The landscape of safety for Indian Americans has shifted dramatically in recent years, evolving from isolated incidents to what experts describe as a pervasive climate of hostility.
In a recent episode of ‘The Hyphen, Indian-American Dialogues,’ a new podcast of Seattle University’s Roundglass India Center, Manju Kulkarni, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, joined host Sital Kulkarni, a law professor, author and founder, to unpack the data and historical cycles behind a 75% spike in online hate directed at the community.
“The data is clear,” Kulkarni said, noting that nearly 50% of Indian Americans report experiencing a hate act in the last few years. This surge isn’t just happening in dark corners of the web it is bleeding into everyday life, from retail stores in Texas to restaurants in Virginia.
Kulkarni attributes this rise to a “trifecta” of xenophobic rhetoric, government policy, and individual acts of animus. She noted that while high-skilled tech workers on H-1B visas are increasingly targeted today, this hostility follows a long American tradition of ginned up economic anxiety used to scapegoat Asian immigrants.
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She drew parallels to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the 1907 Bellingham riots, where Indian lumber workers were driven out of town by white mobs.
The conversation highlighted a bitter irony: the community’s immense success is often weaponized against it. Indian Americans contribute an estimated $750 billion to the U.S. economy annually, yet this visibility frequently fuels white supremacist narratives of “replacement.”
“Whether we are financially successful or not, they will find a way to weaponize hate,” Kulkarni warned. She pointed to a growing fear among international students, with some even advising peers to avoid the U.S. entirely due to safety concerns.
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Despite the sobering statistics, the message was one of mobilization rather than retreat. Kulkarni outlined four key strategies for the community: data-driven awareness, community safety education, narrative change, and aggressive policy advocacy.
She emphasized that civic engagement, particularly voting in the upcoming 2026 elections, as the most powerful tool available to resist authoritarianism and “racialized terror.”
“We have the power right now to change what’s happening,” Kulkarni concluded. By standing in solidarity with other communities of color and upholding the values of equity and justice, she believes the community can move past this period of retrenchment and ensure a future where the next generation can thrive.