Republican lawmakers in the United States have formed the second, but largest, Congressional Hindu Caucus to advocate for causes and issues affecting the Hindu American community.
“Today I am so excited to announce the official launch of the Congressional Hindu Caucus in the United States Congress,” Elise Stefanik, the Republican leadership’s fourth-ranking member in the House of Representatives, said on Wednesday at an event organized by Shalabh “Shalli” Kumar, a leading Indian-American fundraiser for the party and, in particular, former President Donald Trump.
This was the second congressional caucus established to represent Hindu Americans, who are primarily Indian-descent Americans who increasingly identify with their religion rather than their country of origin.
However, it also claims to be a representative of the Sikh, Jain, and Buddhist communities.
The caucus, which is chaired by first-term Democratic Congressman Shri Thanedar, has been dogged by controversy since its inception, as Sikh Americans, who have their own well-funded lobbying effort, have challenged its claim to represent them.
It has also received little support from lawmakers.
In comparison, Stefanik’s Hindu caucus is off to a flying start.
She read out a list of about ten Republican lawmakers who had volunteered to join the caucus but were not all present.
Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis was one of them.
She came to the event to express her disappointment at not being able to attend.
“I have a growing Indian community in my district,” she explained when asked why she joined the caucus.
“We have a Hindu temple where I go every year to celebrate Diwali or one of the other holidays.” And I’ve developed a strong relationship with the Hindu community, and I’d like to be able to assist, especially given the US-India relationship’s strategic importance.”
With far-above-median household incomes, Indian-Americans are a growing community with widely acknowledged financial clout.
Their political clout has grown as well, owing primarily to donations, though many of them are running for positions ranging from city councils to Congress to the White House.
They have increasingly desired to be identified as Hindu Americans, granting them constituency claims over Hindus from the Caribbeans, Nepal, Bangladesh, and American converts.
Their numbers are estimated to be around 6 million, as stated at the launch event, which is at least 1.5 million more than the widely accepted estimate of Indian-Americans.
Kumar, the man behind this caucus, rose to prominence in the India-US world in 2013 when he launched a campaign to lobby US authorities to grant Narendra Modi a visa.
Although Kumar quickly fell out of Modi’s good graces, he had moved on to support a new person and cause: Donald Trump.
“This caucus will support legislation and issues important to Hindu Americans,” Kumar said at the Congressional Hindu Caucus’ inaugural meeting.