Washington: When Kash Patel arrived for his Congressional affirmation because the chief of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), he carried out Hindu rituals that left a mark on hundreds of thousands of Indian-People watching. He chanted “Jai Shree Krishna” (Victory to Lord Krishna) and bent down to the touch his mother and father’ toes. He swore his oath on the Bhagavad Gita. That day, he was celebrated as the proper mix of diaspora custom and MAGA (Make America Nice Once more) defiance.
Now, he finds himself on the centre of a raging controversy. {A photograph} has triggered anger throughout India and its international diaspora. The picture confirmed him warmly shaking fingers with Pakistan Military chief Subject Marshal Asim Munir.
The assembly came about within the White Home final week. President Donald Trump had invited Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Munir for a gathering.
Because the director of the FBI, Patel was a part of the American delegation. Whereas Trump’s hospitality in the direction of Pakistan’s management was anticipated, Patel’s greeting with Munir was not. The second was captured, circulated on-line and shortly went viral. The reactions had been swift and fierce.
Throughout social media and group networks, he was accused of betrayal, opportunism and hypocrisy. Many critics branded the gesture a humiliation for Hindus worldwide, pointing to Munir’s repeated remarks in opposition to India and Hindus. Some argued that Patel had no actual alternative, as a result of because the FBI director, he couldn’t ignore an official greeting. A smaller group dismissed the outrage, asking why every part was decreased to faith, reminding everybody that “Munir is Pakistani, Patel is American and each will act in keeping with nationwide curiosity”.
The talk was amplified on X (previously Twitter).
Jai Shri Krishna…….
How @Kash_Patel started his speech at his congressional listening to after first introducing his mother and father and sister from India….. pic.twitter.com/U9ateObPvS
— Alok Bhatt (@alok_bhatt) January 30, 2025
Patel’s background gave the picture an excellent sharper edge. He has lengthy spoken publicly about Hindu identification, defending the Ram Mandir as a 500-year civilisational battle. Then again, Munir has been a vocal advocate of the Two-Nation Principle, a imaginative and prescient that positions Hindus and Muslims as basically separate. For Patel’s critics, the handshake regarded just like the assembly of two irreconcilable worldviews.
The timing of the gesture made issues worse. It got here solely months after the phobia assault at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir. Many within the diaspora don’t see him as simply one other American official. Along with his Gujarati roots, his Hindu upbringing and his place as Trump’s chosen face of Hindu outreach, his actions are judged as symbols of illustration moderately than routine protocol.
The controversy additionally ties into the strained relationship between Trump’s administration and India. Underneath Trump, tariffs on Indian exports reached as excessive as 50 %, the steepest on the planet. Against this, Pakistan was hit with solely 19 %, the bottom in South Asia. Trump provided Islamabad new commerce incentives, vitality cooperation and public reward.
In Delhi, this was seen as a pivot away from India. Experiences additionally prompt that Trump felt slighted as a result of India by no means nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. That frustration, in keeping with diplomats, has spilled over into coverage.
Tensions worsened in Could 2025 when the US president claimed that he had “brokered” a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Delhi rejected the assertion outright. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stated the declare was baseless. The Ministry of Exterior Affairs issued an in depth six-point rebuttal, stressing that India’s navy offensive (Operation Sindoor) had been stopped by means of direct talks between the 2 militaries, with out US affect.
On the United Nations in September 2025, India declared that there was “no room for any third get together” in its disputes. Even Pakistan acknowledged that India had refused outdoors mediation throughout the operation. Regardless of this, Trump has continued to credit score himself for “calling off” India’s actions.
Patel’s place on this political panorama is exclusive. He doesn’t match the picture of the model-minority Indian-American bureaucrat. He constructed his profession by means of defiance. He wrote the controversial Nunes memo. He turned Trump’s warrior throughout the Russiagate storm. He turned his Hindu religion into political power, talking overtly and unapologetically about his cultural identification. To Trump’s base, he’s the Hindu face of the MAGA.
Because of this his handshake with Munir can’t be brushed apart as mere courtesy. For his defenders, it was protocol. However for his critics, it was betrayal. For the diaspora, it touched probably the most delicate nerve of all: the query of loyalty.
The underside line is Kash Patel isn’t any strange official. He’s Trump’s FBI chief. He’s the person who as soon as swore on the Gita within the Congress. He’s the son of Gujarati mother and father who carried their traditions to America. He’s probably the most seen Hindu voice inside Trump’s Washington. And that’s the reason, his handshake with Munir is being judged not as an official greeting, however as a logo of religion, historical past and the delicate stability in India-US relations underneath Trump.