New Jersey's Mira Trivedi grew up seeing the 'swastika' symbol used on every sacred occasion. When she was studying the Holocaust in eighth grade, her teacher referred to Hitler's symbol as 'swastika'. Trivedi said she always knew that Hitler's symbol was called a Nazi Swastika, but hearing it from a teacher was different.
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She went up to the teacher and told her that those were two different symbols and that this needed to be corrected. "The teacher told me, 'You know, Mira, a lot of students came to me and pointed it out. But I don't see the need to change it," Mira said, recounting her experience of starting the uphill battle to correct a wrong interpretation of a religious symbol that only begets more hatred for Hindus in the US. Now Mira is in the 10th standard, and she has a group of Hindu and Buddhist students rallying behind her.
'If we don't speak up, who will?'
Mira, who is also part of the Coalition of Hindus of North America, said initially she faced backlash because of her activism, as many of her peers questioned why she was pushing this agenda. "But my point is that if we don't speak up for our sacred symbols, then who will? One day, our religious symbol will be taken away, and they will put us in jail for using that symbol," Mira said. Her parents, who were born in India, supported her at every step.
"My father helped me get together all the links on the difference between the swastika and Hitler's Hakenkreuz. He sent me the photographs from our family albums, where we drew a 'swastika' as I was mailing those to the school authorities," she said. Some teachers were also very open and helpful, but they admitted their limitations to change the nomenclature and advised Mira to approach the district authorities.
Mira gave a presentation to the authorities and is now waiting for the change to happen.
At a time when Indians and Indian-origin people are facing a difficult time in the US, a wrong interpretation of a religious symbol triggers more hatred. Mira said she faced subtle bullying because of her religion -- because Hindus worship cows and Ganesha, known as the Elephant God, but this has to end now.
