Indian Americans condemn racist attack in Texas

Four Indian-American women were racially abused in Texas on Wednesday by a Mexican-American woman, who in racist slurs, said that they were “ruining” America and should “go back to India”

Indian American bodies on Friday condemned the racially-motivated physical and verbal assault on a group of four Indian Americans in Texas.

Esmeralda Upton from Plano in Texas was arrested for the hate crime against four South Asian women in a parking lot on Wednesday.

"The recent news of four Indian-origin women being harassed and abused with vile racial slurs in Plano, TX, has sent shock waves through the Indian-American community," said Sanjeev Joshipura from Indiaspora.

"The viral video captures the unreal encounter of four friends facing a tirade in a suburban parking lot, following their quiet dinner meet-up. We at Indiaspora strongly condemn this racial attack and reiterate our commitment to fighting discrimination and prejudice in all its forms," he said.

The attack is yet another in a string of deplorable anti-Asian hate crimes that have taken place over the past two years and comes on the heels of a similar incident involving the first India- American woman in Congress, Pramila Jaya, said Indian American Impact.

"Esmeralda Upton's dangerous and violent sentiments towards the South-Asian community should not be taken lightly. For legal purposes, we are lucky that the racist tirade was caught on camera, but her shameless display of hate towards members of our community is alarming and, unfortunately, not uncommon,” said Indian-American Impact executive director, Neil Makhija.

"We are so thankful that the four victims of the attack were not severely physically harmed, but it's imperative we begin to address the psychological effects of consistent attacks on minority communities. The state of Texas needs more than just a reactive approach to overt racism. Leadership should prioritise expanding multicultural education and implementing safety protocols in order to ensure the welfare of vulnerable people of colour, immigrants and women,” he said.