More than 600 families are expected to take part in a candlelight march, which will be conducted by the Telangana NRI Parents Association and All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation (AIPSO) at KBR park in Hyderabad.
The march on Thursday evening will be conducted mainly in memory of the two Indians hailing from Telangana, who were killed in the US recently.
“On March 9, US-based Hyderabad engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla’s family would have celebrated his birthday, however, now they are in deep pain. We want to give both the Indians Srinivas and Vamsi Reddy a tribute, so that their souls rest in peace,” says Dr. M Rajkumar, President of the Telangana NRI Parents Association.
The members of Telangana NRI Parents Association along with family members of both the victims will join the candlelight march in the evening. Slogans like “Unite to save Indians in US”, “Stop racism. Stop hate crimes” will be on display, says Rajkumar.
The march is being held also as a form of protest against the attacks on Indians in America.
The death of Srinivas Kuchibhotla in Kansas, coming just days after the murder of Vamshi Reddy in California, has left the parents of Indians living in the US very worried.
“It doesn’t matter how much parents have spent on their education, but now they are asking their children to come back to India. Parents are ready to lose all the money they have spent but don’t want to take the risk to lose their children,” he says.
Telangana sends roughly 1.3 lakh techies for education and work to the US every year, according to Telangana NRI Parents Association.
Nearly 10,000 students are planning to return to the state after the two attacks, added Rajkumar.
Srinivas was killed and Alok Madasani was injured when Adam W Purinton, a white man who earlier served in the US Navy, shot them at the Austins Bar & Grill in Olathe, Kansas state, on February 22.
Purinton reportedly got into an argument with the victims and hurled racial slurs. He yelled "get out of my country" before killing Srinivas.
“Racism and gun culture have increased in the US after Trump. It has become worse, after Trump came into power. Earlier, there used to be frequent robberies on the streets, but now they are shooting our children. Two incidents of shooting within a month,” points out Rajkumar.
“Even after all these deaths and racist attacks, why is the Prime Minister silent on this issue. Narendra Modi should speak to US president Donald Trump to ensure the protection of the Indians studying or working there,” he adds.
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