Ohio’s new Indian-origin Solicitor General faces racist backlash online over ‘bindi’
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Ohio’s new Indian-origin Solicitor General faces racist backlash online over ‘bindi’")
Ohio’s new Indian-origin Solicitor General faces racist backlash online over ‘bindi’ Photograph: (X/@OhioAG)
Sridharan has previously worked under Steven J Menashi of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Judge Deborah A. Batts of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Mathura Sridharan, an Indian-origin lawyer, is facing criticism on social media after her appointed as Solicitor General for the state of Ohio, the United States, by its Attorney General Dave Yost on Thursday (Jul 31). She has been picked for the state’s 12th solicitor general, the state’s top attorney for appeals in the state and federal courts. However, social media users left a swarm of racist and derogatory comments against Sridharan, questioning why an American was not chosen for the position.
Following the criticism against Sridharan, Dave Yost defended her by saying that she is a citizen of the United States. “Mathura is brilliant… she won her argument at SCOTUS last year. Both the SGs she worked under (Flowers & Gaiser) recommended her. I told her when I originally hired her I needed her to argue with me. She does… All the time! Excited to promote her. She will serve Ohio well.”
“A few commenters have asserted incorrectly that Mathura is not American. She is a United States citizen, married to a US citizen, and the child of naturalized US citizens,” Yost wrote on X. “If her name or her complexion bother you, the problem is not with her or her appointment.”
However, his clarification still didn’t sit well with social media users who questioned her origins and religion.
“Is she a Christian? That’s the biggest factor that concerns me. Based on the bindi on her forehead, I worry she is not,” a social media user said. One person said, “Nothing says ‘Ohioan’ like a dot right on the forehead.” Another said, “This one has a perma-dot, huh.” A user said, “Well the dot is discreet, but ultimately still visible.”
Another wrote on x, “She’s ‘American’ but not, you know, American-American.” A third wrote, “She’s Indian. They all have a loyalty first to other Indians. horrible pick. Totally un-American. The GOP is pathetic.”
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“She is a foreigner and you are a pathetic sell out,” said one user. A person said, “Another American job… given away to foreigners.” Another person said, “She’s definitely not American. She may have US citizenship, but she is not an American.”
Sridharan has previously worked under Steven J Menashi of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Judge Deborah A. Batts of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. She holds a Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law. She studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she completed her Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science.
Watch | Indian Origin Lawyer Becomes New Solicitor General of Ohio, Faces Online Flak
