Condemn Hindu nationalism, support students’ protests: U.S. Representative Ro Khanna

A day after winning another term in the U.S. Congress from California held on November 3, U.S. Representative Ro Khanna said he stands against “Hindu nationalism” and supported the students’ protests in India.

Mr. Khanna’s comments are significant, as he remains the Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans in the U.S. House of Representatives, and has been hosted by the Government in India in recent years. The comments came the same day that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) issued a statement, also criticising the government over minority rights.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) did not respond to requests for comments on either statement. 

“I have unequivocally condemned Hindu nationalism & applauded the students in the streets speaking out against corruption and for inclusion,” Mr. Khanna wrote on X on Friday, in response to questions about his possible run for Presidential elections in 2028, and whether he would comment on developments in India including the protests over examination leaks and voter rolls. 

“My grandfather was part of Gandhi’s independence movement and I believe in Gandhi and Nehru’s vision of pluralism,” Mr. Khanna added, referring to his maternal grandfather, Amarnath Vidyalankar, a freedom fighter and Member of Parliament in India until 1977.

While the government did not react to the comments, senior advisor to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry Kanchan Gupta attacked Mr. Khanna for his post.

“It ill behoves [Ro Khanna] to talk about democracy and pluralism,” Mr. Gupta said, accusing Vidyalankar, who died in 1985, of supporting the Emergency imposed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975.

The acrimonious exchange is in contrast to Mr. Khanna’s engagement with the government and advocacy for India-U.S. ties in recent years. In 2023, Mr. Khanna had led a delegation of U.S. lawmakers to India at the invitation of the government to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day address at the Red Fort. In 2022, he also authored the U.S. Congress legislative amendment that granted India waivers from punitive CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) sanctions.

In a separate development on Friday (USCIRF), the USCIRF issued a statement expressing concerns over what it referred to as a series of “vigilante attacks” on Gurdwaras in India.

“Over the last several weeks, Sikh gurdwaras in India have been targeted with vigilante attacks incl. attempts to harm religious leaders. The USG should link security assistance to the Indian govt’s response to violence that stops people from exercising [their Freedom of religious beliefs],” USCIRF Commissioner David Anderson said in a statement, which was followed by another statement from Commissioner Joe Grogan, calling for the U.S. government to take up the cases with the Indian government.

While neither official of the USCIRF, an advisory body on religious freedom, elaborated on details of the case, they are believed to be referring to attacks on two Gurdwaras in Ludhiana. However, Punjab Police, which investigated the cases involving gunfire, had concluded that at least one attack was carried out by Gurdwara personnel, and had ruled out any religious angle in the attacks.

In the past, the Ministry of External Affairs has consistently rejected statements and reports by USCIRF. It has accused USCIRF of “presenting a distorted and selective picture of India, relying on questionable sources and ideological narratives rather than objective facts”.