A Hindu nationalist group in India has asked the gods to bless Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, citing Trump’s stand against Islamist terrorism.
“The whole world is screaming against Islamic terrorism, and even India is not safe from it. Only Donald Trump can save humanity,” declared Hindu Sena found Vishnu Gupta, as quoted by the Associated Press.
About a dozen members of Gupta’s group assembled to light a ritual fire, chant mantras, and display photos of Trump surrounded by statues of the gods in New Dehli on Wednesday. The photos were emblazoned with slogans such as “We Love Trump” and “We Support Trump” in English, and the sacred Hindu mark was painted on his forehead during the ceremony.
The group made offerings to the gods, including “seeds, grass, and ghee, or clarified butter,” beneath a banner declaring that Trump is “hope for humanity against Islamic terror.”
The Washington Post observed that Hindu Sena’s enthusiasm for Trump was undiminished by his mixture of “positive and negative statements about India.”
“He described the country as a necessary check to nuclear-armed Pakistan, but also mentioned India as being among several countries he thinks are stealing jobs from the United States,” the Post recalls.
Trump “mimicked the accent of an Indian call center worker in a speech about the trade imbalance and the job market,” but later said that “India is a great place.”
The Associated Press reported that Trump’s “calls for temporarily banning Muslims from America and cracking down on extremist groups abroad have earned him some fans in India.”
The Washington Post adds that a “Hindus for Trump” movement has been “gaining speed on Twitter and Facebook in recent days.”
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