Tulsi Gabbard’s India Connect: A Hindu, Krishna Devotee, Oaths On Bhagavad Gita & Support For Modi

Last Updated:January 31, 2025, 16:57 IST

US President Donald Trump’s pick to be the director of national intelligence: A practising Vaishnava Hindu, Tulsi Gabbard said the discrimination she faces is not just personal, but part of a broader attempt to foster religious bigotry against Hindus and Hinduism

(Clockwise from top left) Tulsi Gabbard gifts the Bhagavad Gita to PM Modi; does the namaste; performs the aarti; seen taking the oath on the Bhagavad Gita. (AP/PM India/PIB India/ISKCONnews.org)

, 43, US President Donald Trump’s pick to be the director of national intelligence, strongly defended her Hindu identity as she faced lawmakers for her confirmation hearing on Thursday.

A practising Vaishnava Hindu and devotee of Lord Krishna, Gabbard said the discrimination she faced was not just personal, but part of a broader attempt to foster religious bigotry against Hindus and Hinduism. She added that anyone genuinely curious about her personal journey with Hinduism was welcome to visit her social media account, where she would share more about her beliefs.

Referencing Article 6, which prohibits religious tests for public officeholders, she remarked, “Unfortunately, there are some Democrat senators who still don’t understand the principle of freedom of religion and Article 6 of the Constitution. No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."

Gabbard, a four-term Congresswoman, 2020 presidential candidate, and New York Times bestselling author, is a decorated military veteran with three deployments to war zones in the Middle East and Africa. She was the first-ever Hindu elected to the US Congress.

TULSI GABBARD’S MOTHER CONVERTED TO HINDUISM

Gabbard was born in American Samoa, raised in Hawaii and spent a year of her childhood in the Philippines. She is

often considered an Indian because of her first name, but she is not. Gabbard’s mother converted to Hinduism and gave her children Hindu names. Her siblings are named Bhakti, Jai, Aryan and Vrindavan.

She is married to cinematographer Abraham Williams. Her father, Mike Gabbard, is a state senator who was first elected as a Republican, but switched parties to become a Democrat.

TULSI GABBARD’S LOVE FOR KRISHNA, BHAGAVAD GITA

In 2012, during her swearing-in ceremony to the U.S. House of Representatives, Gabbard took the oath of office on her personal copy of the Bhagavad Gita. Reflecting on this, Gabbard shared in 2020, “My Gita has been a tremendous source of inner peace and strength through many tough challenges in life, including being in the midst of death and turmoil while serving our country in the Middle East."

In 2017, she once again took her oath of office on the Bhagavad Gita. “It inspires me to be a servant-leader, dedicating my life in service to others and my country," she stated.

In 2020, she urged others to draw strength from the Gita, saying that the scripture offers a way to remain grounded amid life’s turbulent “strong winds of change".

She is often seen giving wishes. “My best wishes and love to all those celebrating the appearance day of Sri Krishna. Jai Janmashtami," Gabbard wrote in a post on the social media platform ‘X’.

Old videos of her chanting Hare Krishna have also resurfaced online.

‘CALLED MODI’S PUPPET’

Gabbard in her statement said, “Democrats have accused me of being Trump’s puppet, Putin’s puppet, Assad’s puppet, Modi’s puppet, but what truly unsettles them is I refuse to be their puppet."

TULSI GABBARD’S SUPPORT FOR PM MODI, INDIA

In 2014, Tulsi Gabbard pledged support to PM Narendra Modi’s initiative to start Yoga Day.

During their meet in New York, both Gabbard and Modi had agreed that yoga transcends physical exercise, serving as “a lifestyle consciousness and worldview". “The West would be surprised by the vast knowledge the ancient Vedic texts offer the modern world," she said.

She had gifted PM Modi a copy of the Bhagavad Gita.

She had called Kashmir issue complicated and even voiced her views on the violence on Hindu temples in Bangladesh.

TULSI GABBARD’S CAREER

Tulsi Gabbard was first elected as a 21-year-old to Hawaii’s House of Representatives but had to leave after one term when her Guard unit deployed to Iraq.Gabbard’s political career began at the age of 21 when she was elected to the Hawaii State House of Representatives. After the 9/11 attacks, she enlisted in the Army Guard.In 2004, she chose to forgo a guaranteed re-election to serve in Iraq with the 29th Brigade Combat Team, where she worked in a medical unit.Following her return in 2006, Gabbard worked as a legislative aide to Senator Daniel Akaka, then-chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. She later volunteered for a second deployment to the Middle East as a platoon leader.She was also the first American Samoan elected to Congress. She also served for two years on the House Homeland Security Committee.Her early support for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 Democratic presidential primary run made her a popular figure in progressive politics nationally.In 2020, Gabbard made a bid for Democratic president nomination against Kamala Harris, blaming her own party for not opposing wars. She later dropped out of the race.She left the Democratic Party in 2022 and endorsed Trump earlier this year, becoming popular among his supporters.After joining the Republican party in 2022, Gabbard endorsed Donald Trump for the presidency and helped him prepare for the debate against Kamala Harris.

THE CONTROVERSIES

Gabbard has repeatedly echoed Russian propaganda used to justify the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine and criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a corrupt autocrat. She’s been accused of spreading Russian disinformation by Republican lawmakers and has even won praise in Russian state-controlled media.

A 2017 visit with Syrian President Bashar Assad is another point of contention. Assad was recently deposed as his country’s leader following a brutal civil war in which he was accused of using chemical weapons. Following her visit, Gabbard faced criticism that she was legitimising a dictator and then more questions when she said she was sceptical that Assad had used chemical weapons.

As a lawmaker, Gabbard sponsored legislation that would have repealed a key surveillance programme known as Section 702, which allows authorities to collect the communications of suspected terrorists overseas. Gabbard said the programme could be violating the rights of Americans whose communications are swept up inadvertently, but national security officials say the programme has saved lives.

With Agency Inputs

Location : First Published:

Tulsi Gabbard’s India Connect: A Hindu, Krishna Devotee, Oaths On Bhagavad Gita & Support For Modi