The Indian Panorama

Tag: Racial Profiling in America

  • Indian Origin Hindu Priest brutally attacked; Incident widely condemned

    Indian Origin Hindu Priest brutally attacked; Incident widely condemned

    NEW YORK(TIP): Indian diplomats, US lawmakers  and  Community leaders in one voice condemned the brutal attack on a Hindu priest in New York City’s Borough of Queens in open daylight.

    According to available reports, around 11 a.m. Thursday, July 18, near the Shiv Shakti Peeth in Glen Oaks in Queens, while Swami Harish Chander Puri was walking down the street in his religious attire, a man came up from behind and started hitting him, repeatedly.

    The priest suffered bruises and abrasions all over his body, including his face during the attack. 52-year-old Sergio Gouveia, who reportedly screamed “this is my neighborhood” during the assault,was arrested by police in connection with the attack. He’s being charged with assault, harassment and criminal possession of a weapon.

    “Swami Ji Harish Chander Puri spent this weekend recovering from a brutal, despicable act of hate. Our city is praying for him. But he says he’s praying for his attacker”, tweeted NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio.

    “Glad that Hindu priest Swami Ji Harish Chander Puri is now recovering at home & that @NYPDnewshas arrested the man who allegedly attacked him. We cannot & will not stand for this violence in our city. We all stand w our Hindu neighbors”, said U.S. Rep. Carolyn B Maloney.

    “I am disgusted over the violent attack on a Hindu priest in our borough. This type of brutal act is un-American and the person who committed this heinous crime is a coward. People from across the globe call Queens home and we are proud to embrace this rich diversity that exists in our communities and neighborhoods. I commend the NYPD for making a swift arrest in this case and I’m confident that justice will be served. I stand with the Hindu community and wish the victim a full recovery”, said U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens).

    “I will continue to stand in solidarity with the Hindu community in my district and across America. May god grant Swami Ji strength, so he may fully recover,” Tom Suozzi, representing New York’s 3rd Congressional District including parts of Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties, said on Twitter.

    Meanwhile India’s Consul General in New York Ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty met Swami Harish Chander Puri on July 21.

    “Met with Swamiji of Shiv Shakti Peeth who was attacked by a miscreant. He is at home, recovering well and resumed his spiritual duties. Thanks to the Police for quick arrest of the assailant. Many thanks to @RepGraceMeng & @RepTomSuozzi & the Indian Community for their support,” Ambassador Chakravorty tweeted.

    The Hindu American Foundation urged police to investigate the attack as a hate crime. “Such an attack — occurring as it did in the borough of Queens, perhaps the most ethnically diverse place in the entire world — is particularly senseless and tragic. We’re pleased that Swamiji is recovering from his injuries. We’re also pleased that Representatives Tom Suozzi, Grace Meng, and Carolyn Maloney have offered their support to the local Hindu community. In addition, we praise the office of Mayor Bill de Blasio for its quick response, sending community liaison officer Rohan Narine to the mandir. HAF urges police to investigate the attack as a hate crime, and if it is determined that bias was indeed the motivation for the appropriate charges added to those of assault, harassment, and weapons possession that Gouveia already faces”, HAF Director of Communications Mat McDermott, based in New York, said in a statement.

    Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams condemning  the  assault on the Hindu Priest in Glen Oaks, NY, said in a statement sent to The Indian Panorama :-

    “This vicious, reprehensible assault was evil, plain and simple. If the reports indicating that the suspect viciously beat a Hindu priest for walking in his neighborhood in Glen Oaks, Queens, that is the textbook definition of a hate crime, and the perpetrator should be charged as such. We cherish our Hindu community, and while all violence must be condemned, it is particularly galling to see a man of faith beaten within an inch of his life for looking different.

