Kash Patel reflects on how Hindu principles inspire his journey: ‘His upbringing was rooted in the values of Hinduism’
ByTuhin Das Mahapatra
Mar 25, 2025 07:07 AM IST
Kash Patel's article about his Hindu heritage has ignited conversations about his leadership.
Ever since FBI Director Kash Patel published his personal article about his Hindu background on X, he created a widespread conversation about how his cultural roots shaped his leadership approach.
FBI Director Kash Patel walks off after watching a ceremony to raise the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag at the State Department, Thursday, March 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)(AP)
FBI Director Kash Patel walks off after watching a ceremony to raise the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag at the State Department, Thursday, March 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)(AP)
The article proved to be a quick hit, especially within the Indian American community and among the pro-MAGA crowds, for providing a rare look into a man’s personal values whom the pro-American world knew for his rise in politics and his steadfast position against the “deep state”.
The piece, titled ‘FBI Director Kash Patel: A Hindu Warrior in Washington’s Political Battlefield,’ was published by India Tribune, a Chicago-based news website.
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“Kashyap ‘Kash’ Patel, 45, a Hindu and the son of Indian immigrants, now holds the most powerful law enforcement position in the United States: Director of the FBI,” the article begins with.
How Hindu values shape FBI director Patel’s mission
The article also reiterates Patel’s family’s history: how his father, Pramod Patel, fled Uganda in 1972 during the oppressive regime of Idi Amin and sought refugee first in India, and finally made his way to the States. His mother, Anjana Patel, originally from Tanzania, also moved to New York.
The FBI director was raised in a traditional Hindu household. “Kash’s upbringing was rooted in the values of Hinduism—hard work, respect, and education—values that have influenced his worldview. His parents taught him to respect all religions, embodying the message of universal tolerance famously delivered by Swami Vivekananda in his 1893 speech at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago,” the India Tribune article reads.
Patel has promised to “restore justice and fairness, aiming to fix an FBI that has been criticized for its role in an American criminal justice system”
He underscored the importance of dharma (righteous duty), karma (action with accountability), and seva (selfless service), values that he believes guide his work in public service.
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On the same day, Patel conducted his first official interview as FBI Director with Fox News, addressing some of the nation's most pressing security concerns. “I feel violent crime is out of control,” he stated.
While speaking with Trey Gowdy on Fox News ‘Sunday Night in America’, Patel expressed how the FBI focuses on “sex trafficking, fentanyl and heroin overdoses, and violent crime in the form of gang murders and homicides and rapes.”
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