Donald Trump supporters saw him as the hope of America, while his opponents saw him as the harbinger of the destruction of Western Civilization. However, there is a man in India who worships him like a God.
The Trump worshipper
Bussa Krishna comes from a remote village in the state of Andhra Pradesh. What makes him interesting is that he has a photo of President Trump at his altar where he worships and prays every day. And as bizarre as it might sound, this is not a joke. President Trump’s photo is placed together with other popular Hindu Gods. So why does Bussa worship the U.S. President? The answer lies in a hate crime committed in the U.S. a few months back.
In February 2017, an Indian engineer by the name of Srinivas Kuchibhotla was shot dead by a U.S. Navy veteran in an act of racial hatred. This deeply hurt Bussa so much that he decided that he should start worshipping the U.S. President.
“I was very much pained at the incident. I thought the only way the U.S. President and his people could understand the greatness of Indians is to display our love and affection toward them. That is why I started worshipping Trump with a hope that the prayers would reach him one day”, he said in an interview with the Hindustan Times.
Watch this video of the wife of Srinivas Kuchibhotla, who says she wonders what the U.S. will do to stop hate crimes against minorities:
And although Bussa claims that he received a message from the U.S. President appreciating his efforts, it could not be verified whether the message was actually sent by him or someone pranked him, with the latter more likely to be the case.
The land where politicians are Gods
The U.S. President is not the first politician to be considered a God in India. In fact, the country has a long history of politicians being worshipped as divine beings.
Two best examples being that of MGR and Jayalalitha, politicians from the state of Tamil Nadu, both of whom had several temples built in their name. Jayalalitha was also nicknamed ‘Amma’ or “mother” by the local populace, who literally worshipped her as a divine mother goddess born to uplift them.
Even the current Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, had a temple dedicated to him in his home state. However, the temple was soon removed after Modi was appalled that people were praying to him as if he were God. In addition to politicians, movie stars and sports players are also known to have had temples built by their followers.
The current Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, had a temple dedicated to Trump in his home state. However, the temple was soon removed after Modi was appalled that people were praying to him as if he were God. (Image: via Wikimedia Commons)
Indian right-wing support
Right-wing organizations in India have been an overall Trump supporter. And a few of them have also been known to have conducted special prayers for the success of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
“We believe Islam and Islamic terror are cancerous to the world. India has suffered too long because of this. Trump believes the same thing… that’s why we are praying for his victory,” an organizer for one such prayer was quoted by The Indian Express days before the election.
Despite having such support back in India, Trump’s policies on India has been mixed. While President Trump and Prime Minister Modi have been seeing eye-to-eye in matters regarding terrorism, there have been instances where the U.S. administration has not been too kind to Indians, especially their push toward reducing Indian immigrants to the U.S. and the little trade war that has broken out between the two nations over the past months.
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