This is not the time for hypocritical silence

Jan 19, 2021 Letters

Dear Editor,

I have been ruminating on something that needs to be spoken about more. We saw when the Black Lives Matter (BLM) mural was unveiled and during the protests for the Henry boys, the blatant inherent racism by primarily brown persons with foul emanations like “All Lives Matter” and “Indians experience racism too”. Of course they do. This country has a racial divide running deep. Anti- Indian violence IS a thing. One just has to look at the Lusignan massacre, 2001 Post election violence and the same beating and robbing of Indians in the aftermath of the Henry slayings. So where on Earth are these ” brown lives advocates” calling for justice? Cat got their tongue?
These so called hypocrites who tried denigrating BLM, where were and where are their voices as anti-Indian racism occurs? Where were the peaceful protests for Haresh Singh by Indians so concerned about racism and violence meted out to them? Your mouths have fallen off? As new leads are pursued in the Henry case, there is not a single one in the Haresh case. So where are these “Indian activists” now? Aren’t you going to protest peacefully for your fallen son? Oh wait…I remember…you’re too busy trying to invalidate Anti-African racism.
When incidences of racism occur , be it Indian, be it African, we HAVE to speak out. WE HAVE to put in the work for healing and reconciliation if we even want to TRY and weaken the existing racial divide. Indians MUST speak out on Anti-Indian racism like how our African brethren have been. When acts of hate are meted out, WE HAVE to demand justice. WE MUST be the generation of change. THIS IS NOT the time for hypocritical silence. We all , black or brown, have to put in the work to dismantle the ideologies peddled by the imperialists to prevent us from moving forward as a nation.
Yours truly,
Nikhil Sankar.