A senior member of the Republican Party has sparked controversy by opposing the installation of a 90-foot statue of Lord Hanuman—dubbed the ‘Statue of Union’—recently unveiled in Texas.
The backlash comes amid growing tensions between U.S. and India over trade disagreements, tariffs, and a rise in online hate speech targeting India and Hinduism.
The controversy intensified after the Trump administration introduced a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications, a move seen as disproportionately affecting Indian applicants.
Republican Senate hopeful Alexander Duncan shared a video of the Hanuman statue, which was inaugurated in August 2024, and wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “Why is a false idol of a false Hindu god allowed in Texas? We are a Christian country!” His remarks added fuel to ongoing tensions.
Following up, Duncan posted a Bible verse: “You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea,” reinforcing his stance against the statue.
His comments drew immediate criticism from Indian-American communities and the Hindu American Foundation, who condemned the remarks as bigoted and divisive.
The Foundation tagged the Texas GOP in a strongly worded post: “Will your party take action against a Senate candidate who’s promoting anti-Hindu hatred and disregarding your stated opposition to discrimination? Also worth remembering: the First Amendment bars government favoritism of any religion.”
The uproar comes at a time when sections of the Indian-American community are already disillusioned by racially charged remarks made by Trump advisor Peter Navarro. Just weeks earlier, Navarro had alleged that Indian “Brahmins” were exploiting their own people, a statement that drew sharp criticism.
Tapesh Yadav, a U.S.-based businessman and long-time Republican voter, weighed in, writing: “As someone who typically supports the GOP, I find it troubling that Duncan is betraying core conservative values like freedom and equal opportunity.”
This isn’t the first time the massive Hanuman statue—the tallest in North America—has drawn negative attention. Since its inauguration at the Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple, the monument has faced an online wave of hate, particularly from right-wing supporters of Trump’s MAGA movement. Critics labeled it as an idol to a “foreign god,” with some going so far as to call it “demonic.”
Several headlines in U.S. media have also upset Hindu communities. Newsweek, for instance, ran the headline: “Huge half-monkey, half-human statue in Texas sparks conservative backlash.”
Some far-right commentators on X even made bizarre comparisons between the Hanuman statue and George Floyd, the Black man whose death at the hands of police in 2021 ignited global protests against racial injustice.
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