Sugar Land's 90-Foot Hanuman Statue at Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple Sparks Texas Political Row as Army Veteran Defends Hindu Community
A landmark 90-foot statue of Lord Hanuman at the Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple in Sugar Land became the centre of a charged political and religious controversy when a conservative social media figure threatened to demolish it ahead of US midterm elections, galvanising a broad Hindu-American response.
🪔 MAGA Activist's Demolition Threat Draws Hindu Community Backlash
A Gulf News report dated September 22, 2026 details how a MAGA activist's social-media post targeting the Statue of Union at Sugar Land's Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple has sparked a sharp response from Hindu Americans across Texas. Jesse Hughes, a conservative YouTuber, posted a photograph of the Hanuman statue on X with the caption: 'Btw, when we win, we are tearing this down,' a remark that came as the United States headed toward November midterm elections and amid a broader political debate in Texas over immigration, race and the state's growing South Asian community. Hughes did not specify what he meant by 'winning' or who would carry out a demolition. Among those responding most forcefully was Ruchir Bakshi, a Hindu-American US Army combat veteran, who wrote that he had not served the country so that someone could threaten another American community's faith. 'It is a threat against Hinduism itself to vandalise another American community's house of worship because you hate the faith inside it,' Bakshi said. He added: 'If winning in America means demolishing Hindu temples, you don't want the country I fought for. You just want a license to go after people who aren't you.' The Coalition of Hindus of North America, known as CoHNA, backed Bakshi publicly, stating that it shared his concern about what it called open religious bigotry being expressed online. The organisation noted that the controversy was not the first time the statue had attracted protests, and that the community intended to stand firm in defending its place of worship. [3]
🤝 The Statue of Union: A $8 Million Hindu Landmark Built for Houston's Diaspora
Reporting from International Business Times published via inkl provides the full context of the monument at the heart of the controversy. The Statue of Union stands 90 feet, or approximately 27.4 metres, tall at the Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple in Sugar Land, making it the tallest statue of Lord Hanuman in North America according to the temple itself. The monument was unveiled in August 2024 and reportedly cost around $8 million, or roughly £6.04 million, to construct. It was built expressly as a religious and cultural landmark for the Hindu community in the greater Houston area, a region that has seen significant growth in its South Asian diaspora population over the past two decades. Conservative YouTuber Jesse Hughes shared a photograph of the statue on X on September 20, 2026, with the caption 'When we win, we are tearing this down,' without explaining who 'we' referred to or what action would be taken. The post drew immediate attention from Hindu Americans who viewed it as a direct threat to a consecrated place of worship. Ruchir Bakshi, describing himself as a US Army combat veteran and Hindu American, responded with a pointed rebuttal, making clear that religious landmarks built lawfully by American communities deserved the same protections as any other house of faith. The statement reverberated across national South Asian advocacy networks, underscoring the broader anxiety within the Texas Hindu community about the political climate heading into election season. [7]