US President Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro made a rather bizarre remark while defending Washington’s steep tariffs on India, claiming that “Brahmins are profiteering at the expense of the Indian people". The remark drew strong backlash from political leaders, who called out Navarro for his "casteist" and "sinister" statements to paint an "anti-Hindu narrative".
A quick look at India’s billionaire list also shows that none of the country’s five wealthiest businessmen belong to the Brahmin community.
Who are India’s richest?
According to the latest Forbes billionaire rankings, the five richest Indians are: Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Savitri Jindal and family, Shiv Nadar, and Dilip Shanghvi.
Mukesh Ambani – Reliance Industries chairman, with a net worth of about $92.5. billion, hails from Gujarat’s Vaishya/Bania trading community.
Gautam Adani – Adani Group chairman, worth $56.3 billion, also comes from a Bania background.
Savitri Jindal & family – Matriarch of the Jindal Group, with $35.5 billion, hails from a Marwari business family.
Shiv Nadar – HCL Technologies founder, $34.5 billion, belongs to Tamil Nadu’s Nadar community.
Dilip Shanghvi – Sun Pharma founder, worth $24.9 billion, is from a Gujarati Jain family.
Brahmins, historically associated with priestly and scholarly roles rather than commerce, do not feature at the top of India’s private wealth charts.
Navarro’s controversial remark
Speaking to Fox News, Navarro called India “nothing but a laundromat for the Kremlin,” alleging that Brahmins were reaping windfall profits by refining discounted Russian oil and selling it abroad. “I want Indians to understand what is going on. Brahmins are profiteering by buying Russian oil at the expense of the Indian people,” he said.
Navarro linked his charge to India’s post-Ukraine war surge in Russian crude imports and defended Trump’s decision to double tariffs on Indian goods to 50 percent.
National security analyst Derek J Grossman warned against introducing caste politics into foreign policy debates. “Fomenting caste unrest in India should never be US foreign policy,” he said.
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