Hindu Sena activists organize a havan in support of Republican US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump at Jantar Mantar, in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)

NEW DELHI: The ceremony begins with a priest solemnly anointing tilak on the pictures of the US presidential candidate Donald Trump. He then proceeds with a havan for the presumptive Republican nominee's success in the 2016 US elections. The dozen-odd men in action at a pavement near Jantar Mantar on Wednesday were members of west Delhi-based Hindu Sena. They believe that Trump can "destroy Islamic terror" if elected.

"His statements show that he is serious about tackling Islamic terror. He said he would ban the entry of Muslims into the US. He has spoken what was in American people's hearts after 9/11," says Vishnu Gupta, head of the Hindu Sena, a tiny, attention-seeking right-wing outfit. "If he gets elected, we would want him to make his first official visit to India," Gupta told TOI after the rituals.

In October last year, Gupta had filed a complaint with the Delhi police about beef being served at Kerala House in the capital, leading to a national controversy. The complaint was later found to be false and Gupta was arrested. Trump's dietary preferences, says the 31-year-old, won't come in the way of the organisation's support of the billionaire. "This issue is not about beef. That is not relevant here. This is about Islamic terror," he says, with a wave of his hands.

Is fighting terror something Trump can do better than Prime Minister Narendra Modi? Gupta certainly thinks so. "The Indian Prime Minister's influence can only go so far. The American president's influence can go to Iraq and Syria. We want him to finish Islamic terror where it is coming from," says an emphatic Gupta. Asked if he could recommend a foreign policy strategy to deal with ISIS, he offered: "Trump should just attack with more force, and root them out. Like how Barack Obama did with Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan."

Trump has been critical of American businesses outsourcing jobs to India. In a Delaware rally last month, he said that American jobs were being "stolen" with "policies that allow business to be ripped out of the United States like candy from a baby". He even threw in a mock conversation with an Indian call center employee for effect. Gupta feels India shouldn't worry about Trump's take on economic policy. "Every leader should be faithful to his own people. We can't blame him for this. And why can't Indians here work for Indian jobs?" asks Gupta, who also supports Trump's proposal to build a wall at the US-Mexico border to keep illegal immigrants out. "Something like that could work with Bangladesh," he says.

Not a single woman from the outfit was present during the havan. Gupta says it had nothing to do with Trump's sexist comments that have been reported in the past. For example, he claimed to not know of Trump's vitriolic response to journalist Megyn Kelly, whose aggressive questioning he described as an effect of menstruation. "Women supporters couldn't join us today. They got late. They have a lot of responsibilities," explained the Hindu Sena head. Other engagements seem to have trumped the ceremony for them.

