Meet Tulsi Gabbard, The First Hindu-American to Contest In 2020 US Election

The first Hindu to be elected to the United States Congress, Tulsi Gabbard, has announced she would contest for the 2020 presidential election in the United States. The 37-year-old woman declared herself on January 11 as a candidate for the US election.

Representative Gabbard has shown interest in solving climate changes, health care issues and criminal reforms. An Iran veteran is the first American Samoan and the Hindu member in the Congress, she is currently serving the House of Foreign Affairs Committee.

“There is one main issue that is central to the rest, and that is the issue of war and peace, I look forward to being able to get into this and to talk about it in depth when we make our announcement.” CNN quoted Gabbard as saying. She expressed her concern stating a number of challenges that American people are facing and said she wants to help solve them.

Gabbard brought together the youngest members of the Congress by being the co-founder of the Congressional Future Caucus, which addressed the problems faced by the millennials.

Gabbard and 2016 presidential election

During the 2016 election cycle, Gabbard cemented an opportunity for herself to maintain national prominence. She resigned from her post as the vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee, at the apex of the toughly-contested presidential election and endorsed candidate Bernie Sanders.

After two years, Gabbard’s support for Senator Bernie Sanders proved fruitful. Her re-election bid drew the endorsement of Our Revolution, a grassroots political organization launched by veterans of Sanders’ campaign for progressive issues.

“She has been an ardent supporter of many of the issues in our People’s Platform: Medicare for All, transitioning to clean renewable energy, criminal justice reform, and making Wall Street pay their fair share,” the group said in a statement.

Gabbard on being a Hindu-American Representative

Gabbard said that India has been the United States’ closest allies in the Asian region and its importance is increasing in the critical part of the world.

Gabbard also expressed how she was targeted and was accused of being a Hindu-nationalist. According to Gabbard, her meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi proved her as a prime suspect of the same even though US President Donald Trump, former US President Barack Obama and others have met him and worked with him.

“I am proud to be the first Hindu-American to have been elected to Congress, and now, the first Hindu-American to run for president,” the four-term Democratic lawmaker from Hawaii said. “And, while the headlines covering my announcement could have celebrated this historic first, maybe even informed Americans at large about the world’s third-largest religion, some have instead fomented suspicion, fear and religious bigotry about not only me but also my supporters,” Gabbard said.

She gave an instance of attacks against her by her political opponent and how she was a victim of “religious bigotry”. In a statement given by her, in 2014 election, one of her political opponents stated that a Hindu should not be given the opportunity to serve in the US Congress and that Hinduism is incompatible with the Constitution of the country.

It is simply ‘un-American’ to vote for or against someone on the basis of their gender, race, or religion, according to Gabbard.

Tulsi refused to be the Chairperson of the World Hindu Congress, stating her conflict with the organisers who were seen to be closely linked with Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

The Logical Indian appreciates Tulsi Gabbard for her hard work and congratulates her on her success.

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