Despite Trump's Indian Outreach, Racial Tensions Simmer At Event

On Saturday night, Donald Trump took the stage at an event in New Jersey organised by a group called the Hindu Republican Coalition.

"I am a big fan of Hindu and I am a big fan of India" Trump said from the stage, a gesture meant to shore up support amongst a community that has mostly voted for Democrats.

But despite Trump's Indian outreach, near violent clashes broke out between his supporters and a small but vocal group of protestors outside the venue. The clashes reflected the simmering racial divisions that surround the Trump campaign, with mainly white Trump supporters hurling abuse at a multi-racial group of protestors.
 The anti-Trump protestors, not numbering more than a dozen, chanted "Trump means hate"; in response, his supporters surrounded them, pushing aggressively close.

When one of the protesters, an Indian woman, objected, asking a white man with a baseball cap to "back off", he shouted back "this is a Trump rally. Get the [expletive] out of here!"

One of the protesters, the dalit activist Thenmozhi Soundararajan (who tweets under the handle @dalitdiva) later tweeted this:
 

A @realDonaldTrump supporter:Get out of my Country. Are u asking for a deportation? #SouthasiansDumpTrump @RHC_USA pic.twitter.com/BPRnjKhK4G

— Dalit Diva (@dalitdiva) October 16, 2016