On Wednesday, February 22, an Indian man named Srinivas Kuchibhotla was in a bar in Olathe, Kansas with another Indian friend of his, named Alok Madasani. Once in the bar, a man by the name Adam Purinton started yelling racial slurs at the two men, also allegedly saying that they did not belong in the United States and asking whether they were staying here illegally. Purinton was later thrown out of the bar. However he came back into the bar with a gun and shot at the two men. Kuchibhotla was killed, and Madasani, as well as another man named Ian Grillot who was trying to defend the two, were severely wounded. The killing is marked as a possible hate crime.
Many are outraged at this killing. Some say it is a result of President Trump’s travel ban. Trump’s travel ban, which targets Muslim majority countries, may signal to others that discrimination is legal. The White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, has spoken out against these claims, saying that there is no relation between the President’s actions against immigrants to the hate crime that has taken place. On Sunday night, there was a vigil held in Kansas for the victim where Madasani spoke, saying that it was a senseless act that took away his best friend. However, in India, there has been much backlash in the days after the attack.
In India, many media outlets distributed this story, spreading it across the nation. The United States diplomat in India, felt compelled to release a statement discussing the situation in Kansas, calling it a “tragic and senseless act.” Some Indian people living in the United States are worried about their safety. In addition to this, Mr. Madasani’s father spoke out about how the shooting of his son and the killing of his son’s friend has affected him. He has implored his two sons that have lived in the US for more than 10 years to move back to India and is encouraging others to advise their children against moving to the US in the wake of the present circumstances.
He cites that the situation seems worse since Donald Trump was elected as president, especially after he issued his executive. People had expected India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to comment on the issue, but he was silent. Some suspect that this is because of the similarities of the situations happening in both countries; a certain group called the ABVP is starting to attract thousands of people, who are having many demonstrations and are causing trouble in India.
When Kuchibhotla was cremated in Hyderabad, India, in front of the pyre, two men (pictured below) showed signs, saying “Down with Racism” and “Down with Trump,” equating the President to a racist. After a week of silence on the matter and tweeting about the Oscars and the future of US businesses, people spoke out and demanded that the President address the subject. President Trump later condemned this crime as an act of hate in his first address to the US Congress. Nisha Biswal, the former assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, later thanked the President for doing the right thing. However, she later stated that he should “stop the policies and rhetorics that fuel this hate.” The President said “this is not who [the United States is]” but he never issued an apology to the family of the deceased or mentioned any sympathy for Madasani.
Recently, Purinton was charged with premeditated murder, and the FBI is still in the process of investigating the so-called hate crime. Kuchibhotla’s birthday recently passed, and the people of the town had another vigil to honor him. The FBI have also been investigating other possible hate crimes, such as a Sikh man shot in Seattle, as well as the vandalizing of Jewish cemeteries.
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