US Army veteran Ruchir Bakshi strongly reacted to the nonstop hate mongering on social media targeting Hindus and Hindu religious figures and said he did not go to war for a country that comes after his religion. Bakshi was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq and his service included combat-zone assignments in southern Afghanistan and around Baghdad. Bakshi reacted to a YouTuber’s now-viral post of the ‘Statue of Union’, the 90-foot-tall statue of Lord Hanuman at the Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple in Sugar Land, Texas. “Btw, when we win, we are tearing this down,” Jesse Hughes, the YouTuber, wrote without specifying what win he meant, as Texas is a red state.“I’m a US Army combat veteran and a Hindu American. I didn’t put on that uniform, leave my family, and go to war so some third-rate talk show guy could announce that when his side “wins,” they’re coming for my religion,” Bakshi wrote.Calling this a threat to Hinduism, Bakshi said those who worship in these temples pay taxes, run businesses, and send their sons and daughters to the same Army where he served. A call for vandalism is not patriotism, he said.“I served with Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists, and other Hindus. Nobody pulled rank on God before we went outside the wire. Some of those men never came home. None of them died so you could fantasize about ravaging someone else’s faith. The people who worship in those temples pay taxes, run businesses, and send their sons and daughters into the same Army I served in. “When we win, we are tearing this down” is not patriotism. It is a threat against Hinduism itself to vandalize another American community’s house of worship because you hate the faith inside it,” Bakshi said.“If winning in America means demolishing Hindu temples, you don’t want the country I fought for. You just want a license to go after people who aren’t you. America is not your theocracy. Religious liberty does not expire for Hindus when you decide you’ve won. You don’t get to tear anything down. Not legally. Not morally. Not in the country for which I actually sacrificed,” Bakshi wrote.But Bakshi was also not spared from trolling. “Your service in the military does not grant you a mandate to redefine the foundational nature of this nation, nor does it make the demographic and spiritual displacement of my people a matter of settled law,” one wrote.“Hiding behind service is low. Rome let barbarians serve in their military and those barbarians still turned on Rome. Your service doesnt prove loyalty. Your idea of America is a false one. It’s a contemporary fabrication based on a 1908 play,” another wrote.Social media users told him that Americans don’t consider him tobe American as he served is the US Army only to become a citizen.Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) responded to Bakshi’s social media post and condemned the open religious bigotry on X. “So grateful for your service Ruchir ji. You inspire our entire team. We share your horror at the open religious bigotry being mainstreamed on this platform and are proud to fight it alongside you,” CoHNA wrote.
Who is Jesse Hughes ?
Jesse Hughes is a YouTuber, not widely known before his incendiary comment on Hindu idols. He is a Conservative commentator, and after gaining virality, he doubled down on what he meant. He said Christianity is a religion of smashing false idols and added that when Christ returns, all the statues will come down.
Who is Rucir Bakshi?
Ruchir Bakshi came to the US in 1992 when he was not even 21 years old. After working at a gas station, he joined the US Army Reserves after his family also settled in the US. After September 11, 2001, he was sent to Afghanistan. He called himself a Republican initially but then became a Democrat. Bakshi is an instructional designer and AI evangelist who builds practical, measurable learning for higher education and Department of War programs.
