Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump. | Photo credit: AP

Hindu American groups applauded Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump for his promise to protect the human rights of Hindus around the world, including the United States and Bangladesh, and protect them from the “anti-religious agenda of the radical left.”

In his Diwali greetings on Thursday (October 31, 2024), Mr. Trump strongly condemned “the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians and other minorities in Bangladesh,” which he said remains in a “complete state of chaos.”

“This would never have happened under my watch. Kamala and Joe have ignored Hindus around the world and in America. They have been a disaster from Israel to Ukraine to our own southern border, but we will make America strong again and bring back peace through strength,” he said.

“We will also protect Hindu Americans from the anti-religious agenda of the radical left. We will fight for your freedom. Under my administration, we will also strengthen our great partnership with India and my good friend Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi,” Mr Trump had said.

Utsav Sanduja, founder and chairman of Hindus for America First, shared PTI in an interview that they were very grateful to President Trump.

“I am very grateful, eternally grateful and grateful to President Trump. It’s a shame that Kamala Harris hasn’t said anything on this issue. I think this will bring about a big change in this election,” said Mr Sanduja.

HinduAction also thanked Mr. Trump for his statement.

“As you have rightly pointed out, the situation of Hindus in Bangladesh is precarious. Below is a summary with regularly updated data on atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh,” it said.

“Thank you, President Trump, for showing moral clarity and unequivocally condemning the anti-Hindu pogroms in Bangladesh,” said Indian-American Nathan Punwani.

“Trump is a great man and a great leader. He deserves full honor to wish all Hindus, Buddhists and Jain Sikhs a blessed Diwali.” I think Trump really, really cares about these communities. He really understands what is going on in Bangladesh. He sees the ongoing persecution of Hindus. He is concerned about the religious minorities who are currently suffering in this country,” said Mr. Sanduja.

“He has done a great favor to millions of Americans concerned about human rights issues. Celebrating Diwali, such an auspicious day, such a great thing. I want to say that many of us in the Hindu community played a small role in convincing President Trump’s team to talk about this, give briefings and put together papers,” he said.

“We see that 60% of Indian Americans support Kamala Harris. I think 68% supported Biden in the last election. There is a decline in support for the Democratic presidential candidate. Trump had 22% of the Indian-American population last time. Now it is at 32%. This is evident from the Carnegie Endowment’s latest survey on Indian-American attitudes,” he said.

“With this statement, it will open the eyes of more Indian Americans, Hindu Americans, etc. You will vote for President Trump,” Mr. Sanduja said.