The Indians Abroad

The strong racial biases affecting minorities all over the world

Any topic related to ‘hate’ is no fun to write, but someone has to say it !…

An average human being is a decent and caring person, without major biases against any color, cast or creed. However, there also exists a small %age of individuals who do not fit into this category. There are some who have strong feelings and biases against other social groups or races, to the point that those feelings are churned into hatred over time.

The problem is that these extreme groups or individuals have acted on their feelings of dislike or hatred more often in recent days. Lately, we have seen racial violence all over the places that can be related to hate crimes including the following incidents:

• On June 10, an 88 years James von Brunn shot a security staff at U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC. The assailant is found to have anti-Semitic views and has expressed strong feelings on his web site against blacks and Jews.
• For many weeks now, immigrants from India have seen violent attacks come their way in Melbourne, Australia. They even have a name for it -‘curry bashing’. Indian government is looking into a policy to address racial violence abroad. See the letter to the Indian PM recently written with the same concern.

The hate crimes that were mainly focused on Black and Jews in the past are finding new target in Latinos and Indians.

As the economy continue to go down the drain, more and more Americans and Westerns are blaming high unemployment on the immigrants, especially Indians (from India), Asians and Latinos. And when you blame something on someone everyday – true or false – a perception or a belief develops. This perception can easily lead to stronger feelings among some individuals. These feelings of hatred could lead to acts of violence. As said before, we don’t need to fear most of the human beings, it is the small percentage of radicals that are looking for reasons, or justification for their views. And, it is the small %age that we are concerned about. It is the strong racial biases that result into racial violence, we worry the most.

It seems that the hate-crimes all over the world are on the rise.  While there are all kinds of laws and rules to address this, two things could be done more proactively:

1. Finding ways to minimize the hate-crimes: This could be a local or global grass-root approach  or movement at community level to improve relations and build faith among different cultures and races. There are different organizations and programs, but the message is not getting across. There is a need for more aggressive campaign or personal involvement from all races and groups.
2. Have more strict laws and rules to address such crimes : A top down approach to have more strict laws against hate crime, to discourage the offenders.

There is an obvious need for more attention and involvement to address this slowly but surely simmering issue. 

For now, let us keep faith in the humanity with the hope that things will get better. After all, an average human being is decent and caring – above color, cast or creed!

Share your thoughts on any better ways that you think can make a difference - to make this world a better place to live.

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