On the evening of January 19, 2025, the American Hindu Coalition — a pro–Donald Trump group whose stated mission is to “build a stronger America through Hindu Enlightenment Principles” — joined forces with several right-wing Latino organizations to host a joint Hindu-Latino inaugural ball in downtown Washington, DC. Among those who gathered in the ballroom of the swanky Mayflower Hotel, rubbing shoulders with Argentina’s far-right president Javier Milei, was Rajiv Pandit, who serves on the Board of Directors of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) — a Washington, DC–based advocacy group that proudly professes to be the “largest and oldest education and advocacy organization and the pre-eminent voice for Hindu Americans.”
A video uploaded to YouTube by the Indian diaspora-focused news outlet India Abroad shows Pandit, alongside several other attendees, being interviewed by a bearded man in a white blazer. This man, whom Pandit addresses in the interview with the honorific “Krishnaji,” is none other than Krishna Gudipati — a local leader in the Hindu supremacist Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA), who infamously waved an Indian flag among the crowd of rioters during the January 6 insurrection.
At first glance, this may seem surprising. As a damning 2024 report by the Savera: United Against Supremacy coalition and Political Research Associates details, HAF maintains extensive ties to the broader Hindutva (Hindu nationalist or supremacist) ecosystem in the United States. HAF’s founding leaders all cut their teeth in Hindu supremacist groups like the VHPA, and the organization continues to share key funding sources with other right-wing Hindu groups. However, as the report also highlights, HAF has historically…
Auteur: Pranay Somayajula
