Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu member of the US Congress and the representative from Hawai, on Thursday tweeted saying ‘Hinduphobia’ had become very real in the US and that she had experienced it herself.
Gabbard, a presidential candidate running in the Democratic primaries, was responding to a post about an Uber driver allegedly ordering a passenger to leave after finding out that the individual was an Indian Hindu. According to the post, the driver told the passenger that “you Hindus are killing Muslims in India” triggering a debate over the recent Delhi violence that left 44 dead.
Unfortunately, Hinduphobia is very real. I've experienced it directly in each of my campaigns for Congress & in this presidential race. Here's just one example of what Hindus face every day in our country. Sadly, our political leaders & media not only tolerate it, but foment it. https://t.co/60MDtszQHf
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) March 5, 2020
The incident was shared by Dr Sheenie Ambardar, who said she saw it as a post on Facebook. It has not yet been verified by a third-party. While Uber was tagged in the post, they have yet to issue an official statement (though the social media handle replied to a comment on her post, asking her for trip details).
Gabbard shared the incident calling it “just one example of what Hindus face every day in our country”. Her comments elicited a flood of responses on Twitter. The hashtag #hinduphobia was still trending as of Friday.
Critics accused Gabbard of supporting fascism and violence against Muslims, while supporters say she had pointed out a prevailing bias against Hindu.
Tulsi has not commented on the Delhi pogroms where Muslims were targeted by Hindu nationalists, leading to 49 deaths, but has now commented on the Hinduphobia caused by the alleged "false international reporting" and "biased news" about said pogroms.https://t.co/jt0KxLX32V
— Séamus Malekafzali (@Seamus_Malek) March 5, 2020
Gabbard is the last woman left running in the US presidential primaries after Kamala Harris and Amy Klobucher dropped out. However, with just two delegates, it is highly improbably that she will win the nomination, with the battle now effectively between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.
