NEW YORK (RNS) — It’s not every day you see a city employee with the credential “karmacharya” attached to his name.
The Hindu title, from the Sanskrit for “one who performs righteous actions,” was bestowed upon Vijah Ramjattan, executive director of New York City’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, by his guru several years ago.
Ramjattan, 44, finds the title especially fitting. “My guru knew my ancestors, who also worshipped God through community service, through seva (a Dharmic term for selfless service), through finding ways to serve humanity,” said Ramjattan. “He said, ‘It’s in your genes, it’s in your DNA, that your lineage has always found ways to serve.’”
When New York Mayor Eric Adams appointed Ramjattan in January, the mayor called him “uniquely qualified to hit the ground running” as hate crime czar.
Though Adams noted that hate crimes in the city have steadily decreased each year, according to the New York state comptroller, the state has seen a “concerning surge” in reported hate crime incidents over the last five years. The most common bias reported in New York state in 2023 fell under the category of religion, with most targeting Jewish New Yorkers.
Adams cited the upswing in explaining why he fired Ramjattan’s predecessor, Hassan Naveed, in April of last year. “You’re given a responsibility in a role, you’re in charge of hate crimes. I’m seeing an increase in hate crimes,” Adams told reporters when asked why Naveed was terminated, referring to a jump in incidents after the Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. (Naveed maintains he was fired because he is Muslim and has said he plans to take legal action against Adams.)
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