Charlie Kirk’s Movement and Hindus in the US: Where the Twain Meets

Image – The Kaala chakra will turn by its will. Our influence is limited, yet we must act.

Editor’s Note: This post by Deepa Bhaskaran Salem in the aftermath of the assassination two weeks ago of Charlie Kirk, the conservative Christian speaker, writer, talk radio host, and political activist who co-founded the Turning Point USA organization, is published below with only a few minor edits. We hope this commentary will lead to fruitful and productive conversations among Hindus in the United States, and between Hindu Americans and others.

I surprised some folks with my eulogy for Charlie Kirk. Thankfully, I found enough friends who respect me and agree with my opinion of him. In fact, some influential voices of support from India were a pleasant surprise!

Below is just an articulation of my position. I am not insisting that you agree with me, but I ask that you read this long, complex, and nuanced post sincerely. I will engage only in comments that offer productive solutions to the Hindu-American identity and not in flogging the Kirk phenomenon. While I wish him sadgati (liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth), the reason I mourn his death at the hands of an assassin is not just about Charlie Kirk as a person but about his fresh, bold way of engaging with today’s youth and many of his messages that are based on values that many of us cherish. I also mourn the senseless attack on free speech.

Most of you know me as a staunch dharmika and a fervent spokesperson for Hindu Dharma. But I have another strong identity — that of a mother with three young-adult/teen children who will have to work, live, marry, and build their own families in this American society.

Let me explain with a metaphor. We may be good drivers, but the roads we drive in, the traffic rules, and how other drivers drive influence our journey. Similarly, my children may be dharmikas, but the society they live in, the societal values, and how peers behave matter for their life’s journey.

As an avid student of current affairs through news/books/research/social media, as well as direct knowledge through interactions with the many youth I have come across in my life, I see directly how radical leftism has infected American youth. In the quest of some mythical equality and freedom, it has morphed into pessimism about the world, lack of gratitude, lack of purpose, entitlement, hook-up culture, revulsion towards marriage and children, drug/alcohol abuse, social media addiction, unfettered abortion demands, radical feminism, social contagion of LGBTQ+, normalizing mutilation of bodies, cancel culture, and the discarding of religion. No wonder that we have an opioid crisis, mental illness is rampant, sexual assaults continue unabated, and suicide is the second largest cause of teen/youth deaths. Divorce rates are over 40 percent. A significant percentage of children grow up fatherless. The US is now famous for its frequent teen/youth-led shootings, often by confused, disturbed youth — the most recent being Kirk’s assassination. (All of the above are not my pessimism but based on data from Pew Research/YouGov/CDC, etc.)

Most of these issues that I have listed above are opposed to Saamanya Dharma as defined in our Dharma Shastras and the Bhagavad Gita. (I have had the great blessing to get clarity on these topics with my Chicago-based guru.) These issues cause both societal harm and self-harm in this janma (life) and lead to paapa (sin), though they may seem like freedom and justice in the short term. At a personal level, I worry that this is the society in which my own children will grow up and build their families.

Precious few American youth today are lucky to find moral guidance at home or in a temple/church. The majority don’t have any trusted figure logically persuading them to stay on the path of shreyas — the right path. Sadly, this is true even for Hindu-American youth, many of whom seem rudderless and follow trends on social media rather than what is dharma.

This is the vacuum that articulate influencers like Jordan Peterson, Ben Shapiro, and Charlie Kirk stepped into. Yes, they come from a staunch Judeo-Christian background. Yes, they are sold on American exceptionalism. Yes, they are some of the new torchbearers of White/Western civilization, which they believe civilized the world and led to modernity! Yes, they surely are ignorant, apathetic, and/or disrespectful towards Hindu dharma.

But they are the only ones speaking about Saamanya Dharma in the public space. And Kirk was one of the rare ones who did not lecture from the podium but engaged in a debate one-on-one with anybody, no matter what their views were. At least, they are making youth understand, analyze, and openly discuss topics that have been taboo for years. I know firsthand that Kirk has inspired a “social studies” education far beyond school/college classes on topics as wide as immigration, population studies, the constitution, race/gender/social issues, socialism, etc.

Voices such as Kirk’s are the only influential voices today, directly reaching out to mass American youth, asking them to do the following:

1. Abstain from addictions to alcohol, drugs, and social media.
2. Develop a work ethic and work towards a meaningful goal.
3. Put priority on stable marriage and children.
4. Desist from hook-up culture and porn.
5. Avoid identity politics.
6. Understand the ill-effects of socialism.
7. Avoid falling into social contagions of LGBTQ+
8. Learn, be well-aware citizens and patriots.
9. Avoid rent-seeking using DEI (reservations), grow through merit.
10. Keep God and faith at the center of life.

I believe the above values are critical and need to be reiterated to youth with logic and data. (Yes, Kirk’s interactions could be provocative and exaggerated, but I happen to know they do change the minds of youth. Yes, he always leveraged his Christian background unabashedly to make his points, but if I am honest, I do the same using the Bhagavad Gita. For religious people, morality stems from religion.)

Given a choice between an American society drunk with “wokeism” (which is paradoxically in close partnership with Islamism) and a Conservative with Christian ethics, I prefer the latter.

