Local Hindu community urges council to condemn Pahalgam killings and stand with victims

PITTSBURGH — During public comment at the June 24 City Council meeting, multiple members of Pittsburgh’s Hindu community urged the council to condemn the April 22 killings in Pahalgam, Kashmir, that they described as the targeted murder of Hindu tourists.

Speakers identified themselves as community leaders, high-school students and residents. Sudha Jaganathan, a board member of the Coalition of Hindus of North America, told the council the attack involved four assailants affiliated with an organization she named; she said eyewitness accounts indicated male victims were forced to verify circumcision status and that victims who identified as Hindu were executed in front of their families. Jaganathan said the group is banned by both the United States and the United Nations.

Kaviri Patel, a high-school student from Upper St. Clair, said the attack “shook me to my core” and urged council to “stand up for those 26 innocent people who lost their lives simply for being Hindu.” Krishna Satya Bagheswar, also identified as an Upper St. Clair graduate and Hindu teenager, asked council not to let silence be the response and to recognize the victims.

Sridevi Lakshmi Narayanan and other speakers described local Hindu community activities — including the Seva Diwali food drive and prior proclamations recognizing cultural events — and asked the council for a unanimous condemnation and an expression of support for the community.

Council response and procedure

City Council took public comments in the order of speaker registration. The record shows the registered speakers’ statements were heard and entered into the public record. The transcript shows no formal council resolution resulting directly from these public comments during this meeting; several speakers asked the council to issue a condemnation or to stand in solidarity.

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All quotations and paraphrases above are drawn from the June 24, 2025 public-comment record.