It is indeed a great misfortune that Indians living in US are facing music and hate killings are on the rise. After the murder of the techie and an attack on businessman now a Sikh has been shot and the series of hate killings raise the doubt that whether such acts are just to evacuate Indians residing in that country or driven by the hate against the new President, who is showing some soft corner for Indians staying there for a very long time.
This is a serious case of worry as more and more people are applying for H1B1 Visa and passport to go abroad in the hope of getting better job opportunities and higher studies. Most of the crime is taking place at night and the security lapse put the Indians on the toes from the masked white men, who go berserk in an act of cruelty for personal gain and creating hate. How long the Indian Foreign Ministry will wait and watch before taking a step and plunge into action in a most suitable way and find an amicable solution to the pressing problem. ‘Go back to your country’ slogan should stop and the Indians should reside peacefully and safely there.
The series of hate crimes against Indians in the United States seems to have risen in the last week.
1. Srinivas Kuchibhotla was killed and Alok Madasani was injured as Adam Purinton shot them in Olathe city, Kansas in Midwestern U.S. on February 22.
2. A 43-year-old Indian-origin store owner, Harnish Patel was shot dead outside his home in Lancaster County, South Carolina on March 2.
3. A 39-year-old Sikh man named Deep Rai was injured on March 3 when an unidentified person shot him outside his home in the city of Kent.
4. An Indian-origin girl was racially abused on a train by an African-American man in New York on February 23.
Thus the security of the people visiting US is under threat and people will be under double minds before applying for Visa. It is indeed testing time.
Mahatma Gandhi had to undergo racial discrimination, during his stay in South Africa. It is better for the immigrant Indians to avoid unnecessary talks with the Americans there. If they indulge in heated exchange of words, it leads them to reply with their revolver angrily. It is spreading like wild fire and the evil effects of right-wing nationalism is going to the roots. We have our own share of it here in India. Mutual respect for each other should over-ride all our political and ideological beliefs. Care should be taken not to get carried away by the sweet but poisonous words of our political masters and to exercise our voting rights diligently.
It is rather perplexing when we think that only Indians are being targeted with racial abuses and attacks. What about other Asians who are all from South Asia and more or less look alike and dress alike. Why they are not being attacked and abused? I do not think so. America is after all not just Whites. It is a huge melting pot in which immigrants from every nook and corner of the Globe have settled down either permanently or with a Green Card or a valid Visa, although there are nearly a million folks there who have been staying illegally. If Indians are the most attractive to hate mongers for attacking perhaps there is more than meets the eye. Post Trump, latent hate against the most prosperous immigrant community is coming out in the open and leaders of the Indian community who supported him were not expecting this.
Jayanthy Subramaniam
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
