It only highlights our ignorance as humans and nations, when the Oscar debacle becomes a more pressing matter than rampant hate crimes. Unfortunately, it has become custom to push hate crimes under the rug, just for nuisance media to take its place. Within the mayhem of ignorant actions, a pattern seems to appear; for example, just 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.
In a matter of several days, atrocities against people of Indian origin in the United States of America seem to have intensified. Two of these attacks are being investigated as ‘possible’ hate crimes. The sudden ascend in hate crimes has raised questions about travel and safety of the already settled Indian communities in U.S.A. These attacks, in their wake, have left India-America diplomatic relationships in a conundrum.
On February 22nd, two Indian men were shot by Adam W. Purinton, as he hurled racial slurs and demanded that they ‘go back to where they came from’ at a bar in Kansas. One of the two men, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, was killed in the incident and the other, Alok Madasani was severely injured. Another man, Ian Grillot, who jumped to the defense of the two young men being attacked was critically injured. Ian was deemed a hero as he was the only one who came forward to help the victims and helped save Alok’s life. The attacker was later arrested and the incident is under investigation as a ‘possible hate crime’ which is particularly discomforting because I would think that it is pretty clear that this was, in fact, a hate crime. It is also being said that the shooter misunderstood the victims for being Middle Eastern and shot them. This attack raises concerns over the climate of hostility against foreigners in the United States in the recent light of events including the immigration ban.
On the very next day of the cruel incident, a girl of Indian origin was racially abused and told to ‘get out of the country’ on a busy commuter train in New York and the video recorded by the victim, Ekta Desai has since gone viral. The abuser, on being reported, was deemed ’emotionally unstable’ by the police and Ekta was advised to be careful.
Just days after the shooting in Kansas, Harnish Patel, a businessman of Indian origin, was found dead of gunshot wounds in his front yard in Lancaster County, South Carolina. The incident was reported to 911 a little before midnight on March 2nd when neighbors heard screaming and gunshots. However, it remains unestablished whether Patel’s India origin was a factor that led to the crime. It is difficult not to relate this incident to hate, especially in the pertaining climate of friction against the Indian community.
In another hate crime just days ago, a Sikh man, Deep Rai, was shot in the arm after a brief argument with the gunman who told him to ‘go back to your own country’ outside his home in Kent, WA. A manhunt for the gunman is underway and Kent Police has reached out to FBI to investigate the incident as a hate crime.
“This slew of hate-motivated crimes goes against the American ideals of liberty and equality.”
This slew of hate-motivated crimes goes against the American ideals of liberty and equality. The U.S. officials have assured India of ‘speedy justice’ as the Indian envoy reached out to express his deep concerns over the tragic incidents. These recent events have left Indian communities in U.S.A. in fear and confusion. They are finding themselves besieged in Trump’s America.
Most of the violence boils down to the notion that people feel threatened by the immigrants. An August 2016 video of a suburban Ohio park, shot by anti-immigrant website saveamericanitjobs.org,that is causing unease captures this mindset perfectly. “Our walk in the park provides evidence as to who has (sic) the Jobs in this area, and they are not the citizens of Ohio,” the video’s YouTube description reads. When the video was first released, it didn’t cause a stir but now after a series of racial attacks on the Indian community, the video holds a darker, more sinister meaning replicating the political and racial friction in the United States.
