New Delhi: Indian Americans, especially Hindus, are having a crisis of faith about their adopted nation as Trump and his conservative cohorts push for a “Christian national identity”.
The latest source of contention between Hindus and Christians in the United States is the 90-foot Hanuman statue in Sugar Land, Texas. Over the course of a year, the statue has called into question the ‘American Dream’ that the US propagated for years. The New York Times dubbed it the halt of America’s most successful experiment, as the statute remains a sore point across communities.
Inaugurated in August 2024, the statue cost almost $8 million to build. It has been called “a devil” and one of the characters from Planet of the Apes. Needless to say, the Christian community is not happy with the erection of a “foreign deity” in what is supposedly a Christian country.
The crudest MAGA influencers on social media let out a tirade, calling the religion and those who practise it as having a “low IQ”. Many online even claimed that Indians worship devils and cheated their way into the country.
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‘Ego, hubris, self-promotion’
Situated at Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple in Sugar Land, the Panchaloha Abhaya Hanuman, according to the temple’s website, is the tallest statue of the Hindu deity in North America.
Built as a symbol of Hanuman’s strength, devotion, and selfless service, the Statue of Union is named to commemorate the deity’s role in reuniting the deities Ram and Sita. The project was envisioned by Indian spiritual leader Chinnajeeyar Swami.
The statue was unveiled in a grand ceremony, with both ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ playing in the background, in a perfect representation of Indian Americans celebrating both sides of their national identities.
However, according to the NYT, all was not as it seemed on that sunny day. Outside the walls of the temple, dozens of conservatives gathered protesting the statue of what they termed “a demon god”. Some zealous Christians even started praying in front of the statue for their country and for the souls of the “condemned”.
Soon after the ceremony, Texas Republican Alexander Duncan voiced his objections to the statue in an X post. “Why are we allowing a false statue of a false Hindu God to be here in Texas?” he wrote.
Following the Senate candidate’s comments, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) flagged a complaint with the Republican Party in Texas in an X post. The HAF called Duncan’s comments “anti-Hindu and inflammatory” and in clear violation of the US’ First Amendment’s Establishment Clause that prohibits governments from favouring one religion over another.
One X user said that the only reason Hindus were able to erect the statue was the fault of Christians for not building a large statue of Jesus or the Virgin Mary.
Another X user questioned how the statue contributes to American society, while some were simply glad that it was not a statue related to Islam.
“In full agreement. A 90-foot statue of Hanuman in Sugarland Texas is an act of ego, hubris, and self-promotion. It displays a lack of perspective and just plain commonsense. Fund Sunday schools focused on Hindu/Indian culture instead,” said one of the latest posts criticising the statue.
Another statue of a Hindu deity is currently being built in North Carolina, and conservatives are already up in arms.
“Apparently a 155 foot tall statue of the #Hindu god #Murugan is being built in NC…#Idolatry #Paganism never mind that there’s another Hindu god statue of Hanuman in #Texas – if you’re a born again Christian and think there’s nothing wrong with this…just pray for the country,” one X user wrote on the soon-to-be world’s tallest Murugan statue at the Carolina Murugan Temple.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)