Republican party apologises after ad featuring Ganesha

Houston, Sept 20: The ruling Republican party in the US has apologised to the Hindus after a newspaper advertisement featuring Lord Ganesha to woo the minority community voters in Texas ended up "offending" them.

The advert, on the occasion of the 'Ganesh Chaturthi' festival, included the imagery of Lord Ganesha with the text, "Would you worship a donkey or an elephant? The choice is yours".

The elephant is the party symbol of the Republicans while Democrats have a donkey as their party's symbol.

The Indian-American community described the political advertisement of the Grand Old Party in an Indian-American newspaper as "offensive" for featuring Lord Ganesha.

The party's county unit, Fort Bend County Republican Party which published the ad, apologised and clarified that it "was not meant to disparage Hindu customs or traditions in any way".

The ad, with arrows pointing to the body parts of Lord Ganesha, listed out qualities such as – 'A BIG HEAD, TO THINK OUT OF THE BOX', 'BIG EYES TO LOOK BEYOND WHAT YOU SEE', 'LARGE EARS TO LISTEN TO OTHERS ATTENTIVELY', 'LARGE STOMACH, TO PEACEFULLY DIGEST ALL THE GOOD AND BAD IN LIFE' among others.

An advocacy group, the Hindu-American Foundation (HAF) of Houston, called on the Fort Bend County Republican Party to apologise for the advert about the celebration of the 'Ganesh Chaturthi' festival.

"While we appreciate the Fort Bend County GOP's attempt to reach out to Hindus on an important Hindu festival, its ad - equating Hindus' veneration of the Lord Ganesha with choosing a political party based on its animal symbol - is problematic and offensive," said Rishi Bhutada, HAF Board Member and Fort Bend County resident.

Using religious imagery in order to explicitly appeal for political support should best be avoided by any political party, he said.

"The implication regarding the worship of animals as gods was also disheartening to the HAF leaders, as that is a common misconception taught in US schools, which frequently ends up becoming a taunt used to bully Hindu students," the HAF said.

Bhutada also called upon the Fort Bend County Republican Party to apologise for the offensive and inaccurate reference, not to run the advert again and for elected officials in the County to send the same message to the Party as well.

Sri Preston Kulkarni, the Democratic candidate for the US Congress from District 22 in Texas, seized on the Republican advert, calling it offensive in a tweet on Tuesday.

"Asking Hindu-Americans if they would rather vote for a donkey or an elephant by comparing Ganesha, a religious figure, to a political party is highly inappropriate. The Fort Bend County Republican party must retract this ad," he said.

Meanwhile, the Fort Bend Republican party responded and said: "The ad was not meant to disparage Hindu customs or traditions in any way. We offer our sincerest apologies to anyone that was offended by the ad. Obviously, that was not the intent".

In a letter, chairman Jacey Jetton, the first Korean-American to lead the Fort Bend County Republican Party said: "The ad was meant to be part of the celebration to acknowledge the 'Ganesh Chaturthi' festival of September 13".

"This ad was created with input from those of Hindu faith so that we could properly pay respect to the sacred festival. This highlights the difficulty in outreach that can be positive for one group but not for another in the same community.

"We offer our sincerest apologies to anyone that was offended by the ad. Obviously, that was not the intent. The ad was not meant to disparage Hindu customs or traditions in any way," Jetton said.

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US attempted 93 ‘regime change’ operations across the world since 1946, admits envoy

News Network

December 7,2025

Since 1946, the United States has attempted 93 coups or “regime change” operations across the world — including two in Iran, US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack has admitted.

Speaking to the UAE-based IMI Media Group, in remarks published by The National, Barrack said Washington tried twice to overthrow the Iranian government but failed both times.

“For (Trump) then to be imputed with regime change — we had two regime changes in Iran already. Neither one worked. So I think wisely leave it to the region to solve,” said Barrack, who also serves as the US ambassador to Turkey.

His comments come six months after the US joined Israel in airstrikes against Iran during ongoing indirect nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington.

On June 13, Israel launched an attack on Iran that killed at least 1,064 people and hit civilian infrastructure. Days later, the United States targeted three nuclear facilities — Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan — in what Iran called a clear violation of international law. Iranian retaliation eventually forced a halt to the assault on June 24.

Barrack further claimed that US President Donald Trump and Foreign Secretary Marco Rubio are “not into regime change” and prefer a regional approach driven by Middle Eastern countries themselves. According to him, regional dialogue and non-interference by outside powers offer a more durable path forward.

He added that Washington is still open to an agreement with Tehran if Iranian authorities show “seriousness” and willingness to engage constructively.

However, Iran maintains the US has not shown readiness for meaningful talks. In an interview with Japan’s Kyodo News, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said negotiations could advance only if Washington acknowledges Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy and lifts unilateral sanctions.

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