With Ganesh Chaturthi less than a week away, NRIs in the US are circulating messages urging Indians to celebrate at home and keep festivities private, amid a growing wave of anti-Indian hate and racism in the country.
Ganesh Chaturthi, which marks the birth of Hindu deity Ganesha, is celebrated with the installation of Ganesha idols, both privately in homes and publicly at elaborate pandals. This year, it will be celebrated on September 14 (Monday). With the Indian-American and NRI population in the US growing, the festival has also gained prominence, with large gatherings organised every year in cities including New York, Philadelphia, Seattle and Dallas.
This year, however, some Indians in the US are advising each other against publicly celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi. They are also urging content creators to refrain from posting or publicising their celebrations and festivities online.
The calls for caution come amid a growing wave of anti-Indian hate and racism in the US, particularly on social media. In the past, content creators and influencers, including some associated with the MAGA movement, have used images and videos of festivals organised by Indian and Hindu communities to fuel unfounded claims of an “Indian takeover” or “invasion”, particularly in states such as Texas.
CELEBRATE ONLY AT HOME, REJECT INVITES TO PUBLIC EVENTS
The conversation began with a graphic posted by Nris_Adda, an Instagram account with over two lakh followers that regularly posts about issues affecting the NRI community in the US, including H-1B visas and the EAD programme.
The graphic, shared on Tuesday, urged Indians in the US to “celebrate only at home” and “avoid group celebrations” during Ganesh Chaturthi next week.
“Please celebrate only at home with your family,” the post read, adding, “Avoid group celebrations in apartments, colonies, roads and public places, especially Dallas.”
For context, Dallas is home to one of the largest Indian-American populations in the US, with nearly 2.7 lakh Indian-Americans living in the broader Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. It is also located in Texas, a state that has long been a stronghold of the Republican Party.
The post further urged Indian Americans to reject invitations from fellow community members to participate in festivities, stating: “If friends invite you, say we will celebrate at our home.”
AVOID POSTING VIDEOS OF FESTIVITIES
The Nris_Adda post also included an advisory for “content creators”, asking them to avoid posting any content related to Ganesh Chaturthi festivities.
“Do not post celebration videos, group videos, or roadside celebration content,” the graphic read.
It also advised creators to avoid attending public festivities organised for the festival, stating: “Avoid mandaps, loud gatherings, road events and visarjan (immersion) in lakes.”
“Celebrate peacefully. Follow local rules. Stay safe,” the post concluded.
The graphic was later reposted by other social media accounts focussing on NRI and Indian-American issues across various platforms. One such account, M9 USA, shared the graphic posted by Nris_Adda on its X handle, with the caption, “This message needs to reach every WhatsApp group. Not just in Dallas, but everywhere.”
ADVISE TO CELEBRATE GANESH IN PRIVATE COMES AMID GROWING ANTI-INDIA WAVE
The messages being shared by NRIs in the US urging Indians to observe Ganesh Chaturthi discreetly come amid a growing wave of anti-Indian hate and racism in the country. Much of the rhetoric has been amplified by influencers and voices associated with the MAGA movement, who have repeatedly accused Indian Americans of “stealing American jobs” and “taking over” parts of the country.
A recent survey by the non-profit advocacy group, Stop AAPI Hate, found that online slurs targeting Indians in particular, and South Asians more broadly, rose by 109%, from 22,996 in January 2023 to 48,033 in December 2025.
In Texas cities such as Dallas, where NRIs are now urging Indians to avoid public festivities, influencers and content creators associated with the MAGA movement have highlighted the growing Indian-American population, as well as festivals organised by the community and temples built by it, as evidence of a so-called “Indian invasion”.
In February, Texas-based conservative activist Carlos Turcios sparked outrage after posting a video of the 90-foot Lord Hanuman statue at the Shri Ashtalakshmi Temple in Sugar Land. Calling it evidence of a so-called Indian “invasion”, he wrote that “Third World aliens are slowly taking over Texas and America” and urged people to “Stop the INVASION!”
Similar rhetoric has surfaced elsewhere in Texas. In April, another conservative activist, Sarah Hernandez, targeted a Hindu temple in Frisco, portraying it as evidence of a “cultural invasion” linked to Indian immigration through the H-1B visa programme.
Also in April, YouTuber Tyler Oliveira published a video titled “I exposed Texas’ Indian invasion”, focussing on the growing Indian-American presence in Frisco and depicting community celebrations as evidence of an alleged takeover.
The rhetoric has also spilt into public demonstrations. In June, armed white supremacists congregated outside Frisco City Hall, protesting what they called an “Indian invasion”, holding signs carrying messages like “Stop the Hindu Takeover in Texas.”
It is thus not unusual to expect that images of NRIs and Indian-origin American citizens celebrating in public may thus provide more ammunition to those spreading the wave of hate and racism against the Indian community in the US. Perhaps that explains the messages being shared among NRIs to keep festivities discreet.
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