Updated: October 20, 2020 1:48:14 pm
In the picture, Kamala Harris, depicted as the goddess Durga, was seen killing the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who was depicted as the buffalo demon ‘Mahishasura’. [Reuters]
Hindu groups in the United States have requested an apology from Senator Kamala Harris’s niece for tweeting an “offensive” image, depicting the Democratic vice presidential candidate as the goddess Durga.
The tweet has now been deleted by Meena Harris, 35, a lawyer, children’s book author, and founder of the Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign, an organization that works to raise awareness of intersectional social causes.
“Your tweeting a cartoon of the divine feminine, Maa Durga, with overlapping faces, deeply aggravated many Hindus around the world,” Suhag A Shukla of the Hindu American Foundation said in a tweet on Monday.
HAF, which represents the American Hindu community, has issued a guide for the commercial use of images related to religion.
Rishi Bhutada of the American Hindu Political Action Committee said the “offensive” image was not created by Meena Harris herself. He had been circulating on WhatsApp prior to his tweet and was confirmed by Biden’s campaign that the image was not created by him.
Given that, I personally think an apology should come from Meena Harris even though she deleted the tweet, and no one else. Our religious iconography should not be used in the service of politics in the United States; I said the same thing when the Fort Bend County Republican Party did it in an announcement in 2018, and it’s the same here, ”Bhutada said.
Ajay Shah, a convenor of American Hindus Against Defamation, said in a statement that the image has offended and outraged the religious community.
In the now deleted tweet, a screenshot of which some people are retweeting, Meena Harris says: “I am really speechless other than saying that the first day of Navaratri was LIT.”
In the picture, Kamala Harris, depicted as the goddess Durga, was seen killing the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who was depicted as the buffalo demon ‘Mahishasura’. The image also showed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as a lion, the ‘vahana’ (vehicle) of the goddess.
“If you think you are going to win Hindu votes by making fun of us, think again. This image is very offensive and insulting to Hindus. Our Divinities are NOT cultural curiosities for you to mock and trivialize. And you delete without apology? Well-known author Shefali Vaidya said in a tweet.
Over the weekend, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris greeted the Hindu community in the United States at Navratri and wished the victory of good over evil once again.
“As the Hindu festival of Navratri begins, Jill and I send our best wishes to all who celebrate in the United States and around the world. May good triumph once again over evil and usher in new beginnings and opportunities for all, ”Biden, 77, tweeted.
“@DouglasEmhoff and I wish our Indian American friends and family, and all who celebrate, a very happy Navratri. May this holiday inspire all of us to uplift our communities and build a more inclusive and just America, ”55-year-old Senator Harris tweeted.
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