    “I spoke with Swami Ji Harish Chander Puri on Sunday over the phone and reiterated that we will always stand united against hate and will not tolerate attacks on our fellow New Yorkers. I was struck by his resiliency in the face of a horrific attack, and his willingness to forgive his assailant after all he had been through was truly awe-inspiring. We should all be inspired by his example and determination to move forward, and we should recommit ourselves to stopping the resurgence of hate in our city and beyond”.

  • Asian-American Students Suing Harvard over Admissions Win Justice Dept. Support

    Asian-American Students Suing Harvard over Admissions Win Justice Dept. Support

    “Harvard has failed to show that it does not unlawfully discriminate against Asian-Americans,” the Justice Department said.

    WASHINGTON(TIP): The Justice Department lent its support on Thursday, August 30, to students who are suing Harvard University over affirmative action policies that they claim discriminate against Asian-American applicants, in a case that could have far-reaching consequences for the use of affirmative action in college admissions.

    In a so-called statement of interest, the department supported the claims of the plaintiffs, a group of Asian-Americans rejected by Harvard. They contend that Harvard has systematically discriminated against them by artificially capping the number of qualified Asian-Americans from attending the school in order to advance less-qualified students of other races.

    In its filing, the Justice Department argued that the court should deny Harvard’s request to dismiss the case before trial.

    The government said that Supreme Court rulings require that universities considering race in admissions meet several standards. They must define their diversity-related goals and show that they cannot meet those goals without using race as a factor in admissions decisions.

    The department argued that Harvard does not adequately explain how race factors into its admissions decisions, leaving open the possibility that the university is going beyond what the law allows.

    “Harvard has failed to show that it does not unlawfully discriminate against Asian-Americans,” the Justice Department said in a statement Thursday.

    The Harvard case, which was brought by an anti-affirmative-action group called Students for Fair Admissions, is seen as a test of whether a decades-long effort by conservative politicians and advocates to roll back affirmative action policies will ultimately succeed.

    That push has broad support from President Trump. The Department of Education and Justice Department said in July that the administration was abandoning Obama-era policies that asked universities to consider race as a factor in diversifying their campuses and would favor race-blind admissions instead.

     

  • Radio hosts call New Jersey’s Sikh Attorney ‘turban man’; face backlash

    Radio hosts call New Jersey’s Sikh Attorney ‘turban man’; face backlash

    NEW YORK(TIP): America’s first Sikh-American Attorney General Gurbir Grewal has been racially targeted by two radio hosts who repeatedly called him the “turban man” on air, drawing severe criticism from politicians and netizens over their “xenophobic and racist” comments.

    Dennis Malloy and Judi Franco, who host the “Dennis and Judi Show” on the radio show NJ 101.5FM, were talking about Grewal’s decision to suspend marijuana prosecutions in New Jersey when they began calling him the “turban man”.

    “You know the attorney general guy? I’m never going to know his name, I’m just gonna say the guy with the turban,” Malloy said.

    “Turban man!” Franco repeated in a sing-song tone. “If it offends you, then don’t wear the turban, man, and I’ll remember your name,” Malloy said, as both the hosts laughed.

    “But Turban Man — is that highly offensive?” “To me? No. To people who wear turbans, could be,” said Franco.

    “Could be. But if you called me Baseball Hat Man and I was in a culture where no one wears baseball hats, should I be offended?” Malloy said.

    “Uh, no. I would say no,” Franco replied.

    “So, anyway. The attorney general — Turban Man — says he’s not going to prosecute pot things until September,” Malloy said, laughing during the conversation.

    Grewal, 44, however, retorted sharply and said he is the 61st Attorney General of New Jersey.

    “I’m a Sikh American. I have 3 daughters. And yesterday, I told them to turn off the radio,” he tweeted.

    “This is not the first indignity I’ve faced, and it probably won’t be the last. Sometimes, I endure it alone.  Yesterday, all of New Jersey heard it. It’s time to end small-minded intolerance,” Grewal tweeted from his personal twitter account.

