The recent Diwali period in America was remarkable for the vicious racial trolling of Indian immigrants as well as Americans of Indian heritage, including those who had ingratiated themselves into the white nationalist constituency of Donald Trump. When the US President began to criticise India back in May, it seemed to provide the cue for a sharp uptick in hostility towards Indians. In September, White House restrictions on H1B visa applications fuelled this further. This online hate peaked on Diwali, when even prominent Indian Americans in the MAGA movement became targets due to the colour of their skin, their religion, and culture. These included second lady Usha Vance, FBI director Kash Patel, Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza.

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