Kamal Ghorui
American politician Brandon Gill has once again entered the social media hot waters after he made a remark on a video of Chhat Puja celebrations in Texas being circulated across social media. Taking to X, the Congressman representing Texas’ 26th Congressional District claimed he did not want third world religious communities taking place in his community’s public waterways. “I don’t want Third World religious ceremonies taking place in my community’s public waterways.” he wrote. Gill also tagged an old video of Chhat Puja celebrations in Denton, Texas circulating widely on the platform in recent days. The original post criticised Indian-Americans for ‘pouring milk straight into the lake’ and polluting the local waterways, while polluting the aquatic life. “Protect Texas waters,” it stated. Social media users were quick to join the diatribe, trolling not only Indian-Americans but also the country and its culture. “Check out where the Ganges river enters the Bay of Bengal on Google earth, it’s the largest sewer in the world polluting the entire ocean, why are these low-value people in our nation? They contribute nothing and take everything,” one user wrote. “There’s a reason why I don’t want to spend any time in India or in so many parts of the Middle East (that I have already been to). These people come here and instead of embracing the American way of life they bring their filthy habits with them and it’s honestly disgusting,” added another. “This isn’t India. Don’t think my two nieces and their husbands are going to like any part of this, as they live in Denton. You want to celebrate your ethic or national heritage, go celebrate it in India. This is Texas!” called out one. However, other users were pointed out the contradiction- noting that Gill’s own wife, Danielle D’Souza comes from an immigrant Indian background. “I think I see your in-laws in that shot. Such a hypocrite,” one wrote. “Hey buddy your wife was probably down there pouring milk in lake Lewisville herself” added another. “Brandon, you’re going to make your in-laws upset,” a user claimed.“I live on that lake. I’ve seen ppl puke and pee in the lake. It’s not going to pollute anything” one added.The videos, dating back to celebrations of the Hindu festival in October 2025, have resurfaced on social media platforms due to the larger anti-Hindu rhetoric popularising in the United States. These underscore the anti-Indian sentiment being heavily vocalised in the country. From a sharp rise in anti-Indian posts online to vandalism of symbols associated with the country, all cases of attacks have seen a massive elevation in the US, ever since the beginning of Trump’s second term in 2025, noting how political policies shape civil society.
