In an article, Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard addresses being labelled a ‘Hindu nationalist’ and takes on Republicans on the issue of religion.
New Delhi: US Congresswoman and Democratic presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard has said she shares a positive working relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and highlighted the fact that India continues to be one of the closest allies of the US.
In an op-ed article written for the Religion News Service, a news agency covering religion and spirituality, Gabbard said India’s importance in Asia is growing, and that she is proud of the fact that she is a Hindu but not a ‘Hindu nationalist’.
“I too have been accused of being a ‘Hindu nationalist’. My meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s democratically elected leader, have been highlighted as ‘proof’ of this and portrayed as somehow being out of the ordinary or somehow suspect, even though President [Barack] Obama, Secretary [of State Hillary] Clinton, President [Donald] Trump and many of my colleagues in Congress have met with and worked with him,” Gabbard wrote.
“India is one of America’s closest allies in Asia, and is a country of growing importance in a critical region of the world.”
Gabbard met Modi for the first time in September 2014 during his maiden visit to the US as India’s prime minister. She had gifted him copy of the Bhagavad Gita then. Thereafter, she has met Modi a couple of times. She visited India in December 2015, and met all senior leaders of the ruling BJP.
In her op-ed article, she also launched a scathing attack on her critics, especially Republicans, stressing that “religious bigotry is un-American”. She will hold a rally on 2 February in Hawaii to formally launch her 2020 White House bid.
Also read: Shifting stance on gay sex, abortion defines Tulsi Gabbard, Hindu in race for US presidency
Who is Tulsi Gabbard?
Gabbard, a lawmaker from Hawaii, was the first Hindu elected to the US Congress in 2013. She may well become the first Hindu woman to be President of the US, but she has to first win a tough race for the Democratic nomination, and then run for President.
The 37-year-old Iraq war veteran has served in a field medical unit in the combat zone. She has been with the Army National Guard for nearly 15 years and continues to serve there. She has been deployed twice in West Asia, and is one of the first female combat veterans to ever be elected to Congress.
Gabbard has, in the past, faced a lot of flak for publicly supporting Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, after she met him in 2017. She had said that the US should support Assad’s fight against the ISIS, and not throw its weight behind the anti-Assad rebels.
She also supported her father Mike Gabbard’s anti-gay organisation. However, earlier last month, she issued a lengthy apology for her earlier viewpoint, and said she now supports gay rights.
The Wall Street Journal, on 27 January, published an editorial opinion piece on Gabbard, stating that despite her “affinity for Assad, she sometimes raises good questions”.
“Ms Gabbard is a presidential longshot, but she’s more than a gadfly. She could be useful in helping voters cut through Democratic talking points to see what they really believe,” WSJ wrote.