Study finds election-inspired spike in anti-South Asian hate

Kamala Harris and Usha Vance’s ascendency to the national stage in July 2024 has marked a spike in anti- South Asian hate. Across the country, South Asians reported being called “terrorists,” told to “go back to India,” assaulted, spat on, and even threatened in their day-to-day life. 

Manjusha Kulkarni, Executive Director of the AAPI Equity Alliance, says this spike marks an alarming increase in anti-South Asian racism, at a time when 43% of South Asian adults already faced hate. 

“We see it both online and in our everyday lives where we’re being attacked,” she says. “There are some connections with the race and ethnic background of the candidates.”

Stop AAPI Hate’s latest report, titled “Empowered/Imperiled: The Rise of South Asian Representation and Anti-South Asian Racism,” examines anti-Asian rhetoric in extremist spaces online. From January 2023 to August 2024, racial slurs against Asian Americans doubled from 23,000 to 46,000 — 60% of which were directed at South Asians. 

These included threats as well, which peaked in August 2024. Out of the 973 threats reported in that month, 75% were targeted towards South Asians. 

The causes of this spike in hate is multifactorial, Kulkarni says. One major factor is the upcoming election: “Empowered/Imperiled” found explicit links to the rise in prominence of Harris, Usha Vance (the wife of GOP Vice Presidential Candidate J.D. Vance), and other South Asian political figures, who became the target of racist rhetoric, and even threats. 

Other factors include perceived immigration status, such as threatening people with deportation or telling them to “go back to their country.” Religious discrimination against Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh people also plays a major role. The report highlights an especially high spark in Islamophobic rhetoric in August 2024, which is likely driven by the ongoing genocide in Gaza, as well as rhetoric around Muslim “terrorists” and Trump’s proposal of a Muslim ban. 

What is certainly true, Kulkarni stresses, is that this online rhetoric translates to in-person hate. The report has found that 93% of South Asians surveyed experienced harassment; 29% harm to property; and 20% physical harm. Much of the rhetoric online is also parroted in person. 

“Language that comes up in the reports that we’ve received and the online spaces is, ‘go back to India, go back to your country, terrorists,’” says Kulkarni. 

“My husband and I ourselves experienced it in 2021 at a gas station, when someone yelled at us f*** Arabs, f*** Indians, go back to your country.”

Kulkarni is also concerned by how this discrimination is reflected in the law. 40% of South Asians report experiencing institutional discrimination; 48% had experienced potential civil rights violations. 

“What we see often is this racist rhetoric coming from public officials, from candidates, from influencers online. And that can not only be parroted by individuals who perpetrate hate acts, but can find its way into policy.”

As a parallel, Kulkarni points to land bans which grew out of anti-Chinese discrimination. Though there is no legislation targeting South Asians today, Kulkarni says she worries about the looming threat of Project 2025– including mass deportations and a Muslim ban. 

“Today may be China. Tomorrow could be India or the other countries in South Asia. There could be policies that demonize our communities, that marginalize them,” she says. “We have to be on the alert that it’s not simply what’s said to people…and how that crosses the line into institutional racism.”

To fight these, Kulkarni says Stop AAPI Hate has launched the Stop the Blame bill to hold politicians accountable for anti-Asian hate, as well as legislation in states such as California to ensure safety in public transit. 

Stop AAPI Hate is also working on programming to address the mental health impacts of this hate. Nearly half of all South Asian adults surveyed reported negative mental health effects from hate, with 42% feeling that they didn’t belong in the community or country, and 29% changing their behavior due to racism. 

Despite these challenges, Kulkarni says the report has left her feeling optimistic. The community, she points out, has activated and responded to these challenges. 

An overwhelming majority (89%) of South Asian adults agree that AAPIs have the power to end systemic discrimination. 73% had participated in actions to reduce or resist racism over the past year; 68% are motivated to fight racism. 

“Our communities are rightly concerned about the current racial climate. But we see from our report that they are activated, they are engaged, and that making our voices heard, especially in an election year, is so important,” says Kulkarni. 

“We have the ability to ensure civil rights for our communities, safety, security, wellbeing, but that will take collective action.”

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