Indian American GOP political figures face racist attacks over Diwali celebrations

FBI Director Kash Patel faced a torrent of racist and Hinduphobic comments on social media earlier this week after posting Diwali greetings, joining fellow Indian American political figures Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy — as well as Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who has no Indian heritage but is a practicing Hindu — in receiving hateful responses to their festival messages.

“Go back to India”: Patel, the Trump administration’s top ranking Indian American and Asian American official, posted “Happy Diwali – celebrating the Festival of Lights around the world, as good triumphs over evil” on X Monday morning, prompting hostile responses from self-identified MAGA supporters and Christian nationalists.

Commenters wrote, “Reject this false religion’s Diwali nonsense. Hinduism is idolatry, not truth” and “Jesus Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth. Your gods have no authority here.” Others pleaded, “Sir, please don’t promote the festivals of foreign gods in America” or declared, “Dude we are a Christian nation. Assimilate or leave.” One comment with nearly 3,000 likes said, “I’ve seen that one. Is that the festival where they all shit in the street?” Another demanded, “Time to send the foreigners back home.”

Other Indian American officials faced similar attacks. Haley and Ramaswamy received similar vitriol. Under Haley’s post, users wrote, “Go home with your BS. Straight way to India” and “WARNING … THIS USER IS AN INDIAN PRETENDING TO BE AN AMERICAN.” Ramaswamy, who is running for Ohio governor, was told, “You are not an American, you are a demon worshipping foreigner. Self deport immediately” and “You will never be an American to me.” Even Gabbard, who was born in American Samoa, was told to “Go back to India.” One commenter who replied “Public Service Announcement” under multiple posts urged others to “call the police” on Indians celebrating with fireworks, calling it “your duty as a patriot.”

What this means: The attacks expose persistent religious prejudice, and more broadly, racism and xenophobia, within MAGA circles, where even high-ranking Asian American officials must repeatedly defend their American identity. Patel, who is also the FBI’s first Indian American director, was born in New York to Gujarati immigrant parents.

As one commenter observed, “Kash has done everything he could to support a party that hates him. They hate his family. They hate his religion. They want to make life worse for people who look like him. And he still supports them. What a pathetic person.” Another questioned, “Now what made you think you could post this when your supporters are all theocratic fascists???” At a Montana event for Charlie Kirk on Oct. 7, Ramaswamy faced similar confrontations when attendees questioned whether a Hindu could represent a Christian-majority state.

What Trump is saying: Two days after the attacks, President Donald Trump hosted an official Diwali celebration in the Oval Office, with Patel and other Indian American leaders present including Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra and IBM CEO Arvind Krishna. In a White House message, Trump wrote, “To every American celebrating Diwali, may this observance bring abiding serenity, prosperity, hope and peace.” However, the president mispronounced multiple Indian attendees’ names at the event, including Ambassador Vinay Kwatra’s, later joking about his new ambassador to India having “a nice, easy name.”