Raised by a Hindu mother and a Catholic father in ‘a multiracial, multicultural, multifaith family,’ Gabbard (31), the first American Samoan and one of the first female combat veterans in US Congress, became the first US lawmaker ever to take the oath of office on the Gita on Thursday.

Proud of her Hindu religion, Gabbard, who is not of Indian origin but embraced a Hindu identity as a teenager, hopes to make her first trip to India soon.