Narain Kataria, a lifelong Hindu activist, who was known to many in the community as ‘Hindu Lion’ for his relentless and forceful advocacy for Hindus in the United States for some 30 years, died Nov. 2 at his home in Queens, New York. He was 85.
Passionate and determined to uphold the dignity of ‘Hindus and Hindutva’, Kataria was a hardcore nationalist, a superb community organizer and a relentless political activist for the Hindu Diaspora in the U.S.
“When it came to Hindu aspirations, related worthy socio-political causes or injustice to Hindus, he was unapologetically partisan in his ‘politicking’,” said Prakash Wagmare, a community activist and member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America.
While Kataria endeared himself to thousands of community members through his Hindu Advocacy, his acerbic tongue and campaign against minorities, especially Muslims, was sometimes seen as his drawback in an otherwise flawless personality.
“From the beginning, Kataria was troubled by Hindu’s indifference towards preserving and propagating their culture and religion. He strongly felt that vested interests of some of the minority sections of the society, were bent upon marginalizing Hindu society and nation’s character with the help of leftist Media,” Wagmare said.
A victim of ‘Partition of India’ Kataria was born Feb. 15, 1930 in Sukkur, Sindh, which became a part of Pakistan. After settling down in Ulhasnagar near Mumbai, he earned a master’s degree in history while simultaneously working to support his family. He came to the U.S. in early 1970s and started working as Legal Assistant for a long firm and continued with that job till his retirement in 1998.
Kataria is survived by his two daughters, sons-in-law and grand children.
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