‘I am a big fan of Hindu… Big, big fan’ yelled Donald Trump during a brief appearance at a bizarre charity event in October, blending Bollywood and Americana patriotism. The ‘Humanity United Against Terror’ concert, organised by the Republican Hindu Coalition, was raising money to combat ‘radical Islamic terrorism’ that specifically targeted Hindus from Kashmir and Bangladesh. A new campaign video celebrating Diwali, in which Trump speaks several words in Hindi, echoes this same sentiment.
At first glance this might seem another attempt by the Presidential candidate to rustle up support from minority groups; akin to comments such as, ‘I love Hispanics!’ while posing with a Cinco de Mayo taco bowl, or asking ‘What do you have to lose?’ when addressing black voters. But the colourful language belies an unlikely alliance, which has at its core a profound distrust of Islam. And Trump’s anti-immigrant, anti-Islam rhetoric is having an unlikely effect on sectarian tensions on the other side of the world.
Most American Indians do not support Trump, and there is a proportionally high Democratic membership amongst them.
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