As Jindal's star rose, the meaning of his assimilation drew much scrutiny. Many people outside South Carolina only learned Haley is Indian after a fellow South Carolina lawmaker used a racial epithet to describe her. Now her choice of names, marriage to a white man and Methodist conversion is raising similar questions.
Christianity is a more critical issue for white Republicans than other groups ââ¬â could a Hindu who worships multiple gods, or a turbaned Sikh who doesn't cut his hair, survive a statewide Republican primary in the Bible Belt?
Vidya Pradhan, editor of India Currents magazine, thinks not.
Haley and Jindal "were really ambitious about their politics, and they could not do it being Hindu or their old religion," Pradhan said. "I do think it was a political move. They felt that not being a Christian would hurt them."
She says she became a Methodist at 24, but its not clear if she was ever baptised or just started going with her husband while also attending Sikh services. When she was elected to the legislature at age 32, she made a big deal about being the first Sikh woman elected in SC.
Bottom line is that she is Sikh when it is convenient and Christian when it is convenient.
cannot be practiced concurrently.
She is trying to please everybody. By claiming as a Sikh, she has received funds from India, UK, Canada, etc. (That is how most of the money she raised for campaign came from out of South Carolina.)
And by pretending Christian, she is trying to obtain votes within South Carolina.
Posted by: December at June 16, 2010
It's really sad to see that not only did she have to embrace a new faith to run for office but she has to vigorously denounce her old faith repeatedly to appease Christians.
What's even sadder is that her character is being called in to question because of her faith and not because of her past sex scandals.
Posted by: DG Bajjio at June 16, 2010
I dont understand why we r still so narrow minded?whts matter frm which religion person belongs, the thing tht matter is, can this person serve our country properly or not?Sadly for many ppl the isuue is, frm which religion particular person belongs, no matter she/he is capable person or not.
Posted by: The_Guy at June 16, 2010
If these christians were not so narrow minded and bigoted, then there would be no reason for people like Nikki to pretend to be Christians.
Why cant these crazy christians treat others and their religion with honor and dignity, instead of hatred ?
Posted by: Phil at June 16, 2010
"Sikhs and Christians have different Gods and the two cannot be practiced concurrently."
While it might be difficult to practice both religions concurrently, both Christianity and Sikhism hold a strict belief in one God.
Opening sermon of the Sikh's holy scriputres are translated as follows:
There is one supreme eternal reality; the truth; immanent in all things; creator of all things; immanent in creation. Without fear and without hatred; not subject to time; beyond birth and death; self-revealing. Known by the Guruââ¬â¢s grace.[25]
Posted by: harp at June 17, 2010
I am not buying the Christian conversion, I believe that she knew she would not make it in SC politics if she were not of the Christian faith. Man cannot serve two gods, either you will hate the one and love the other....there is ONE God and One mediator between God and Man, the Man is Christ Jesus...to continue to worship in another religion even to please the parent is contrary to the word of God.
Posted by: Michael at June 17, 2010
I thought they didn't cut their hair. That's just Sikh.... get it? <img src='http://www.india-forum.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='  ' />
Posted by: Dan O'Reilly at June 17, 2010
Only in South Carolina...
Bay Area based Anti-Hindu Propaganda in a article related to Sikhism. I wrote a reply to the author:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/us/20bcintel.html
Though she looks very American, Haley wears gold bangles and a silver kada -- a Sikh symbol.
Mrs. Haley, 38 years old, is an Indian-American, born into the Sikh faith, who converted to Christianity as an adult. Her background has prompted some voters to seek assurances that she is committed to her Christian faith and understands the feelings among some about the state's Civil War history.
Like her three GOP rivals for the governor's office, Mrs. Haley sat this spring for a videotaped interview with the Palmetto Patriots, a local activist group that aims to "fight attacks against Southern Culture" and talks with candidates "to ensure compliance with conservative values."
But Mrs. Haley was the only one to be asked the freighted question of what she thought had caused the Civil War.
Members of the group were curious about Mrs. Haley's views because of her heritage, said Robert Slimp, a Columbia, S.C., pastor who participated in the questioning. The group did not ask her rivals about the war, he said, because "all of them are Southerners whose families go back to beyond the war between the states, back to antebellum times, and they would have a deeper appreciation of Southern thinking and mentality."
Nikki Haley Goes Extra Mile in Proving Commitment
2:15
As WSJ's Peter Wallsten reports, Nikki Haley is having to prove that she understands the traditions and culture of the state she is seeking to lead. Ms. Haley, an Indian-American, is the surging GOP candidate for governor in South Carolina.
Mrs. Haley has also found herself questioned, in media appearances and personal conversations, about her Christian faith. As recently as Friday, Phillip Bowers, the GOP chairman in Pickens County and a co-chairman of the campaign of Mrs. Haley's rival in today's run-off, circulated an email to party activists suggesting that Mrs. Haley had been dishonest about her religious conversion.
The note charged that Mrs. Haley "can't seem to make up her mind about her faith." The campaign of Mrs. Haley's opponent in the Tuesday GOP run-off, Gresham Barrett, said it was "absolutely not" connected to the email.
Conservative radio show host Bob McLain said callers to his program have asked about Mrs. Haley's faith, and that questions about her religion had recently reached a "ludicrous point."
Mr. McLain said he had asked Mrs. Haley personally about her religion and came away convinced of the firmness of her Christian faith.
But even Mr. Young, who heads the Charleston Leadership Foundation, said he had felt the need to ask Mrs. Haley about rumors that she was a Buddhist. He invited Mrs. Haley to his home, and his wife asked over dinner: " 'Is it true?' " Mr. Young recalled. "She said, 'Absolutely not. I'm a Christian.' "
Mrs. Haley's half-hour meeting with the Palmetto Patriots illustrated how she has sought to assure potential skeptics while also embracing her ethnicity.
