The hate-crimes tracker website Hindutva Watch won this year’s Gonzaga University Center for the Study of Hate’s Eva Lassman “Take Action Against Hate” award.
The Take Action Against Hate awards are presented to one individual and one organization 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.
Another awardee is Landon Turlock, a social worker and community leader in Edmonton, Alberta.
“While the committee is interested in any nomination that highlights efforts to counter hatred, we are attentive to efforts that demonstrate impact. The impact that Hindutva Watch and Landon have had on their respective communities is indisputable,” says Gonzaga’s Aaron Danowski, a center board member who chaired the awards committee.
Hindutva Watch, founded by Kashmiri journalist Raqib Hameed Naik in 2021, has been documenting hate crimes and hate speech aimed at religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians, in India.
Hindutva Watch has been described as India’s most comprehensive real-time dataset of hate crimes, with over 4,000 cases documented to date.
Most recently, Hindutva Watch’s website was blocked in India in January this year, and their X profile was banned.
Last week, X Corp. (formerly Twitter) has submitted its reply to the petition filed by the founder of Hindutva Watch Raqib Hameed seeking to quash a government order blocking the outlet’s X account, @HindutvaWatchIn. X Corp.’s reply supports Hameed’s request that the account be unblocked, objecting to blocking the account on multiple grounds and requesting that the Court unblock the account.
“Grateful to everyone who has stood by us, especially in the face of unjust govt ban on our work in India. We remain committed, strong and unfettered,” said Raqib Hameed Naik.
Recipients of the “Take Action Against Hate” Awards will be honored at a Human Rights Awards Banquet in Spokane Nov. 21, an event sponsored by Human Rights Spokane.
