'I Have Decided To Become Indian': Texas Woman Running For Governor Targets Indian Immigrants

(MENAFN- Live Mint) A Texas woman running for Governor, Kelly Smith, is now facing intense online scrutiny after she stoked anti-India sentiments with her social media post, which has now gone viral.

In the post, Kelly Smith can be seen wearing Indian attire against a temple backdrop and wrote on X, "Because people from India have claimed to be just as American as me, I've decided to become Indian. My new name is Pria; however, I will be eating hamburgers at Temple and wearing shoes because I can't give up my Texan culture. I'm just as Indian as y'all, my new name proves it. In fact, we should all become Indian and grill some steaks at the temple."

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As her artificial intelligence (AI)-generated image went viral, drawing major backlash from the Indian community, which has already become a target in the state, Smith, in another post, wrote, "You guys are getting SO offended by a joke photo of me grilling burgers, which is what TEXANS do. Imagine how Texans feel about you guys not respecting it here in real life. Get off your high horse. True Texans are raised to respect our nature and not litter. Putting milk, statues, and fruit in our lakes is far more insulting to us than some stupid AI photo. Texans are tired of seeing Indian stores pop up on every corner; every new shopping center around here is Indian!! This isn't INDIA! It's insulting to us." Along with the post, she shared an image of Indians in Dallas celebrating Chhath Puja.

This isn't Smith's first post highlighting her anti-India stance. From reposting tweets that suggest visas for all Indians and Africans should be repealed to sharing videos of New Zealanders protesting against Sikhs, she has made her stance very clear. Reposting the New Zealand protest, where a local group confronted a Sikh community procession and used banners like "This is New Zealand, not India," Smith wrote, "Apparently, Texans aren't the only ones tired of it."

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Smith, who is reportedly running in the Texas Governor's election this November, has started a fundraiser on GoFundMe. According to her fundraiser, Kelly Smith has declared herself a write-in candidate for change. A write-in candidate is one whose name does not show up on the printed ballot, and voters are required to manually write it in. As of May 9, she has raised $920 and received 14 donations.

Smith, who is aware that her contesting the election is a long shot, wrote on her fundraiser page, "My name is Kelly Smith, and I'm a lifelong Texan. I grew up in Cedar Hill. I believe in America, and I believe Texas belongs to Texans. Let's band together, and I will add my name to the ballot for Governor as a write-in this November. It's a long shot, but Texas is worth saving."

However, it looks like she has chosen a sure-shot way of getting her campaign noticed by using anti-India sentiment. This comes at a time when US President Donald Trump 's administration has ramped up its crackdown on immigrants and underscored the need to apparently give Americans their jobs back, which immigrants are reportedly taking over.

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