It started with one founder's conviction that a community giving this much to America deserved to be heard. It grew into a movement.
The Republican Hindu Coalition began in 2015, when entrepreneur Shalabh "Shalli" Kumar decided that a community this productive should no longer be a bystander in American politics. He had built a career in American manufacturing and lived the conservative values his community shared, and he saw a gap that no one was filling. Hindu Americans had the numbers, the resources, and the convictions to matter, but no unified platform to make them count. He set out to build one.
Kumar modeled the coalition on the Republican Jewish Coalition, which had shown how a focused, well-organized community could earn genuine standing inside a national party. The idea was simple and ambitious at once. Give Hindu Americans a single home for grassroots organizing, coalition building, and fundraising, and use it to build a respected voice in Washington and a stronger bridge between the community and Republican leaders. From the first day, the goal was not a single election. It was a permanent seat at the table.
In 2016, Kumar served as head of the Indian American Advisory Board during the presidential campaign, and the coalition helped carry the community's message to a national audience for the first time. That year, South Asian Times named him its Person of the Year. The coalition's leaders appeared on national platforms, hosted candidates and party figures, and made the case that Hindu Americans were a constituency worth earning, not overlooking. For a community long treated as an afterthought, it was a turning point.
In November 2021, more than fifty House Republicans came together to form the Congressional Hindu Caucus, under the leadership of Congressmen Pete Sessions, Chris Stewart, and Andy Biggs. The caucus was built on the framework the Republican Hindu Coalition had pioneered, a single platform to integrate Hindu Americans into the party and to strengthen the alliance between the United States and India. Seeing a community's own model reflected in the halls of Congress was proof that the work was landing.
The community that started this movement is larger, younger, and more confident every year. Our work now is to widen it, to bring new volunteers into every battleground state, to deepen the US-India partnership, and to make sure the next generation inherits a voice that is already respected. The story so far belongs to the people who built it. The next chapter belongs to you.
The coalition was founded in 2015 by entrepreneur Shalabh "Shalli" Kumar. He believed that Hindu Americans, one of the most accomplished communities in the country, deserved a unified voice inside the Republican Party and in Washington. The coalition was created to organize that voice through grassroots activity, coalition building, and fundraising.
Shalabh "Shalli" Kumar is the founder and chairman. He is joined by a leadership team drawn from business, medicine, technology, and public service, including longtime civic leader Krishna Bansal and former congressional candidate Dr. Sasala Challa. You can meet the full team on our Leadership and Founders page.
It was modeled on the Republican Jewish Coalition, which demonstrated how a focused, well-organized community could earn real and lasting standing inside a national political party.
The Congressional Hindu Caucus is a group of House Republicans formed in November 2021 under Congressmen Pete Sessions, Chris Stewart, and Andy Biggs. It was built on the framework the Republican Hindu Coalition pioneered, a unified platform to bring Hindu Americans into the party and to strengthen ties between the United States and India.
Become a member, register and vote, and bring someone with you. The coalition offers membership levels for every budget and a clear way for first-time volunteers to get involved. Every movement grows one person at a time, and there is a place for you in this one.
Our story is still being written. Add your voice to it.
