Dot-busting
Dot-busting refers to a series of racially motivated attacks that targeted the Asian Indian community in Jersey City, New Jersey, during the late 1980s. The term "dotbusters" emerged from the derogatory label assigned to individuals based on the bindi, a traditional mark worn by Hindu women. These attacks resulted in severe injuries to community members, including the death of Navroze Mody and permanent brain damage to Kaushal Saran. Despite the violence, local officials were criticized for their slow response and lack of action against the perpetrators, leading to tensions within the Indian community regarding how to address the situation.
In response to the violence, a group of Asian Indian students formed Indian Youth Against Racism (IYAR) to advocate for justice and raise awareness about racism and discrimination. Their efforts included organizing demonstrations, supporting victims' families, and pushing for educational reforms regarding South Asian cultures in local schools. They also played a role in advocating for legislation that established mandatory penalties for hate crimes. Although the IYAR is no longer active, its legacy highlights ongoing issues of discrimination in the U.S. against individuals wearing visible religious symbols, demonstrating that the struggle against hate and for civil rights continues to evolve.
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Dot-busting
In 1987, the Asian Indian community of Jersey City, New Jersey, became the target of racial violence. People were beaten, and property vandalized. Kaushal Saran suffered permanent brain damage, and Navroze Mody died of injuries. The attackers were called "dotbusters" (a reference to the dot, or bindi, worn by Hindu women on their foreheads), and they vowed to drive all Asian Indians (called "dotheads") out of the area by violence. Local officials were slow to prosecute. Some Indian community leaders blamed New Jersey officials, calling them clannish and indifferent, while others feared that denouncing the authorities’ apathy as racism would link them with despised minority groups.
After Mody and Saran were attacked, fifteen Asian Indian students at Columbia University and Bernard College, joined later by Asian Indian students at the University of Pennsylvania, formed Indian Youth Against Racism (IYAR). Despite being ostracized and patronized by their own elders, they helped organize demonstrations, helped the parents of Mody and Saran obtain justice, and pressured officials to prosecute.
The IYAR successfully brought attention to the crimes and implemented education about South Asian cultures in New Jersey schools. The group also helped to pass legislation in the state setting mandatory penalties for hate crimes. Although they were no longer active after the 1980s and 1990s, the legacy of their work can be seen in modern iterations of hate crimes against subsequent groups. While dot-busting incidences have not been prevalent in media reports, in the twenty-first century United States, discrimination against individuals wearing visible religious symbols, such as bindis, yarmulkes, and hijabs, continued.
Bibliography
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Bacon, Jean. Life Lines: Community, Family, and Assimilation Among Asian Indian Immigrants. New York: Oxford UP, 1997.
Hale, George. "Indian American Youth Share Their Experiences with Discrimination." Vital Record, 21 Nov. 2022, vitalrecord.tamu.edu/indian-american-youth-share-their-experiences-with-discrimination. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.
Helweg, Arthur Wesley. Strangers in a Not-So-Strange Land: Indian American Immigrants in the Global Age. Belmont. Wadsworth, 2004.
Kaulessar, Ricardo. "How Indians in Jersey City Fought Back Against the Terror of 'Dotbusters' in the 1980s." Northjersey.com, 29 Mar. 2023, www.northjersey.com/story/news/new-jersey/2022/01/26/indians-jersey-city-nj-attacks-1980-s/6397092001. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.
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Khandelwal, Madhulika Shankar. Becoming American, Being Indian: An Immigrant Community in New York City. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 2002.