Kamal Ghorui
The ongoing immigration diatribe aimed at Indian-Americans and Hindus has found a fresh flashpoint online in a recent X post. A self-described nationalist account recently took to the social media app to rant about another ‘massive’ Hindu temple rising in Dallas. They claimed the temple was the ’18th’ temple in the Dallas-Fort Worth area alone and added that the flood ‘never stops’, alleging a growing cultural shift. “Temples everywhere, neighbourhoods transformed, schools completely changed, culture erased. This isn’t random. It’s 100% coordinated,” wrote the account that goes by Info Battle Maiden.
The video, sourced from the Sri Ganesha Temple’s website featured 3D renders and on-site granite carvings of the 20,000 square foot temple set to open in late 2026 in Plano, a city located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The post quickly gained traction online with numerous netizens mocking the Hindu culture and practices.
Poll
What do you think is the primary reason for rising tensions over Hindu temples?
“We can’t allow demon worship in this country. We will pay dearly if we do,” wrote one user on X. “These are immigration conduits for Hindu priests! With this new temple they will import a hundred Hindu priests and their families!” claimed another. “People need to start calling them out on their caste beliefs, a big part of Hinduism. It’s anti-American and anti-Democratic. Buddhism took the good parts and got rid of the bad parts of Hinduism, but don’t tell Indians that!” trolled one. Plano is one of the US’s fastest-growing South Asian hubs. The DFW area has over a dozen major Hindu temples, considering the Indian-American population in the area is more than 235,000, roughly 3 per cent of the total population with larger concentrations in suburbs like Plano, Frisco and Lewisville, where Indian-run businesses, cultural centres and communities have flourished in recent years. However, the post follows the larger rising anti-Indian and anti-Hindu rhetoric in America, where the fear of ‘losing’ their own cultural landscape has made numerous Americans target other communities online. A 2022 research by the Network Contagion Research Institute at Rutgers University documented a pattern where social media was systematically weaponised to target Hindu communities by bots and geopolitical players. It also warned Hindu communities to be cautious since hate online often tends to slip into the physical world. Specifically, in the DFW area, tension has surfaced in multiple instances. From comedian Alex Stein mocking the Hindu culture in a Plano city council meeting to right-wing influencer Kaylee Campbell accusing Indian-Americans of conducting a housing scam in Frisco and Plano, numerous complaints have been raised in the region by the citizens, highlighting a larger unrest regarding the presence and visibility of Indian-Americans.
Gulf crisis: Iran seeks return of 3 tankers seized by India in return for Hormuz safe passage, says report
Tehran has asked New Delhi for the release of three seized tanker ships in return for the safe passage of India-bound tankers through Strait of Hormuz amid the ongoing Gulf…