{"id":4353,"date":"2015-03-05T13:49:47","date_gmt":"2015-03-05T13:49:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/globalpress.hinduismnow.org?p=4350&amp;preview_id=4350"},"modified":"2015-03-05T13:49:47","modified_gmt":"2015-03-05T13:49:47","slug":"tulsi-gabbard-a-hindu-in-congress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/?p=4353","title":{"rendered":"Tulsi Gabbard, a Hindu in Congress &#8211; The Atlantic"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<section id=\"article-section-1\">When Tulsi Gabbard first ran for Congress in 2012 from her home state of Hawaii, her Republican opponent, David \u201cKawika\u201d Crowley, ridiculed the observant Hindu for subscribing to a religion that \u201cdoesn\u2019t align with the constitutional foundation of the U.S. government.\u201dIn the elections held the following month, Gabbard became the first\u2014and only\u2014Hindu ever elected to Congress.<\/p>\n<p>Gabbard isn\u2019t, however, your typical Hindu\u2014at least she&#8217;s not what is normally associated with being a Hindu. She\u2019s a Hawaiian of Samoan descent, the daughter of a Roman Catholic and a Caucasian Hindu convert.\u00a0 She\u2019s a light-skinned, surfing, Iraq War vet set to marry her boyfriend later this year in a traditional Vedic ceremony.<\/p>\n<p>Her election illustrates the complicated tightrope Hindus\u2014and consequently, Indian Americans\u2014walk in establishing a political identity. After all, in a country where two million Americans identify as being Hindu and many more count themselves as ethnically South Asian, why haven\u2019t there been more people of Indian origin walking the halls of Congress? And why is it only now that a Hindu has been elected to Congress?<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"article-section-2\">Indian Americans are a relatively new immigrant community. Many are Hindu, although India is a multicultural, multireligious society that includes a sizable population of Muslims, Jains, Sikhs, Christians, and other religious groups. The Indian population has grown sharply after the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 opened up quotas for Indians to migrate to the United States.Hinduism, for its part, has surprising connections to American democratic culture. In the early 1800s, transcendentalism came into vogue, with its stripped-down sensibility, and spiritual approach to nature and society. The movement\u2019s fans (who include some of <em>The Atlantic<\/em>\u2019s founding fathers like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau) invoked basic Hindu texts in their philosophy and composed wildly popular essays tinged with ancient Hindu scriptures.<\/p>\n<p>The Indian American presence on the political stage was delayed until the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which opened up the quotas preventing Indians from migrating to the United States and sharply increased the presence of Indians in America. Dalip Singh Saund was the first Indian American member of the House of Representatives, a Sikh who converted his PhD in math to a successful farming career in California, garnering support for a brief Congressional career. But the Indian American presence in Congress since then has been limited, the only blip being former Congressman\u2014and now governor of Louisiana\u2014Bobby Jindal.<\/p>\n<p>The history of Indians\u2014and relatedly, Hindus\u2014in American political life might seem to justify, at least at first blush, a greater political presence for this group. Indian Americans, after all, have established themselves as a cultural mainstay. There\u2019s the stereotype, rightly or wrongly, of Hindus (and, by default, Indian Americans) as doctors, engineers, spelling-bee stars, math wizards, and computer geeks. But Indian Americans have long been teased for their heavy accents (think Apu in <em>The Simpsons<\/em>) and squeezed into the niche of a \u201cmodel minority,\u201d with no room for political influence outside of the arenas of math and science.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"pullquote instapaper_ignore\">Successful candidates tend to be Christians, with names and personas that are more palatable to other Americans.<\/aside>\n<p>Pop culture, though, has helped erode these views. Mindy Kaling\u2019s successful run of <em>The Mindy Project<\/em> has made her a darling of prime time TV watchers for portraying a ditzy doctor who often confuses her Indian background with what Americans understand about the land of her ancestors; Aziz Ansari (a Muslim) made <em>Parks and Recreation<\/em>\u2019s comedy one that transcended (and poked fun at) America\u2019s understanding of race; and Kal Penn made it not only possible to envision an Indian American in a stoner comedy (the <em>Harold and Kumar<\/em> franchise) but also translated his time volunteering with the Obama campaign into a role connecting to Asian-Americans on behalf of the President\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"article-section-3\">Gabbard\u2019s status has helped the Hindu presence on the national political stage. But it also illustrates a sensitive split in who can and cannot run for Congress: Successful candidates tend to be Christians, with names and personas that are more palatable to other Americans.Take Jindal, for example. The governor of Louisiana has sparked controversy in the Indian American community for what is often seen as a denial of his Hindu origins (Jindal converted to Christianity as a boy). Nikki Haley, governor of South Carolina and the other leading Indian American on the national stage, also converted to Christianity after being brought up a Sikh.<\/p>\n<p>Gabbard is the only Hindu in Congress; nationwide, numbers are difficult to obtain. There are a few local elected officials in states with larger Indian American populations; many more have converted professional success into political appointments, like Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.<\/p>\n<p>The geography of religion in America dictates who wins where, and many times, this geography works against Indian Americans, says Karthick Ramakrishnan, associate dean of public policy at the University of California\u2014Riverside and founder of AAPI Data, which collects statistics on the Asian-American\/Pacific Islander communities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe thing to keep in mind with Hindus and Asian-Americans in general is that there are not too many places where they are large enough to be the determinant of votes, save the Chicago and New York metro areas,\u201d Ramakrishnan said. \u201cYou can\u2019t just count on the Asian-American vote\u2014and even less so the Hindu vote\u2014to win office.