Indian ambassador to US meets far-right ideologue Steve Bannon

Indian Ambassador to the United States Harsh Shringla on Wednesday met far-right American ideologue Steve Bannon as New Delhi looked to shore up support in the aftermath of a controversial August 5 decision to scrap the constitutional autonomy of Indian-Occupied Kashmir. 

In a post shared on the social networking platform Twitter, Shringla was full of praise for the white supremacist Bannon, describing him as a Dharma warrior and an avid follower of the Hindu epic of Bhagvad Gita. He also referred to Bannon as a legendary ideologue. 

"A pleasure to meet the legendary ideologue and ‘Dharma’ warrior @StephenBannon, an avid follower of the #Hindu epic the #BhagvadGita," Shringla said in his message. 

The meeting highlights the deepening links between the far-right political outlook in India and the United States. US presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard has also been accused of receiving campaign funds from the Hindu-supremacist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) group. 

In 2017, US President Donald Trump had fired his political strategist Steve Bannon in a White House shakeup, removing a far-right architect of his 2016 election victory. Bannon briefly returned to his post as executive chairman of right-wing Breitbart News after the removal. 

Bannon's firing, a year and a day after Trump hired him as his campaign chief, put an abrupt end to the rabble-rousing political provocateur's tumultuous tenure in a White House riven with rivalries. Banoon was a driving force behind Trump's nationalist and anti-globalization agenda.

He was instrumental in some of Trump's most contentious policy moves including the ban on people from several Muslim-majority countries, abandoning the Paris climate accord, tearing up international trade agreements and cracking down on illegal immigration.