"Inappropriate and Hinduphobic": American Hindus Against Defamation calls for Peter Navarro's dismissal from Trump's team

WASHINGTON: A Hindu organization in the United States has slammed Peter Navarro for his harsh criticism of India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, who criticized India's purchase of Russian oil, said that Brahmins are profiting at the expense of the Indian people. American Hindus Against Defamation (AHAD) has come out against this.

The AHAD is demanding that Navarro be dismissed from Trump's team. The organization responded that Navarro's remarks were "inappropriate and Hinduphobic." AHAD also opposed Navarro's "portrayal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a sacred act of Hindu prayer." The AHAD clarified that Peter Navarro's response is not only a cultural violation but also a reckless provocation that endangers the dignity of over a billion Hindus and threatens the foundational relationship between the two largest democracies.

The organization also pointed out that Peter Navarro's remark about Brahmins profiting at the expense of the Indian people is a colonial stereotype. "It's not a critique; it's a colonial-era trope recycled to divide Hindu society and depict India as inherently unjust," AHAD stated.

HinduPACT Executive Chair Ajay Shah said that Peter Navarro's remarks were weaponised Hinduphobia. Shah criticized that such colonial scripts that divide Hindus are not building relationships but destroying them. Navarro first took a jab at India, saying that the country is indirectly funding the war against Ukraine by buying oil at low prices. Later, he remarked that Brahmins are profiting at the expense of Indians.