Many Indian Americans disturbed by Senator Allen's Remarks

Washington, Aug 20 (UNI) Senator George Allen's controversial comments about an Indian American youth 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 September 11, 2001.

Dolly Oberoi, chief executive of a Northern Virginia technology company says, ''To me it sounded like, 'You dirty kid, get out of my way'. That was very painful to a lot of people.'' But it was the scene -- of a senator singling out a member of her community in front of a mostly white crowd -- that affected Ms 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.

Mr Allen's comments during a campaign stop in southwest Virginia were directed at S R Sidarth, who was videotaping the event for Mr Allen's Democratic opponent, James Webb. Mr 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.

Ms Oberoi recalled an incident in which a woman started honking at her and yelled 'All you people from the Middle East!' ''They get mixed up about who's from what part of the world,'' Ms Oberoi added.

Virginia is home to about 80,000 adults with Indian ancestry, most of whom live in Northern Virginia, according to the US 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, according to a report in the Washington Post here today.

Some said they hoped that the video, widely available on the Internet, would make people think twice about voting for Mr Allen in the November election. Others said they hoped the incident would help cement Mr 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.

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