Mukta Joshi (@mukta

Mukta Joshi

1,295 posts

Mukta Joshi

@mukta_jo

reporter, local investigations @nytimes, photojournalist, recovering lawyer, freshly minted mississippian. previously @NLSIUofficial & @columbiajourn.

muktajo.wixsite.com/muktajo

Joined February 2021

Pinned
Mukta Joshi
@mukta_jo
Nov 21, 2025
Our team @mstodaynews, @nytimes & @reveal spent 10+ months interviewing >70 former inmates, former guards & deputies of a Mississippi jail. We discovered a pervasive culture of brutality, including inmates being ordered to beat other inmates. And it went straight to the top. 1/9
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Mukta Joshi
@mukta_jo
Oct 15, 2024
I spent 7+ months @columbiajourn investigating how the Hindu American Foundation has lobbied the U.S. govt for over a decade: laundering the Modi regime’s track record on minorities & championing its geopolitical interests while maintaining cozy ties with the Indian govt. #Thread
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Mukta Joshi
@mukta_jo
Jul 9, 2025
For @JewishCurrents, I audited hundreds of claims of “Hinduphobia” made by the Hindu American Foundation and found that the organization routinely misclassifies anti-Asian racism, anti-Muslim violence, and criticism of Hindu nationalism as anti-Hindu hate. #Thread
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Mukta Joshi
@mukta_jo
Jun 22, 2022
National Law School of India University, Bangalore has shockingly punished 2 students (both women) for the simple act of naming a perpetrator of sexual harassment. Nearly 200 alumni have issued a statement condemning the university’s arbitrary action. Please read and share: (1/n)
Mukta Joshi
@mukta_jo
Jul 7, 2022
The environment ministry has made an alarming change to the Forest Conservation Rules. It has rid itself of responsibility: its responsibility to ensure forest dwellers' rights are recognised before their forests are chopped down. Here's why you should care: #Thread
Mukta Joshi
@mukta_jo
Oct 15, 2024
Replying to @mukta_jo
But transparency is important. American citizens deserve to know who is lobbying their representatives and why. Indian citizens deserve to know how their government promotes its interests abroad. Read the full story on @AJEnglish here:
Who is lobbying for India’s Modi government on Capitol Hill?
From aljazeera.com
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Mukta Joshi
@mukta_jo
Oct 15, 2024
Replying to @mukta_jo
In public, HAF distances itself from the Indian government and BJP, refuting allegations that it acts on their behalf. It reiterates that its members are merely Hindus engaged in the American political process, calling allegations of government collusion “dual loyalty slurs.”
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Mukta Joshi
@mukta_jo
Oct 15, 2024
Replying to @mukta_jo
But HAF’s political activities in the interest of the Indian government + continued collaboration w/ the Indian embassy raise an important question: Should HAF register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938?
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Mukta Joshi
@mukta_jo
Oct 15, 2024
Replying to @mukta_jo
“At the very least, I think HAF’s actions would raise serious questions at the Department of Justice about whether HAF should be registered under FARA,” said @BenFreemanDC, a foreign influence expert @QuincyInst.
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Mukta Joshi
@mukta_jo
Oct 15, 2024
Replying to @mukta_jo
HAF’s top donors according to 2018 tax disclosures were Mihir Meghani who co-founded the Hindu Students Council & Shekar Reddy, trustee of the Global Hindu Heritage Foundation, which was found in 2022 to be fundraising to demolish “illegal” churches in India.
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Mukta Joshi
@mukta_jo
Oct 15, 2024
Replying to @mukta_jo
In 2005, HAF campaigned against the denial of visa by the US State Dept. to Narendra Modi. In the years that followed, it largely focused on domestic advocacy on Hindu causes. But in 2013 as Modi’s campaign for PM took off, HAF began to lobby on Capitol Hill in the BJP’s favor.
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Mukta Joshi
@mukta_jo
Oct 15, 2024
Replying to @mukta_jo
When @PramilaJayapal introduced H. Res. 745 urging India to end its internet blackout in Kashmir & preserve religious freedom in the state, HAF led a campaign against it, calling the resolution “anti-Hindu,” “anti-India” & successfully prevented it from being considered thrice.
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Mukta Joshi
@mukta_jo
Oct 15, 2024
Replying to @mukta_jo
HAF is a domestic religious advocacy nonprofit, but it repeatedly lobbies on issues of geopolitics + foreign policy related to India. Including elevation of India to a major non-NATO ally, F-16 fighter jet deals between the US & Pakistan & re: the abrogation of Art. 370.
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Mukta Joshi
@mukta_jo
Oct 15, 2024
Replying to @mukta_jo
The Indian embassy, on the other hand, has refused to reveal HAF’s sensitive correspondence with them, invoking national sovereignty & integrity, security/strategic/economic interests & foreign relations. Some of this correspondence is held in a *fiduciary capacity*, they said.
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