Newly appointed Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel has been under the spotlight since swearing in on Friday. His decision to take his oath of office on the Hindu holy book, the Bhagavad Gita, has invited comparisons to his earlier comments on Western media's coverage of the Ayodhya Ram Temple.
The U.S. Senate confirmed Patel as the FBI’s ninth director on Thursday in a closely contested vote, with 51 senators backing his appointment and 49 opposing it.
Despite the narrow margin, President Donald Trump expressed strong confidence in Patel, predicting that he would be remembered as the "best ever" FBI director.
Although Patel has always articulated his commitment to the United States, he has been equally outspoken in his denunciation of how the major Western media framed the consecration of Ayodhya's Ram Temple.
On January 22, 2024, a number of news outlets portrayed the inauguration of the temple as an indicator of increasing Hindu nationalism. Patel refuted this spin, claiming that the reports highlighted only the Babri Masjid controversy and left out the temple's centuries-long Hindu heritage.
He accused the media of downplaying the historical context of the temple's existence.
"To make things really contemporary, the time when Ram's temple opened up, when PM Modi visited, all Washington dailies wrote only about the history of the last 50 years. They forgot the next 500 years. Whether Hindu or Muslim, there was a Hindu temple there for one of the quintessential deities of the Hindu faith in 1500 that got destroyed, and they have been trying to retrieve it for 500 years," The Times of India quoted Patel as saying.
He continued to characterize the media coverage as a "disinformation campaign."
"But the Washington establishment forgot that bit of history to stage what I think is a disinformation campaign that's bad for India and the PM's (Narendra Modi) image. They're employing that because I think they compare Trump and Modi as comparable figures and the establishment class in Washington doesn't want that to happen," Patel said.
Patel was also involved in crafting Donald Trump's speeches during the visit of the former president to Ahmedabad. He is said to have made sure that Trump's speech contained mentions of Indian legends such as Sachin Tendulkar and Swami Vivekananda in order to build a better rapport with the local crowd.
In addition, Patel has publicly identified with his Hindu roots. At his Senate hearing, he showed a traditional sign of respect by touching the feet of his parents. In his final statement, he reaffirmed his cultural and spiritual identity by concluding with the chant "Jai Shri Krishna."
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