For One Group, 'Macaca' Recalls Slurs After 9/11
Many Indian Americans Are Disturbed by Allen's Remarks, but Some See a Chance to Strengthen an Alliance

By Michael D. Shear and Leef Smith
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, August 20, 2006

Word of Sen. George Allen's controversial comments flashed across the country last week, but nowhere more rapidly than in Virginia's Indian American community, where frustration over ethnic stereotypes has intensified since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Dolly Oberoi, chief executive of a Northern Virginia technology company, heard what Allen said to a 20-year-old Indian American from Fairfax County replayed on the radio Monday while driving home from work. "To me it sounded like, 'You dirty kid, get out of my way,' " Oberoi said. "That was very painful to a lot of people."

Allen's comments during a campaign stop in southwest Virginia were directed at S.R. Sidarth, who was videotaping the event for Allen's Democratic opponent, James Webb. Allen repeatedly pointed at Sidarth, dismissively calling him "Macaca, or whatever his name is," and saying "welcome to America and to the real world of Virginia."

Once posted by the Webb campaign on the Internet, the video became a sensation, prompting anger about the use of "macaca," which refers to a genus of monkeys and is a racial slur in some countries.

But it was the scene -- of a senator singling out a member of her community in front of a mostly white crowd -- that affected Oberoi more than any word. It smacked of insults directed at her since terrorists, none of whom were Indian, attacked the Pentagon and World Trade Center nearly five years ago.

Oberoi recalled an incident in which "this woman came and started honking. She parked next to me [and yelled], 'All you people from the Middle East!' "

"They get mixed up about who's from what part of the world," Oberoi added.

Virginia is home to about 80,000 adults with Indian ancestry, most of whom live in Northern Virginia, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In interviews across the state last week, many said they were offended and disappointed by the comments from the one-term Republican senator and former governor.

Some said they hoped that the video, widely available on the Internet, would make people think twice about voting for Allen in the November election. Others said they hoped the incident would help cement Allen's solid support for their community's issues, such as allowing more visas for high-tech workers from India and backing nuclear cooperation between India and the United States.

The Indian American community in Virginia began expanding dramatically in the 1960s and '70s, when an influx of highly educated young immigrants began arriving. Many were engineers, doctors or teachers who settled in Washington's suburbs.

Thirty years later, the community has broadened and matured, civic leaders say. Many of its members are successful, especially in the region's information technology industries. And they are tight, placing a high value on sharing information quickly. When Allen's comments became public, the video link was sent nearly instantly across a very wired community.

Politically, Indian American influence in Virginia is growing, though it is somewhat limited by their numbers. After the Sept. 11 attacks, Indian Americans formed many groups aimed at expanding their political reach. Many cheered when Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) named a young Indian American business executive, Aneesh P. Chopra, to be secretary of technology.

"Increasingly over the last five to eight years, Indians have been very involved in local politics," Oberoi said. "At this point, people are going to get actively involved. This will really heat things up."

Sanjay Puri, the leader of an Indian American political action committee, organized a meeting between Allen and about two dozen Indian Americans last week after the senator's comments became public. "He was very receptive and listened well," Puri said.

After the meeting, Allen promised to continue supporting Indian Americans on the visas and on a nuclear cooperation agreement with India.

"I've learned from it and moved on," Allen said of the reaction to his statements. He said the apology he issued shortly after the comments were made public "was not just to [Sidarth]. It was to anyone who might have been offended."

Some Indian Americans appeared ready to accept Allen at his word. Even amid the uproar, Northern Virginia business executive Sudhakar Shenoy said that "he's been nothing but great to my community."

And Manjit Singh, of Fairfax, wasn't outraged. He wasn't even really offended. He was shocked that Allen would say something so "stupid -- especially for a politician of his stature," said Singh, 48, an accountant whose office is among shops in a Falls Church strip mall that cater largely to Indian Americans.

On weekends, Loehmann's Plaza on Route 50 is packed with theatergoers seeing Bollywood movies. Other people make frequent stops at the Punjab Dhaba Indian Cafe and Carryout to buy food and rent Hindi films.

But several Indian Americans said Allen's comments added to a sense of discrimination that has increased since the Sept. 11 attacks. There were several high-profile attacks on people of Indian descent by those who linked them to terrorists. And sitting in a plane with a turban suddenly attracted suspicious and worried stares.

"All Indians felt some kind of a kinship," said Chopra, the first Indian American to be named to Virginia's cabinet. "After 9/11, the sensitivity went up."

It is for that reason, he and others said, that some Indian Americans reacted with such dismay to the video of Allen.

Deepa Iyer, 33, executive director of SAALT, a nonprofit organization in Takoma Park that supports people with South Asian ancestry, said the terrorist attacks "led to this perception that South Asians are to be suspected, or to be feared, or somewhat marginalized." She added that Allen's comments to Sidarth are "not an isolated incident. It's part of a broader pattern of incidents. It was, Oh, gosh, here we go again."

Iyer said her group hopes to use Allen's comments, and the fallout from them, to encourage more political activity and awareness among Indian Americans in the Washington area.

"This is something that's coming from both sides of the aisle," she said. "What are the political parties going to do about this?"

Smita Siddhanti, president of an environmental consulting firm in Tysons Corner, said she had planned to vote for Allen before the incident. She doesn't know what was in Allen's heart, but she said she is disturbed that he would be so careless with his words. She said she didn't know whom she would vote for now.

"We all have to think, many times now, about George Allen," she said.