Days after Time magazine apologised for publication of an 'offensive' article by Joel Stein on Indian-Americans, a top US Senator has said the popular columnist's remarks on the community, in particular Hindu deities, were reprehensible and unacceptable.
Though Stein also publicly regretted for writing the column, New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, in a letter to the editor of the Time
magazine, advised the American columnist to engage in a dialogue with the local Hindu community and learn more about their heritage.
"Joel Stein's attempt at humour at the expense of Edison (town largely inhabited by) New Jersey's vibrant and productive Indian-American community not only fell terribly flat but crossed the line of offensiveness toward a particular community that has dealt with violent hate crimes in the past.
"Mr Stein's mocking allusions to revered deities in the Hindu religion are particularly reprehensible," Menendez said.
The powerful Democratic Senator said New Jersey's Indian-American community is one of America's many great immigration success stories.
Those of Indian descent have introduced New Jersey to a rich and deep cultural tradition and have helped spur prosperity and innovation, he said.
"Unfortunately, our state's Indian-Americans have also contended with aggressive discrimination. In the late 1980s, a New Jersey street gang calling itself 'The Dotbusters' engaged in attacks, vandalism and threats
directed at the burgeoning Indian-American community," he said.
"I am very familiar with the circumstances surrounding that sad episode - it is a reason that I authored New Jersey's bias crimes law while
in the State Assembly. Words are more powerful than just a grouping of letters on a page, and unfortunately, they are often misused to spur
hatred," Menendez said.
The beliefs shared by many of these productive, patrioticIndian-Americans may be comic fodder for Stein, but they are sacred to
hundreds of millions of Hindus worldwide, "a number of whom have contacted me to express their dismay," the Senator said.
"This type of ridicule can foster misunderstanding about our differences and marginalise a vibrant segment of our community," he said.
"While I believe that Mr Stein's purpose in his essay ultimately was to embrace the burgeoning diversity in his hometown, I hope he understands that he offended a large number of its residents and, to some extent, opened old wounds.
"I also hope he will engage in a dialogue with members of the local Hindu community to learn more about their heritage and why the language he used is unacceptable," Menendez said.
Time magazine had apologised following the publication of the article earlier this month.
"We sincerely regret that any of our readers were upset by Joel Stein's recent humour column 'My Own Private India'.
It was in no way intended to cause offence," the Time magazine said after a large number of Indian Americans demanded an apology from the magazine and the columnist.
"I truly feel stomach-sick that I hurt so many people," responded Stein, who in his column gave his own impression of how his home town of
Edison in New Jersey has changed over the years with the 'desi' influx.
"Nearly one in every five residents of this New Jersey City are Indian Americans; thus making it one of the few such cities in the United States.
"For a while, we assumed all Indians were geniuses.
Then, in the 1980s, the doctors and engineers brought over their merchant cousins, and we were no longer so sure about the genius thing. In the 1990s, the not-as-brilliant merchants brought their even-less-bright cousins, and we started to understand why India is so damn poor," Stein wrote in the issue dated July 5.