From Silicon Valley to New Jersey, concern is growing among South Asian Americans about their personal safety.
The growing climate of hate that some see as sweeping the country is definitely being noticed by Sikhs, Indian Americans, Muslims, Arabs and many more.
“There is one kind of approach within the Hindu American community which thinks that foregrounding Hindu identity or seeing themselves primarily as Hindu is the way to go” in the face of discrimination, said Sangay Mishra, a visiting assistant professor of political science at Drew University, told The Atlantic. “But there is an equally strong approach in the community that feels that they would not be safe.” That’s especially true now: Hindus increasingly “feel that they are also being targeted or seen as ‘the other,’ in many cases, as Muslims,” he said.
Some Indian Americans have chosen to maintain a low profile. Some have stopped speaking their regional languages in public. Others have stopped wearing traditional clothing outside the home, according to the International Examiner.
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“I just feel bad that the kids who were born here, they are starting to feel confused and that is not good for the fabric of our nation,” said Neeti Mittal, president of The India Association of Western Washington.
Beyond hate crimes, some Indian Americans say they are feeling resentment of their success.
“People are very upset, there’s fear in the Indian American community,” Peter Kothari, the president of the Indo-American Cultural Society in Edison, New Jersey, said to Slate. “When history is written, I don’t know how people judge a president. But he should not have done the things he’s done.”
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