Given a choice between a radical woke Hindu influencer or a Christian patriot/conservative one for my children, I am also leaning toward the latter.

Does this sound strange coming from me – someone steeped in Hindu Dharma, our shaastras, our prayers, rituals, and texts? I will tell you why. Both the left/woke and the Islamists attack Hindu Dharma, as do the Christian fundamentalists, but the former is a more vicious enemy. I am helpless against the former, whereas I have the confidence to provide the Dharma education to my children to counter the latter. We have no power to give our children a sane society in the US on our own without the help of the conservative movement.

If you are in the US, think of the Hindu youth in your network. How many do you know who converted to Christianity versus those to the Left/Woke cult? Over the past 28 years of my life in the US, I have heard of two or three converting to Christianity. Whereas, hundreds of Hindu youth I know/see have converted to Wokeism — mouthing the chants of LGBTQ+, race, and Gaza, calling themselves bi/queer/trans, hating family values, and hating Hindu Dharma by internalizing “caste/sati narratives”. “Wokasura” is far more lethal today than the danger posed by Christian fundamentalists.

• Do I wish there were a young, charismatic Hindu voice? Yes, very much!
• Do I wish those like Kirk had underplayed their white/Christian outlook? Yes.
• But do I want American youth to follow his general life advice? YES, YES, YES.

In the lack of a Dharma voice, I am thankful for Charlie Kirk’s body of work and hopeful for what his movement will do for American society, now led by his young, widowed wife. I believe a savvy Hindu voice within that movement would be a Godsend for us — maybe it is Vivek Ramaswamy?

Meanwhile, we Hindu-Americans have to find common ground with American influencers on the saamanya dharmas while differing on topics like Christian evangelism. Vivek Ramaswamy can hold onto his Hindu identity and yet was able to partner with Kirk on college campuses for the common American values. Ben Shapiro is a staunch Jew and also ignores Kirk’s evangelical calls and finds commonality in their common American agenda. Dave Rubin disagrees with Kirk on gay rights, but was able to find common cause. Jumping up in anger at every reference to Jesus is immature and hardly beneficial for Hindu-Americans.

The Hindu-American journey cannot be one of linguistic cabals, segregated communities, and heightened emotions alienating even those moderates who support us. It cannot be through bragging about how America would be nothing without Indian programmers or hogging the H1B quota by hook or crook, or with extravagant displays of our wealth like in the Wall Street baraat. It cannot be done by confusing our children with hate for the US and jingoistic pride for India.

This journey has to be one showcasing patriotism to our adopted country and respecting its ethos while firming up our identities here patiently and steadily. It should be done through advocacy and education (as CoHNA and HAF are doing). It should be done by involving ourselves in American society in productive ways (as the Sewa International projects do). It should be through proactively sharing our culture, food, and values in gentle ways (like HSS’s Raksha Bandhan and Guru Vandana events, as well as Veg Fests and Yoga Days). We should find and walk the golden path of assimilation in public spaces and retain our dharmic heritage in our domestic and community spaces. It should be through our public conduct of restraint and obedience to the law. It should be through giving back rather than just exploiting the American dream.

Our presence in the US should showcase how Sanatana Dharma teaches us to be productive, harmonious, courageous, and patriotic citizens, no matter where we live. Our way of life here itself should prove the greatness of Sanatana Dharma!

There is a lot our organizations, temples, and people can do, for we have barely scratched the surface of our combined potential. We need wiser heads thinking through this and providing guidance for Hindus across the US. As Navaratri starts, I pray to Devi, who is the Empress of the Universe, who is in all forms in all homes in ALL nations, to guide us through the challenges of our times.

Aham rashtri sangamani vasunam chikitushee prathama yajniyanam

Tam ma deva vyadadhuh puritra bhuristhatram bhooryavesayantim.

(“I am the queen, the gatherer of treasures, knowing the first among those worthy of worship. The Gods have established me in many places with many homes, making me enter many forms”.)

(Devi Suktam, Rig Veda)

Jai Amba!

PS:

1. As far as I know, Kirk has not directly attacked Hinduism or Hindus. Please don’t quote his post about H1Bs, for I don’t believe it is an attack on Hindus. It is part of a larger upheaval happening in immigration, especially in light of a very bad job market and a decline in American education outcomes.
2. I already know he is a fervent Christian evangelist. All I ask is that we take what is common for all of us and ignore/rebut this Christian evangelist, much like what Ben Shapiro/Vivek Ramaswamy do.
3. I did not find him openly racist. His views on Blacks were about the detrimental effects of DEI, welfare checks, fatherlessness, etc. I do agree with that — similar to comments we make about reservation/social welfare programs in India.
4. Indians may say “not my monkey, not my circus,” but remember, wokeism is already making inroads in Indian schools and colleges, as Rajiv Malhotra/Vijaya Viswanathan have well documented in “Who is Raising your Children?” We need Dharma influencers to youth – thankfully, Rajiv Malhotra, Sadhguru, Sai Deepak, and several others are stepping into that role.
5. Are conservatives anti-India with respect to geopolitics/economy? I see them more as pro-American. A strong India will negotiate as needed, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself demonstrates. The diaspora can have a small voice, but these issues get negotiated at a larger level based on major geopolitical considerations.