24, 2010 – A small group of Indians gathered at a West Sacramento hotel on Saturday to plan the installation of a life-size Gandhi statue on the grounds of the California state capitol in Sacramento. Sham Goyal, the UC Davis plant scientist who led the meeting, described the approximately 20 Indians, which included Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, as “hand-picked” for the project. He proudly described his idea as the first time in the world that a Gandhi statue would be placed at a state capitol.

OFMI: Human Rights Group Demands Visa Denial for Kamal Nath

TORONTO, Mar. 12, 2010 – The Organization for Minorities of India on Friday denounced the upcoming visit to Canada of Kamal Nath, a Cabinet Minister in the government of India. Nath was invited to speak to the Canada-India Business Council in Toronto later this month.

2009 News:

OFMI: Gandhi Would Not Dine With Black Obama, Say Indian Minorities

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 11, 2009 – In his recent speech at a Virginia high school, President Obama called Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi a “real hero of mine,” describing the Indian icon as someone with whom he would like to dine.

OFMI: Indian Minorities Protest Ottawa Gandhi Statue

OTTAWA, Aug. 11, 2009 – Indian minorities strongly disapprove of the Ottawa City Council’s decision to allow a Gandhi statue to be placed in Strathcona Park (Sandy Hill) in Autumn of 2009.

OFMI: New Book Sheds Light on Gandhi’s Dark Origins

SAN FRANCISCO, July 14, 2009 – In “Gandhi Under Cross-Examination,” authors Col. G. B. Singh and Dr. Tim Watson provide a critical analysis of Mohandas Gandhi’s 21 years living in South Africa.