Fact Check: US Hindu groups have declared October 'Hindu Heritage Month

The letter states that Hindu-Americans have made significant contributions across all fields and Hindu heritage, culture, traditions, and values have enriched the state. October 2021 will be celebrated as "Hindu Heritage Month" to focus on Hindu culture and its diverse spiritual roots in India, the letter adds.

The letter has the emblem of Florida and the signature of Governor Ron Desantis.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/thanks-florida-governor-ron-desantis-declaring-hindu-patel-cha-cho-?trk=articles_directory

Meanwhile, some users have shared the message that Florida Governor has declared October as Hindu Heritage Month.

Fact Check:

The claim that October has been declared as "Hindu Heritage Month" by the Florida Governor is TRUE.

However, NewsMeter did not find any official communication as of September 19, 2021.

Nor did we find any such announcement on Governor Ron Destanis's Twitter account. He usually shares such news on Twitter.

However, we did find an official communication on the Florida Governor's website from 13 September 2021 about First Lady Casey DeSantis announcing the theme for the Hispanic Heritage Month - "Celebrating Hispanic-American Community Leaders and Champions". The Hispanic Heritage Month is recognized and celebrated in the United States from 15 September to 15 October. The First Lady also invited students to participate in academic and creative contests, including art and essay contests, based on this year's theme.

Several Hindu organizations in the US have declared October as 'Hindu Heritage Month'. According to the press release by World Hindu Council of America – VHPA, "Dharma-based organizations, including those of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Jain traditions from around the world, are pleased to announce the addition of another major festival, indeed an entire month of festivals, in October as the Hindu Heritage Month."

According to a report published in newsindiatimes.com, "Each participating organization will decide the manner as well as the schedule of their event(s). On a given day, there may be several events taking place in different parts of the United States and Canada. Celebrations may take many forms – cultural programs, fashion shows, webinars, multi-day conferences, walkathons and more."

More than 30 organizations have already joined hands and many more are expected to join, according to organizers.

Another article in Indianewengland.com quoted Sanjay Kaul, vice-president of World Hindu Council of America, one of the organizers of this event, as saying, "Hindu heritage and culture is thousands of years old, it is our duty to share it with the world and pass it on to our next generations for them so that they take pride in their roots."

VHPA also uploaded a video with the title "October 2021 is Hindu Heritage Month" stating that the first-ever month-long event will celebrate the rich Hindu heritage across the US and Canada.

Though we did not find any evidence on the official website, Amitabh VW Mittal Gen. Secretary VHP America contacted Newsmeter via email and said "Hon. Gov. of Florida Ron DeSantis. The Proclamation was requested by the Local Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America Chapter in Florida and was received via mail to our Chapter President is genuine."

We also received an official proclamation by Governer of Texas, Greg Abbott that state of Texas has declared October as Hindu Heritage Month, which is a great news for all the Hindu communities living in Texas.

Update: As of September 19,2021 as per communication from Amitabh Mittal, VHP-A the document shared is TRUE

As we have received a communication from VHP-A that the Governor of Florida indeed declared it as Hindu Heritage Month and the document is genuine, we have updated the article to TRUE.