    He also posted a link to an address he gave in May at the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies   conference, where he talked about issues of hate and intolerance.

    In his speech, he had said that comments targeting him on social media have been “stomach-turning” as he shared with the audience that he has been called racist words like “towel-head” and “terrorist”.

    He recalled the day he was nominated to become the 61st Attorney General of New Jersey, a commentator had asked where will Grewal “park” his “elephant.”

    New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, who had appointed Grewal to his post, strongly condemned the language of the radio hosts, demanding action by the station.

    “Outraged by the abhorrent and xenophobic comments mocking @NewJerseyOAG on The @DennisandJudi Show on @nj1015. Hate speech has no place in NJ and does not belong on our airwaves. Station management must hold the hosts accountable for these intolerant and racist comments,” Murphy tweeted.

    The radio station later tweeted that it is aware of the “offensive comments” made by Malloy and Franco during the broadcast.

    “We have taken immediate action and have taken them off the air until further notice.  We are investigating the matter and will have further comment shortly,” it said in the tweet.

    Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, also a Sikh-American who wears the turban, tweeted, “Hey “Racist Man” @DennisandJudi : I’m a Jersey guy, born & raised, and so is NewJerseyOAG Grewal – this type of racist garbage has no place in Jersey. Get with the program! #RacistManDennis #jerseypride #educateyourself.”

    Bhalla also thanked Murphy for “standing up and speaking out” in support of Grewal.

    Grewal, who was previously Bergen County Prosecutor, became the nation’s first Sikh state attorney general after the state Senate approved his nomination this year. Grewal is born to Indian immigrant parents in Jersey City and was raised in the state’s Hudson and Bergen counties.

    The clip quickly garnered attention on Twitter and civil rights advocacy group ACLU of New Jersey tweeted a link with an audio pronunciation of Grewal’s name, saying “Turban man? Is that offensive?’ Yep. (If you have to ask…). Racism isn’t cute. It’s just racist.”       Twitter users too slammed the racist remarks saying there is no place for such language. Amardeep Singh, ACLU NJ Board Member and co-founder of rights group Sikh Coalition tweeted “let’s go after the advertisers of the show as well.”

    City of Hoboken’s Deputy Chief of Staff Jason Freeman tweeted that racism has no place in the “New Jersey that we live in.”

    “No person should ever be judged by their Turban, Kippah, Cross, Hijab, or anything else that represents their faith. @DennisandJudi needs a lesson in the kind of NJ that we all want to live in,” he added.

    (Source:  PTI)

  • KKK Flyers spotted on LIRR: Riders, Suffolk residents alarmed

    KKK Flyers spotted on LIRR: Riders, Suffolk residents alarmed

    AMAGANSETT, LONG ISLAND, NY (TIP): Some Long Island Rail Road riders and other residents across Suffolk County are alarmed after they say KKK propaganda has appeared on their trains and in their neighborhoods.

    “It’s really hateful,” Carlos Sandoval said. “It hurts personally.”

    Sandoval said he spotted KKK flyers as he was getting off an LIRR train in Amagansett recently.

    There was one on each of two seats, face up, neatly squared off,” he said. “It looked like it was meant for someone to see them and pick them up.”

    Sandoval did pick them up, giving one to the conductor and one to the East Hampton Town Police Department.

    “The car had been pretty crowded between East Hampton and Amagansett,” he said. “I didn’t see who might have put them there.”

    Someone plastered similar flyers on cars in Patchogue two days before that, and KKK flyers also turned up outside people’s homes in East Hampton.

    “Hate groups and hate speech have absolutely no place in Suffolk County,” County Executive Steve Bellone said. “We are an inclusive and welcoming community who will not be defined by the actions of a handful of hateful individuals.”

    There is nothing illegal about distributing the flyers, but police still encourage people to call if they see them, just so authorities can make sure nothing crosses over into hate crime territory.

    (Source: WABC)