Who is Tulsi Gabbard, US intelligence czar, who called upon PM Modi?

Gabbard got the much-awaited final Senate vote Wednesday on her nomination to oversee and coordinate the work of America’s 17 intelligence agencies. Soon after he was announced as the President-elect in November last year, Trump selected Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman who left the party in 2022, as the next Director of National Intelligence.

Taking oath on Bhagavad Gita

As the first Hindu member of the US House of Representatives, Gabbard turned heads when she took her oath of office with her hand on the Bhagavad Gita. Later, she gifted the same copy to PM Modi as a mark of respect, when she met him in New York in 2019. Her views on Hindus and their plight in countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan have earned her a lot of recognition among Hindu Americans.

“I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our intelligence community, championing our constitutional rights and securing peace through strength,” Trump said in November 2024. Gabbard, he said, has for more than two decades “fought for the freedom of our country and the freedom of all Americans”.

In the past, she has been vocal in criticising the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. She also slammed the pro-Palestine protesters in the US and called them “puppets” of a “radical Islamist organisation” — referring to Hamas.

Special bond with PM Modi

Due to her first name, Gabbard is often mistaken to be of Indian origin. Her mother converted to Hinduism and chose Hindu names for all her children; her siblings are called Bhakti, Jai, Aryan, and Vrindavan.

She wears her Hinduism on her sleeve, and is a popular face among Indian Americans. Hindu Americans have supported Gabbard since the start of her political career. In 2015, Gabbard married cinematographer Abraham Williams in Hawaii in a Hindu ceremony, amid the chanting of Vedic mantras. Guests included BJP leader Ram Madhav who flew from India with a special message and gift from PM Modi.

She has also spoken up for India on several occasions, and openly criticised Pakistan for providing a haven to terrorists. “We stand with the people of India in condemning the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, and send our condolences and prayers to the victims’ families. We must all stand up against these jihadists and their ideology,” she said in the wake of the Pulwama attack of 2019 in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.

Gabbard has always demonstrated a special bond with Modi, even criticising the US government’s decision to ban his visa in the wake of the 2002 Gujarat riots, calling it “a great blunder”. She strongly supported Modi’s call to mark International Yoga Day in 2014. That same year when Modi took over as Prime Minister, she made a 15-day trip to India at his invitation.