My 18,000 word profile of #TulsiGabbard is now outside paywall & free to read. It offers a bio sketch of her, w/focus on her early years in Congress to trace her financial & other support from US affiliates of the RSS, a history of RSS in USA, & more.
caravanmagazine.in/politics/ameri…
caravanmagazine.in/politics/ameri…
Some financing data highlights:
"From May 2011 to August 2012, the surge of funds from Sangh sources, combined with previous donations from [Science of Identity Foundation] sources, totalled over twenty percent of donations to Gabbard’s campaign—about $190,000 out of $923,000."
"From May 2011 to August 2012, the surge of funds from Sangh sources, combined with previous donations from [Science of Identity Foundation] sources, totalled over twenty percent of donations to Gabbard’s campaign—about $190,000 out of $923,000."
In 2013, "about $112,600 of Gabbard’s itemised individual donations—20.7 percent—came from Sangh & pro-Modi sources. Over ninety thousand dollars of that was given in June & July alone. She attended five Sangh fundraisers in four states. Her donors included 28 Sangh executives."
"Gabbard’s fortunes rose with Modi’s in 2014.... $123,000 of Gabbard’s itemised individual donations—about 24% of the total—came from Sangh & pro-Modi sources. She attended 5 fundraisers in 4 states. There were calls to finance her campaign at 3 separate BJP victory parties."
A chart from the article naming the most generous donors to #TulsiGabbard who are also executives in US affiliates of the #RSS.
Bharat Barai has praised Gabbard for supporting #Modi since before his election.
Ramesh Bhutada is Vice-President of HSS, RSS's int'l wing.
Bharat Barai has praised Gabbard for supporting #Modi since before his election.
Ramesh Bhutada is Vice-President of HSS, RSS's int'l wing.
Here is #TulsiGabbard, at her wedding, with three of her most generous donors: Ramesh Bhutada (2nd from right), Vijay Pallod (center, orange vest), and Rishi Bhutada (third from left). Who are they? Ramesh Bhutada is VP of RSS's int'l wing. The others? Read the article.
During the ceremony, [RSS/BJP leader Ram] Madhav took the stage to convey Narendra Modi’s personal greetings. “All of us here share the happiness of your family and loved ones on this important day,” he read from Modi’s letter. “On behalf of our prime minister, I invite the...
... newly-wed couple to celebrate their honeymoon in the land of devas,” he added. He then delivered gifts from Modi—a pashmina shawl and a Ganesh statuette.
It was an illustrious delegation for a junior congresswoman. Gabbard had just begun her second term in January 2015....
It was an illustrious delegation for a junior congresswoman. Gabbard had just begun her second term in January 2015....
... She had also just returned from a three-week tour of India, where she met Modi, half a dozen cabinet ministers and the chief of the army staff.
The month before her wedding, she had begun hinting at presidential ambitions. Described by The Atlantic as a “rising star” of...
The month before her wedding, she had begun hinting at presidential ambitions. Described by The Atlantic as a “rising star” of...
... the Democratic Party, she disagreed that there was “little hope for a Hindu in the Oval Office in our lifetimes.” Arguing that spiritual practice is not a credential for a presidential candidate, she concluded, “People are looking for someone they can trust.” ...
... Modi, meanwhile, was looking to recruit members of the Indian-American diaspora to his unofficial diplomatic corps. “We are changing the contours of diplomacy & looking at new ways of strengthening India’s interests abroad,” Madhav told the Washington Post in February 2015...
... “They can be India’s voice even while being loyal citizens in those countries. That is the long-term goal behind the diaspora diplomacy.”
Two people whom Modi has long relied on to be “India’s voice” in America—or, some might argue, the Sangh Parivar’s voice—joined Madhav...
Two people whom Modi has long relied on to be “India’s voice” in America—or, some might argue, the Sangh Parivar’s voice—joined Madhav...
... as guests at Gabbard’s wedding. Ramesh Bhutada & his relative Vijay Pallod made the 8-hour flight from TX w/their wives, as well as Bhutada’s son, Rishi.... Ramesh, Vijay & Rishi had all been generous donors to Gabbard’s congressional campaigns since b4 her first election.
Here is #TulsiGabbard with one of the main characters in the article, Ram Madhav (pictured left). Madhav, national spokesperson of #RSS from 2003-2014, is now #BJP spokesperson. Also pictured (right) is David Frawley, described as "RSS's favorite intellectual."
The above picture was taken in 2014 in Goa, India at the India Ideas Conclave — an RSS forum. From article:
"While her office called the conclave 'India’s most eclectic and thought-provoking platform for global leaders and experts,' the event’s own journal called it...
"While her office called the conclave 'India’s most eclectic and thought-provoking platform for global leaders and experts,' the event’s own journal called it...
... “a maiden attempt” by the RSS-affiliated think tank India Foundation... to get “nationalist thinkers across the world to spend a few days together.” The India Foundation had just helped organise Modi’s reception at Madison Square Garden.
While researching the event at which this photo of #TulsiGabbard — wearing #BJP scarf, posing w/BJP Foreign Affairs Cell Chief, & holding bio of #Modi — was taken, I discovered that her campaign spent $1500 for catering at the restaurant where the BJP victory party was held.
From the article: "According to her filings with the federal election commission, her campaign also paid at least part of the bill for the banquet—$1,500 for catering at Ashiana Restaurant. Her campaign coffers reflected the gratitude of the attendees."
And here is #TulsiGabbard, after only 6 months in Congress, meeting with #BJP President Rajnath Singh (far left), BJP Foreign Affairs Cell Chief Vijay Jolly (blue vest), & #RSS Spokesperson Ram Madhav (center, couch, glasses). This was July 2013, 10 months b4 #Modi was elected.
From article: "On 17 July 2013, the BJP announced that [Rajnath] Singh would visit the US along with a delegation of top party executives, including Ananth Kumar, Sudhanshu Trivedi & Vijay Jolly. Hundreds of people packed a New Jersey auditorium to hear Singh speak on 21 July...
... Chandrakant Patel sat at his right hand. Singh called on the diaspora to support BJP’s bid for election & described Hindutva as an ideal political strategy. The same day, he announced, “I will appeal to the US government to clear the US visa to the Gujarat chief minister.”...
... On 23 July, Gabbard met with Singh in Washington. A photo of the meeting shows Gabbard, tucked in a corner of the room, surrounded by nine people. Joining Singh & his delegation were Sanjay Puri and Ram Madhav. Her campaign-finance records, meanwhile, showed an uptick in...
... the size and number of contributions from Indian Americans. This was the same period in which Bharat Barai—the long-time VHPA activist who had hosted Modi in his home—entered Gabbard’s political life. In February, he made his first donation of $2,600...
... To date, his total contribution to her campaign has been $16,005. In the years before Modi became PM, Barai worked extensively to rehabilitate his image in the United States. “I think the US did not recognise the importance of Mr Modi until 2014,” he told me.
“This was a tactical mistake. … Somebody in the state department should have realised that he is the rising son.” From 2007 to 2014, Barai was one of the lead organisers of large-scale videoconferences to connect Modi to the diaspora
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