“I was called a pagan, greasy Indian…”: Darshana Patel opens up about the hatred of Americans towards Hindus [ California, USA ]

[ Reported as seen ]

Darshana Patel who recently announced her bid to run for the California State Assembly District 76, revealed how she was verbally abused for being a Hindu and an Indian.

“The term ABCD haunted me as a child… As a young girl in second grade, I was called a pagan, greasy Indian (because my mother put oil in my hair), asked what tribe I was from, and often teased when I wore more traditional attire to school,” Patel, who is from Vadodra said in an interview.

According to a recent AAPI research, one in five cases in America involving Asians being used as language scapegoats. Patel recounted that after 9/11, a group of men in a pick-up truck followed her while yelling “go back home and n-word” and “you are not welcome here.”

“While conditions have improved in some ways for Indian immigrants (there are grocery stores, temples, and community organisations now), they have got worse in other ways as Indian-American are integrating more into the American fabric,” Patel, who is part of the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs, said.

“As the daughter of Indian immigrants who struggled to realise the American Dream, I understand that representation matters… Our main challenge is using our collective voice to affect policy that will help our community tackle pressing issues such as affordability, education and youth mental health, immigration reform, public safety, and high-quality comprehensive healthcare,” she  further said in the interview.

Patel told IANS that she feels proud that they are taking the risk to represent the diverse Indian-American community via the primary electoral process.

Indian-Americans account for over one per cent of the country’s population and have one of the highest per capita incomes among ethnic groups.

While the community is concentrated in major areas like New York, New Jersey, California, and Texas, their votes might turn out to be decisive in case of close races in the states of Florida, Atlanta, and Pennsylvania.