On Tuesday, April 4, Isaac Chotiner, a staff writer at The New Yorker, launched an unprovoked attack on Suhag A Shukla, co-founder and executive director of advocacy organisation Hindu American Foundation after the foundation posted a message congratulating Shukla on being honoured by the US health secretary. Netizens, however, were quick to condemn the author for his flagrant display of Hinduphobia and racism while criticising Shulka.
On March 30, Hindu American Foundation posted a congratulatory Tweet for Suhag A Shukla for being among 15 women faith leaders who were honoured by US secretary of health and human services Xavier Becerra for “demonstrating extraordinary leadership on behalf of humanity”.
Responding to this tweet, The New Yorker journalist Isaac Chotiner tweeted, “I would personally be fine if Biden cabinet officials didn’t “celebrate” sinister sectarians.”
Many Netizens reacted to Isaac Chotiner’s tweet criticising the Hindu outfit’s chief, which they believed was motivated by Chotiner’s obvious bias against Hindus.
Miffed by the anti-Hindu mindset of Isaac Chotiner, twitter user @ChakraNews wrote, “Stop your bigotry and hinduphobia. Looks like @SuhagAShukla got a few tweets of rape and hate threats after you shared this tweet. Primarily from abrahamic faith supremacists who see hindus as 2nd class pagans. Please explain what you mean by sectarian sinister? How so?”
“Wow – your hate shows up against @SuhagAShukla and Hindus. You ought to know better that hate has no moral justification to it!” wrote Vibhuti, Jain lambasting The New Yorker writer for his vile tweet against Shukla.
Several other Twitter users slammed the journalist for his blatant display of hate against Hindus.
Disgusted by the outright anti-Hindu prejudice, another Twitter user chastised The New York Times for fostering such racism within their organisation. “Systemic racism and white supremacy persist in media despite efforts to combat it, seen in discriminatory hiring and denigration of women of colour by white men journalists. Intersectionality of racism, sexism and power dynamics at play, reinforces racial hierarchy. @newyorker,” tweeted @DhanpatiKubera.
Notably, Suhag A Shukla, co-founder and executive director of advocacy organisation Hindu American Foundation also responded to Isaac Chotiner’s tweet. “If I’m going to be trolled by a New Yorker staff writer, is it too much to ask that he not retreat to overused Irish alliteration? “Sinister sectarian”? Really, Isaac. But at least he didn’t assign me a caste as the New Yorker does to all Hindus of late. Small mercies.
The New Yorker correspondent’s Hinduphobic statement is unsurprising given that the publication often provides platforms to those who peddle rampant misinformation against India and Prime Minister Modi. Dexter Filkins’ 2019 anti-Modi report for The New Yorker was an example of this.