She pledged to retain a political compromise that gave the Confederate flag a place of prominence in front of the State House, a position that puts her within the mainstream among GOP leaders in the state. Further, Mrs. Haley noted that "as a minority female" she was ideally suited to counteract an ongoing boycott led by civil rights groups.
Mrs. Haley chose her words carefully in talking about the causes of the Civil War.
"You had one side of the Civil War that was fighting for tradition, and I think you had another side of the Civil War that was fighting for change," she said. She did not use the word "slavery" but hinted at it, saying that "everyone is supposed to be free."
How does one become "convinced of the firmness of her Christian faith"? How often one watches and donates to Bennie Hinn or Zola Levitt or Pat Robertson? Commitment to intolerance of other faiths or cultures?
"You had one side of the Civil War that was fighting for tradition, and I think you had another side of the Civil War that was fighting for change," she said.
Another South Carolina apologist for slavery. The state's tradition is one of ownership of other human beings.
Nikki Haley: Civil War Was About Tradition vs. Change
Posted on 15. Jun, 2010 by Tim in SC Politics
Doc Rodgers has uncovered a fascinating video of presumptive GOP nominee Nikki Haley discussing the origins of the Civil War. The video is apparently from an interview Haley did with the Sons of Confederate Veterans, apparently seeking their support.
None of that pesky slavery talk for our Nikki. She says the Civil War was, well, a quite civil disagreement on tradition versus change.
I mean again I think that as we look in government, as we watch government, you have different sides, and I think that you see passions on different sides, and I donââ¬â¢t think anyone does anything out of hate. I think what they do is, they do things out of tradition and out of beliefs of what they believe is right.
I think you have one side of the Civil War that was fighting for tradition, and I think you have another side of the Civil War that was fighting for change. You know, at the end of the day, what I think we need to remember is that you know, everyone is supposed to have their rights, everyone is supposed to be free, everyone is supposed to have the same freedoms as anyone else. So you know I think it was tradition versus change is the way I see it.
The remarkable thing about the video is just how uncomfortable Haley looks throughout, as if sheââ¬â¢s thinking to herself, ââ¬ÅGood God, why am I in a room with this bunch of yahoos?ââ¬Â
But make no mistake ââ¬â Haley absolutely assures the SCV that she thinks that Confederate flag ought to stay right where it is. Even more illuminating is her discussion of the NAACP boycott of South Carolina:
I mean I think Iââ¬â¢m the perfect person to deal with the boycott because as a minority female Iââ¬â¢m going to go and talk to them. And Iââ¬â¢m going to go and let them know that every state has their traditions and every state has certain things that they hold as part of their heritage. But we need to talk about business.
And we need to talk about having them come into our state, and I want to help be that business advocate that letââ¬â¢s them know that they need to be able to look past that and we will treat them well when they come into our state. And they will be treated with the same South Carolina charm that we give to everyone else.
So relax. Under a Haley administration, we will welcome ââ¬Åthemââ¬Â to our state with open arms.
See it for yourself:
Around the 5 minute mark one of the interviewers demands to know Haleyââ¬â¢s position on the ongoing debate about the Confederate flag and reminds her of their work to remove Governor Beasley for proposing to remove the flag from atop the statehouse
I never realized she was a Sikh, I always assumed she was just a swarthy European, may be Mediterranean or something.
While I don't condemn bigotry in any form, it is refreshing to see the Republiservative brand of Christian "love" come back to bite them in the ass.
Even Methodists aren't really Christian by that line of thinking, if they were born to a family with some weird brown people religion. But it's not racism at all. Nosiree.
I would say it's nobody's business, but she's made a big stink about being Christian. The fact that she attends Sikh services every so often does lend some doubt.
Why the hell is this woman running to represent a party that has such a huge number of people who think she's scum because of her racial background?
State Sen. "Jakie" Knotts, who became infamous this month for referring to Haley as a "raghead," asked this question in a local television interview: "Have you ever asked her if she believes in Jesus Christ as her lord and savior, and that he died on the cross for her sins? Have you ever asked her that?"
Yes, if only you asked her, she would admit that she's not a real Christian and instead worships one of those monkey gods. Why won't you ask her?!
In 1978, the future Republican governor, Carroll Campbell, targeted Democrat Max Heller, who was Jewish, with a push-poll that asked: "Would you vote for a Jew who did not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ?"
http://www.npr.org/blogs/tellmemore/2010...conversion
Quote:Exhibit A: Piyush, which is just an unfortunate name to give a child in this country. Up there with Shital and Ashit, both of which are perfectly good names in India but terrible here. It would have been one thing if Jindal grew up on, say, the Osho ashram in Oregon. But the man grew up in Louisiana, circa 70s and 80s, where I'm guessing India and all things Indian were very far away, at best. Can you blame him for going with Bobby?
Harriet Coker, Haley's seventh-grade teacher at the Richard Carroll Middle School in Bamberg, was one of the attendees.
She said Haley was a wonderful student and enterprising child then.
"She was always Nikki. It is part of her name at that time also. Some people made issues about her name and religion. She converted not for any political reason, it was done after the marriage," she said.
Coker agreed that if she remained in the Sikh religion it would have been tougher to get elected as the state is very conservative.
She has no doubt about her chances to win in November. "Haley will be an outstanding Governor too," she said.
The state elected Democrats as late as in 1998. But people are upset with President Obama's [ Images ] policies and they find that what is being said and what is being done are different, she said.
Prof Ajit Randhawa-- from Amritsar [ Images ] -- said he is not upset that Haley and also her elder brother, who was a major in the US Army, converted to Christianity.
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