Washington, April 18 -- Shri Thanedar, a Democrat elected to the House of Representatives from Michigan state, has together with four other Indian-descent lawmakers Ro Khanna, Ami Bera, Pramila Jayapal and Raja Krishnamoorthi asked the Justice Department, which oversees the FBI, for a briefing on the investigation into these attacks.

Shri Thanedar urged the administration to accord "higher priority" to these "hate crimes".

"Today, I am seeing in the United States a substantial increase in attacks on Hinduism. A lot of misinformation is being circulated whether it is online or otherwise. Our community continues to be misrepresented, misunderstood, sometimes, deliberately," the lawmaker said.

Thanedar is a practicing Hindu and the foundi...