Normalising Indian hate: How Indian-Americans are fighting back in US

Indian-Americans are fighting back against “normalising Indian hate” in the US, and sparing no one. There are reports of racial bullying in real life after Tesla boss Elon Musk moved to reinstate an engineer with proven hatred against Indians to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Some of the harshest criticisms were reserved for Vice President JD Vance, who has an Indian-origin wife, and backed the decision to reinstate Marko Elez to DOGE.

Elez, 25, resigned DOGE after a Wall Street Journal report linked him to a now-deleted account on X, where he posted the racist comments. In one post he wrote, “Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool.”

The account had another post that said, “Normalize Indian hate”.

On February 7, Musk announced that he would be rehiring Elez. The decision came after Vance backed the bid to get Elez back in DOGE.

“I obviously disagree with some of Elez’s posts, but I don’t think social media activity should ruin a kid’s life,” Vance said.

Indian-origin Congressman Ro Khanna was one of the several Indian-Americans who questioned Vance and the Trump administration for “normalising India hate”.

“Are you going to tell him to apologise for saying ‘Normalise Indian hate’ before this rehire? Just asking for the sake of both of our kids,” wrote Khanna.

Vance, the American Vice President, is married to Usha Chilkuri Vance, an American of Telugu descent.

INDIAN-AMERICANS FIGHTING BACK AGAINST RACIAL BIAS

People of Indian heritage pointed out to the Republicans how they had helped bring in Trump 2.0 but were now becoming targets of far-right racists.

“Indian Americans delivered for the GOP in 2024, and now we’re watching as far-right grifters normalise anti-Indian hate. We don’t owe loyalty to a party that tolerates racists who despise us,” posted Vasant Bhatt.

Bhatt also pointed out that the Democrats were no better, seeing Indians “as nothing more than ATMs, taking our donations while vilifying India”.

The reinstatement comes at a time when Indians and H-1B visas have been facing hatred from the far-right MAGA for snatching American jobs. The toxicity flows from the anti-immigration stand taken by now US President Donald Trump during his election campaign.

Some even pointed out how the incidents resulted in real-life racial bullying.

Sidharth, a San Francisco-based investor and engineer, posted a screenshot on X of a Facebook message from an Indian who described a racist encounter at Starbucks.

The post read: “Well, I had my first racist altercation at Starbucks today. A wannabe tough guy thought he could question my immigration status. I didn’t back down, and he ended up pushing me. I’m filing charges. Be careful and stand your ground.”

Sharing this, Sidharth wrote: “This is what happens when Indian hate is normalised — when the Vice President dismisses it as acceptable and lets it slide. We cannot tolerate this double standard.”

Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi also took a firm stand against the move to rehire Elez, calling Vance’s support for him “appalling”. He called out Vance for dismissing his hateful comments as those by a “kid”, despite he being entrusted with significant responsibility.

PEOPLE DRAW COMPARISONS WITH VIVEK RAMASWAMY’S EXIT

People were also quick to point out the difference in treatments meted out to Indian-American entrepreneur and politician Vivek Ramaswamy and Elez.

Ramaswamy was co-heading DOGE with Musk, but quit within hours of Trump’s return to the White House.

Musk had “made it known he wanted Ramaswamy out of DOGE in recent days”, according to a Politico report. That situation reportedly arose after Ramaswamy’s comments on American mediocrity and his support for Indians on H-1B visas.

“Vivek gets fired from DOGE for being honest and constructive about cultural differences and future potential. Elez makes a bloody racist comment and calls for “everyone should hate Indians” – he gets rehired? Make it make sense,” posted Ash Arora, partner at VC firm LocalGlobe. Arora, a Forbes 30 Under 30, splits her time between London and San Francisco.

AN ENVIRONMENT OF INCREASING RACIAL HATRED

Another X user, Tripti Khanna, posted saying, “I came to US just 2 years ago and I see racism even in the schools. My daughter (11 YO) has experienced it. Her Indian friends have also experienced it. They experienced it from their classmates who are so young and it makes me wonder where does this hatred come from?”

Indian students had earlier recounted to India Today Digital what had changed on American university campuses in the last six months. They spoke about uncomfortable stares, neo-Nazi processions and anti-immigrant sentiments.

“I’ve personally faced more looks or stares lately,” Aisha, a master’s student at the University of California, Davis, told India Today Digital. “It feels like the political climate has emboldened some to express prejudices more openly.”

Some Indian-Americans also posted on X telling the president, vice president and Musk on how rehiring Elez could lead to bad relations with the community, and telling DOGE that there should be some clarification or apology from Elez himself before he was rehired.

“Marko Elez does not appear to have apologized or shown any regret for saying “Normalize Indian hate”. On what basis have you forgiven Mr Elez,” asked Ram Kelkar, a Chicago-based American-Indian, questioning Vance’s move.

The controversy over Marko Elez’s rehiring might not end soon.

Many, especially in the Indian community, see this as a dangerous sign that hateful comments could be excused without real consequences.

Many Indians feel that racism is being ignored, and real-life incidents, like the Starbucks altercation and racism in schools, prove that hate is increasing. But the big question is: Will leaders take action against racism, or help normalise it?