Visakhapatnam: Even though racial attacks and murders are not new to the US, hate-mongers have found their new poster boy in President Donald Trump.
Trump has never minced his words in trashing immigrants, touting slogan like “Let’s Make America Great Again.”
According to observers, the racists have literally started reading between the lines of Trump’s “America First” philosophy and decoded his message to mean the US is a country exclusively for the “white” people. This has emboldened racists to hurl loaded comments against and indulge in attacks on immigrants.
These observers believe that the racial hatred planted by Trump in the minds of Americans has led to the murder of techie Srinivas Kuchibhotla from Hyderabad.
According to statistics, there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of racist incidents and vandalism ever since Trump entered the US presidential campaign.
The prevalent gun culture has also been a major concern. Observers say that if the anti-gun measures are strictly implemented, the number of casualties could be reduced.
According to the Congressional Research Service, Americans have about 30 crore guns. Some sceptics ask as to why the US government is inactive about checking the proliferation of guns.
Anand Giridharadas, author of ‘The True American and India Calling’, explained about the Kansas murder in a series of Twitter posts: “Trump makes the statements, goes back to his chefs, and is jet-set. But there are aimless Americans who take his words (and act).”
When Trump spreads his idea of Americanness-as-whiteness, he and his rich friends can laugh about the brilliant tactic to woo votes. “But people listen. And a small fraction of those who listen will arm themselves (and indulge in violence). And people will die.” Predictably, White House press secretary Sean Spicer dismissed any correlation between Trump’s remarks and Srinivas Kuchibhotla’s murder.
It’s a re-think on US dreams
The cold-blooded murder of Srinivas Kuchibhotla has come as the proverbial last straw for the lakhs of Indians settled in the US. It was all fair till Donald Trump came out of the blue and launched his presidential campaign, spewing racial venom.
Things took a real turn for the worse after he took office a month ago, when restrictions were imposed on entry of foreigners, followed by curbs on H1B visas. With hate crimes on the rise in recent weeks, Indians wanting to send their wards to the US are having a re-think. Notably, a large chunk of Indian students and techies going to the US in recent years are from the two Telugu states.
N. Raghav, a US aspirant and B. Tech graduate from the Sanketika Vidya Parishad College of Engineering, says, “Many of my seniors studying or working in the US have asked me to refrain from going there in view of the existing uncertainties.
From Trump’s orders restricting entry to foreigners and curbs on H1B visas and green cards, he has turned into a nightmare for the Indians there. There is a proposal to reduce the duration of optional practical training, something that lured Indian students to the US.”
From early 2000, working or studying in the US has been an unwritten rule for the Telugu families, with at least one member from each family heading for America, which got referred to as the ‘Telugu boom in the US’. Now, the ‘’new reality” in the US may deter many youths from this path.
Kanchu Lakshmana Rao says his son working with a software MNC in Hyderabad is trying for an H1B Visa, but he’s no more interested in sending him there.
“Trump’s racial slurs against immigrants can put lakhs of lives at risk. When a President passes harsh comments against the non-natives, racists take it as a licence to launch attacks on immigrants. The trend is very disturbing for those of us whose family members are living in the US,” said he. Each year, about 30,000 students from India had been leaving to the US for higher studies.
The trend of settling down in the US has been particularly visible in the families of south coastal Andhra Pradesh, including Krishna, Guntur and the two Godavari districts.
