Activist's Texas Hanuman temple video triggers racist rhetoric, hate comments

A video by conservative influencer Savannah Hernandez on a Hanuman temple in Texas, US, has invited a flood of hate comments and triggered a debate on the issue of Indians immigrating to the US.

An American conservative influencer's video on the Karya Siddhi Hanuman Temple in Frisco, Texas, has invited a flood of hate comments. Savannah Hernandez, of Turning Point USA, revealed her intentions as she pointed to the "huge pile of shoes" and that the devotees were praying for visas. America is seeing a rise in anti-Indian sentiments even as the Trump administration cracks down on immigration, both legal and illegal.

In a clip posted on X, Savannah Hernandez said, "This is Savannah Hernandez in Frisco, Texas and I have been hearing from quite a few Texans about the changing culture and demographic up in North Texas, so I wanted to come and check it out myself."

Standing outside the large temple in a residential neighbourhood, Hernandez continued: "Behind me is the Hanuman temple. You have this very large, very intricate temple that is in this location where, quite frankly, you would not expect it." She then pointed to "a huge pile of shoes outside because you cannot wear shoes inside the temple" and described entering: "When you get inside you see people worshipping multiple deities and the one that did stick out to me was the area where people were going to pray for blessings of health and also for work visas."

Hernandez is hardly the first to trigger outrage by linking Hindu religious structures in the US with claims of an "Indian takeover" of the US.

Last year, Carlos Turcios, a self-described political activist affiliated to the MAGA movement has triggered a similar controversy after posting a video of a towering Lord Hanuman statue at a Hindu temple and calling it evidence of an invasion by Indian immigrants.

His video featured the 90-foot statue at the Shri Ashtalakshmi Temple in Sugar Land, near Houston. "This is not Islamabad, Pakistan, or New Delhi, India. This is Sugar Land, Texas. Third World Aliens are slowly taking over Texas and America. Why is the third-largest statue in the US this??! Stop the INVASION!" he had written.