Indian-American politicians faced immense trolling and hatred on social media after they put out messages on the occasion of Diwali, a Hindu festival of light and good. Far-right pastor Joel Webbon did not stop at mocking FBI director Kash Patel but also asked him to go back to India and worship ‘demons’, reacting to Patel’s simple Diwali greetings. Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley was asked whether it’s ‘India First’ for her as she wished on Diwali. “Happy Diwali — celebrating the Festival of Lights around the world, as good triumphs over evil,” Kash Patel posted from his personal handle, not the one which he uses as the FBI chief. ” Go back home and worship your sand demons. Get out of my country,” Joel Webbon wrote, triggering a major debate on how wrong his understanding of India and Hinduism was. Wishing on the occasion of Diwali, Nikki Haley wrote: “May light, hope, and goodness guide your path this year.” “So India first, Nikki?” one user replied. Nikki Haley redirected the hateful user to President Donald Trump’s message on Diwali and wished the hateful ‘MAGA mom’ (as written on the profile) light, hope and goodness.As most of these attacks came from MAGA supporters and GOP leaders were their targets, journalist Mehdi Hasan commented: “The MAGA leaders still haven’t quite realized what kind of base they have created/emboldened/incited. Talk about Frankenstein and monsters.”Dem leader Suhas Subramanyam posted his Diwali photo, bursting crackers to face questions from his followers as to why he was holding a sparkler when it was not July 4. “America doesn’t celebrate pagan holidays,” one wrote.A video of a Diwali chaos in New Jersey went viral as officials were seen dousing the fire, triggering outrage over the safety hazards of the celebration. Diwali is celebrated across the US every year, but this year, social media hatred towards it increased as the administration has taken a strong stand to minimize immigration and save jobs for Americans.
