'False statue of a false Hindu God': Alexander Duncan's remark on Hanuman idol in Texas triggers backlash

A Texas Republican leader has sparked a controversy over his remarks on a 90-foot statue of lord Hanuman, known as the 'Statue of Union', in the US city. Alexander Duncan, a Republican from Texas, criticised that America is a Christian nation and should not permit 'a false statue of a false Hindu God.'

"Why are we allowing a false statue of a false Hindu God to be here in Texas? We are a CHRISTIAN nation," Alexander Duncan wrote on X. The post was written while posting the video of the statue located at Shri Ashtalakshmi Temple in the town of Sugar Land, Texas.

Netizens hit out at the post

Soon after Duncan's post came on X, several social media users lashed out at him along with the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), calling the statement "anti-Hindu and inflammatory." Reacting to it, the Hindu group formally reported the incident to the Republican Party in Texas and urged it to address the matter.

"Hello @TexasGOP, will you be disciplining your senate candidate from your party who openly contravenes your own guidelines against discrimination-displaying some pretty sordid anti-Hindu hate-not to mention disrespect for the 1st Amendment's Establishment Clause?" the Hindu American Foundation posted.

In response to his remarks, several netizens criticised on social media. An X user wrote, " Hindus aren't promoting j*had. Focus on the actual problem of violent foreign nationals who h8 us. Hindu gods depict facets of the ultimate god consciousness. They are all connected and promote the development of virtue. Read up a bit. This is not the problem."

Another X user said, "Just because you’re not Hindu, doesn’t make it false. The Vedas were written almost 2000 years before Jesus walked the earth and are extraordinary texts. And there’s obvious influences on Christianity…so it would be wise to honor and research the ‘religion’ that predates and influences yours."

"India has always been a Hindu civilisation. Yet today it houses over 500,000 mosques & nearly 100,000 churches/ chapels, with the Catholic Church standing as the second-largest landowner after the Indian government (not some Indic faith). Despite deep theological differences, no Indian politician would dare call these churches an “abomination” or dismiss them as shrines to “fake gods.” Yet you bigots spit such venom freely and walk away unscathed. Perhaps you do deserve the fate hurtling your way where you will be swallowed by the toxic cocktail of Wokeism and Pan-Islamism," another user said.