‘Weaponised Hinduphobia’: American Hindus slam Peter Navarro, ask Trump to fire him

A Hindu advocacy group in the United States, HinduPACT’s American Hindus Against Defamation (AHAD), has condemned the recent remarks of White House trade adviser Peter Navarro as “inappropriate and Hinduphobic” and demanded his dismissal from President Donald Trump’s team. The Hindu group objected to Navarro’s reference to caste and his “portrayal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a sacred act of Hindu prayer”.

The AHAD issued a press release, saying, “Navarro’s rhetoric constitutes 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.”

“It’s not a critique; it’s a colonial-era trope recycled to divide Hindu society and depict India as inherently unjust,” the group said while criticising Navarro’s comments about “Brahmins profiting at the expense of the Indian people”.

‘People like Navarro have no place in American political life’

Ajay Shah, executive chair of HinduPACT, said, “This is not foreign policy. It’s weaponised Hinduphobia.”

“People like Navarro have no place in American political life,” he said.

The group also slammed Navarro for sharing a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in saffron robes. It said the picture was shared to mock Hindu spirituality while exerting economic pressure on India.

AHAD is a Hindu advocacy and watchdog group dedicated to addressing and countering defamation, misrepresentation, and prejudice against Hinduism, its symbols, icons, and culture.

Founded in 1997 as an initiative of the World Hindu Council of America (VHPA), it is now part of a larger advocacy organisation, HinduPACT.

‘Saffron is sacred. Prayer is not propaganda’

Commenting on the picture, HinduPACT president Deepti Mahajan said, “If the target was the Hindu faith, that’s religious hostility. If the target was India’s leadership, that’s diplomatic recklessness. Either way, it’s a serious violation.”

“Saffron is sacred. Prayer is not propaganda. What exactly was Navarro trying to say by using that image?” she asked.

WATCH: Russia-Ukraine war: Trump expresses disappointment in Putin over Ukraine conflict escalation

What did Peter Navarro say?

Targeting India for its purchases of Russian oil, Navarro said “Brahmins” are profiteering at the expense of the Indian people, and it needs to ‘stop’.

“Look (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi is a great leader,” Navarro, the Trump administration’s Senior Counsellor for Trade and Manufacturing, said in an interview with Fox News.

He added that he doesn’t understand how the Indian leader is cooperating with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping “when he’s the biggest democracy in the world”.

“So I would just simply say, the Indian people, please understand what's going on here. You got Brahmins profiteering at the expense of the Indian people. We need that to stop,” Navarro said.

He also called India a “laundromat” for the Kremlin and blamed it for “funding” Moscow’s war on Ukraine.