I am proud to be the first Hindu American to have been elected to Congress and now the first Hindu American to run for president.
While the headlines covering my announcement could have celebrated this historic first, and maybe even informed Americans about the world's third largest religion, some have instead fomented suspicion, fear and religious bigotry about not only me but also my supporters.
That Hindus — alongside countless Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, agnostics and atheists — support me should not be newsworthy. But some media outlets have chosen to craft a false narrative of intrigue by profiling and targeting all of my donors who have names of Hindu origin and accusing them of being "Hindu nationalists."
Today it's the profiling and targeting of Hindu Americans and ascribing to them motives without any basis. Tomorrow will it be Muslim or Jewish Americans? Japanese, Hispanic or African Americans?