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And even where they are most densely concentrated, Hindus aren\u2019t a large enough bloc to get a candidate to office. Mike Honda of California is the only representative with a majority Asian-American district in the continental United States. Running as a Hindu, in other words, does not have the same pull as other religious backgrounds, whereas running as a conservative Christian can, in certain districts, lead to a shoo-in win.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"article-section-4\">Religion is often dismissed as irrelevant to politics: A representative from Wisconsin governor Scott Walker\u2019s camp recently dismissed a query about the president&#8217;s faith as a distracting \u201cgotcha\u201d question. But candidates on the national stage have long had to answer questions regarding their worship. The minority faiths of candidates often face destructive, bigoted backlash, whether it be John F. Kennedy\u2019s Catholicism, Joseph Lieberman\u2019s Judaism, or most recently, Mitt Romney\u2019s Mormonism. And adherents of non-Western faiths face even more skepticism. \u201cIf there is a case where religion is a liability, then not being a Judeo-Christian would be it,\u201d said Ramakrishnan.Ramakrishnan points to a few districts across the country that simply don\u2019t care about religious affiliation (mostly urban, coastal, and liberal), but notes that \u201ccertainly there are many threshold districts, but in most places, it comes down to name recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Name recognition, in fact, may be the sticking point keeping Hindus back from achieving national political office\u2014one that hasn\u2019t been as troublesome to other Asian-Americans, according to Ramakrishnan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a strong push towards assimilation in American society,\u201d Ramakrishnan said. \u201cIf you look across Asian-American groups, Hindus are the least likely to have an Anglo name. If you look at Chinese and Korean names, they will often have a Christian name. But you don\u2019t see that as much with Indian Americans as you might with Punjabis.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"pullquote instapaper_ignore\">\u201cHinduism is largely misunderstood today in part because of how it\u2019s been portrayed in a negative and backwards way,\u201d Gabbard said.<\/aside>\n<p>Punjabis, or those hailing from the northwestern Indian state of Punjab, often have Anglicized nicknames. Bobby Jindal and Nikki Haley are Punjabi, and, partially because of a fortuitous coincidence of being Punjabi and having wholesome, relatable Americanized nicknames, were able to rebrand themselves early on with names that were more familiar to the American palate than their original birth names (Piyush and Namrata, respectively).<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"article-section-5\">Perhaps, for Indian American politicians, explaining themselves in the context of religion, particularly one that is foreign to many Americans, is cumbersome, awkward, and ultimately, unnecessary.Gabbard has spoken to many young Hindus who have reached out to her and said that they often find themselves embarrassed by pop culture\u2019s portrayal of Hindus and Indian Americans.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHinduism is largely misunderstood today in part because of how it\u2019s been portrayed in a negative and backwards way,\u201d Gabbard said. \u201cIn essence, it\u2019s a monotheistic and non-secular practice. It\u2019s more about spirituality than sectarianism,\u201d she added, describing her sect of Vaishnav Hinduism, Brahma Madhva Gaudy Sampradaya.<\/p>\n<p>Gabbard thinks that Hinduism attracts little attention and therefore, hate speech against Hindus receives little condemnation. Crowley, a Republican, was not reprimanded publicly by the Hawaiian Republican party for his Hinduphobic comments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis kind of religious bigotry still exists,\u201d she said. \u201cBeing a Hindu in the United States can lead to discrimination in renting a house, opening a business, or doing everyday things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s because of the prejudice facing Hindus that many candidates either hide their religious affiliation or simply ignore it. Being a Christian\u2014like Jindal and Haley\u2014is helpful in conservative districts. But declaring one\u2019s Hindu faith might work against a candidate, Ramakrishnan notes: \u201cCertainly for someone who is Hindu, it\u2019s a barrier. We have a strong monotheistic set of traditions in the U.S. and for that person to have to explain themselves, especially if they are devout\u2014it might not work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But more than outright hostility, Hindus contend with widespread ignorance. Hindus, after all, are a group of people who remain an enigma to the average American, who trust them more than Mormons but less than Buddhists, smack dab in a scale produced by Pew. The same study found the overall sense of Hindus was \u201cneutral.\u201d They weren\u2019t trusted, in other words, but neither were they mistrusted. They weren\u2019t familiar, nor were they quite unfamiliar.<\/p>\n<p>With the maturation of the second generation of the community, however, Ramakrishnan thinks things might change. He points to American-born Hindus who can more easily walk the line between the religion of their parents and the land and culture of their experience.<\/p>\n<p>But the national stage? Ramakrishnan sees little hope for a Hindu in the Oval Office in our lifetimes, pointing to the strong Christian tradition that has shaped American history.<\/p>\n<p>Gabbard disagrees\u2014and perhaps, her roles as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee and a \u201crising star\u201d of the Democratic Party mean she can afford to be optimistic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbsolutely [a Hindu can be in the White House one day],\u201d Gabbard said. \u201cWhen you look at the national issues that our country is facing, people are not qualified or disqualified because of their spiritual practice. People are looking for someone they can trust.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/politics\/archive\/2015\/03\/hindus-in-american-politics\/386941\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tulsi Gabbard, a Hindu in Congress \u2013 The Atlantic<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Tulsi Gabbard first ran for Congress in 2012 from her home state of Hawaii, her Republican opponent, David \u201cKawika\u201d Crowley, ridiculed the observant Hindu for subscribing to a religion that \u201cdoesn\u2019t align with the constitutional foundation of the U.S. government.\u201dIn the elections held the following month, Gabbard became the first\u2014and only\u2014Hindu ever elected to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[1134,17],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4353"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4353\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}