Hindu priests chanting sermons and holding prayers for an American presidential candidate is a rare sight. But the world witnessed just that in 2024, when Hindu priests in New Delhi prayed for a Trump victory.
Granted, there were prayers for Vice President Harris as well, particularly in her ancestral village. While wishes and prayers for Harris are understandable given her mom’s roots in southern India and the perspicuous ethnic solidarity, priests gathering for what has now become a ritual-like ceremony for a Queens-raised New York businessman of German and English ancestry is something worth pondering.
From Trump’s first presidential campaign in 2016 to the most recent in 2024, members of the Indian right, strategic thinkers and even analysts of U.S.-India bilateral relations in India have largely been bullish on a Trump presidency — a position one would not find in most parts of Europe, Southeast Asia or even Canada.
While large parts of Europe went into panic mode on Nov. 5, Indians were elated with the news that the former President would once again be in the Oval Office as the 45th president of the United States. But why?
The U.S.-India relationship is built on three solid pillars: immigration and the resulting diaspora, trade and commercial ties and lastly, defense and security cooperation. Presidents from George W. Bush to Joe Biden have all sought good relations with the world’s largest democracy. And unsurprisingly, the bilateral partnership has been on an upward trajectory.
Since........