NEW YORK — A Hindu American activist warned that heated political rhetoric combined with calls to weaken law enforcement could heighten risks for religious minorities in New York City, drawing parallels to persecution faced by minority communities abroad.
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Speaking on The Rabbi for America Podcast, Satya Dosapati said comments by mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani targeting India, Hindu leadership and Israel go beyond foreign-policy debate and may contribute to a climate of hostility that can spill into real-world violence.
“When political leaders repeatedly demonize a community and then talk about defunding the police, that animosity doesn’t remain abstract,” Dosapati said. “It turns into crime.”
While not a widely known public figure, Dosapati is a U.S.-based activist involved in political and social causes related to both India and the United States. He has described his advocacy as focused on issues including Indian democracy, election integrity and civil-rights concerns affecting diaspora communities.
Mamdani has publicly described Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “war criminal” and has compared him to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Although Mamdani has said his local agenda centers on affordability and public services, critics argue that his rhetoric signals hostility toward Hindu and Jewish national identity.
Dosapati said Hindu Americans increasingly see parallels between the impact of anti-Israel rhetoric on Jewish communities and the potential consequences of anti-India rhetoric for Hindus in New York.
“You attack our country and our leadership, then pivot and say you’re really just talking about affordability,” he said. “That same playbook has already been used against Jews.”
The discussion also addressed violence against Hindus in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Dosapati cited U.S. House Resolution 1430, which documents atrocities committed during the 1971 Bangladesh genocide, and said recent attacks on Hindu villages indicate that such violence continues.
Rabbi Daniel Schonbuch, who hosted the program, warned that New York’s own history shows how quickly communal tensions can escalate when law enforcement is undermined, pointing to the 1991 Crown Heights riots.
“When leaders signal that policing will be restrained, minority communities suffer first,” Schonbuch said.
Dosapati stressed that his criticism was not directed at ordinary Muslims but at political ideologies he said excuse violence while silencing dissent. As the city approaches a contentious election season, both speakers urged minority communities to speak out together and prioritize public safety and mutual trust.
Rabbi Daniel Schonbuch, LMFT, is a New York–based psychotherapist, author, and host of The Viktor Frankl Podcast, a rapidly growing platform examining psychology, culture, faith, and current events through the lens of Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy. He is the author of five books, including Viktor Frankl and the Psychology of the Soul, and founder of the Torah Psychology School of Coaching and Counseling. His work focuses on meaning, resilience, and moral clarity in an age of confusion. You can follow him at rabbiforamerica.com.
The Hindu community has a similar problem to Frum Jews.
We are easy targets because we are distinct minorities.
We all stick out in a crowd.
The cowards who attacked the Chabad bochrim on the Subway were able to see who they/we are.
When Jews go anywhere, we are obvious targets for the antisemites. Perhaps joint “citizen patrols” with other visible minorities?
I don’t have an immediate solution besides community vigilance and perhaps more Shomrim on the Subways. I hope someone else has more/better ideas.
Like he’s some genius. Yeah, we know.
He should talk to Hindu Wife of WCN (white xtian nationalist) JD Vonce on this. But JD’s busy bentschen w antasemit Tucker.