The continuing deepening of racial bias and hate crimes against Indian immigrants and citizens of Asian origin in the United States has raised serious concerns. Indian-American MP Raja Krishnamurthy has expressed his deep displeasure after the revelation of a dreadful terrorist plot to target an iconic Hindu temple located near Chicago. He has bluntly warned that hate speech by political leaders is not limited to election statements only, but it directly takes the form of deadly violence against innocent people. The MP has also raised strong questions on the functioning of the country's top federal investigative agency, the FBI, for failing to detect this very serious conspiracy in time. Krishnamurthy, known as a strong representative of the Indian community in America, made it clear that top leaders in public life should unequivocally condemn the spread of hatred against every community, because silence in such sensitive matters can be seen as support for crime. A major tragedy was averted at the Balaji temple on October 11: Hundreds of devotees' lives were saved due to gun jam. Giving details of the soul-shattering incident that took place at the famous Balaji temple near Chicago, MP Raja Krishnamurthy said that on October 11, an armed attacker reached outside the temple premises and started firing lethally at the devotees gathered there. It was by the infinite grace of God and an extraordinary coincidence that suddenly in the midst of indiscriminate firing the suspect's automatic weapon jammed due to a technical fault. Due to the jamming of the weapon, a huge massacre and a terrible tragedy was averted in the temple premises. The MP expressed deep anger over the fact that as per the preliminary investigation reports received, the accused had been weaving this bloody conspiracy for the last two years. He directly questioned the vigilance of the investigating agencies and asked why the American security agencies were not aware of this deadly conspiracy going on at the social media and local level for so long. When asked about the silence of the top leadership of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Director Kash Patel on this entire matter, Krishnamurthy said that only the top officials of the agency can answer as to how such a big mistake happened at the intelligence level. 'Silence is tacit support of hatred': Advocating for the safety of all Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Christians and Sikhs During the special interview, MP Krishnamurthy also took on all those American lawmakers and political figures who have not yet given any clear statement publicly on this cowardly attack on the Hindu temple. He said in strong words that maintaining silence on hate crimes is not acceptable in any way, as extremist elements view such indifference as support for their wrongdoings. Within any democratic and secular society every citizen has a fundamental right to feel safe at his or her place of worship. Krishnamurthy appealed that the elected representatives, whether Hindu, Muslim, Jew, Christian or Sikh, should raise their voice with one voice against the hatred growing against every community. Ignoring crime in one community in isolation could tear the fabric of the entire American society apart in the future. Anger over labeling of Indian children as foreigners in Texas: Exposing racial prejudice and poisonous rhetoric Exposing the divisive poison being injected into society by political figures, Krishnamurthy strongly opposed the controversial remarks made by Texas political leader Bo French recently. Bo French, while commenting on the picture of innocent children of Indian origin who had come to watch a college football match, had called them outsiders and usurpers of American citizens (supporters of the Replacement Theory). Countering this, Krishnamurthy clarified that most of those children themselves were born in Texas, USA and are natural born American citizens. He said this is not a legitimate immigration concern, but blatant and ugly racial prejudice. Along with this, he also lodged a strong objection to a post shared on social media by the US Department of Education, in which divisive slogans like 'Make college football great again' were written by putting a picture of only white spectators at the University of Texas match. Krishnamurthy cautioned that such government and political narratives mainstream hate thinking in the society, which could inspire any deranged extremist to come out with guns to attack innocent people. Terrorism clamped on the accused: Demand for deep investigation into domestic violent extremism and online radicalization. Cases have now been registered against the arrested suspect who was planning attack on Balaji temple under very serious sections related to illegal weapons and terrorism. Raja Krishnamurthy has strongly urged federal investigative agencies to deploy additional resources and special task forces to combat the rapidly spreading Domestic Violent Extremism within America. He stressed that there should be an impartial and forensic investigation into the online contacts of the accused, his digital activities on the internet, social media chats and the entire process of his turning towards radical ideology. Unless we get to the bottom of where he got the weapons and which internet platforms instilled this hatred in his mind, the safety of Indians and other minority communities cannot be completely ensured.
