How Did The Indians Respond To The Dotbusters?

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a gang called the “Dotbusters” threatened and attacked Indians in the Jersey City/Hoboken area. Named after the traditional Hindu bindi, the gang was mainly comprised of teenagers who were unhappy with the growing Indian population in Jersey City. This gang successfully attacked innocent Indians like Navroze Mody, Kaushal Saran, and Bhered Patal, leaving them either severely injured or dead. The prominence and recurrences of their attacks from 1987-1993 begs the question, how did the Indian population of Jersey City respond to these attacks, both publicly and privately? To answer this question, one needs to examine the Dotbusters’ motivations, as well as the non-Asian Jersey City public’s reactions to the

The Dotbusters’ attacks on the Indian-American community in Jersey City were fueled by the Dotbusters’ intense prejudicial hatred towards Indians, which was mainly influenced by the separatism in Jersey City at the time. Jersey City officials did little to protect the Indian community and to bring the Dotbusters to justice, so Indians did what they could to get the wheel rolling. Indians turned their fear and anger into a movement, and they unified into a close-knit community in Jersey City and protested against the Dotbusters’ actions and the officials’ lack of action, despite this gang’s efforts. The Dotbusters’ attacks on the Indian-American community in Jersey City were mainly racially-motivated – the non-Asian public in Jersey City were disgruntled because they felt that the Indians were invading and taking over their home socially and

Massoon explains that the Indians were “‘paralyzed and petrified with fear,’” which is made clear in Sudershan Singh pondering, “‘Why they kill us?... We are Americans, too,’” and in an unnamed Indian shop owner explaining that, “‘We [just] want to make America beautiful. We don't want to spoil it. America is a land of chances… That’s why everybody is here,’” (Marriott, 1987). Many Indians, like Massoon, became too afraid to wear traditional Indian clothings, such as saris or bindis, in public. Some parents refused to send their children to school in order to protect them and because the children often felt insecure and ashamed of their heritage because of the bullying and bias (Kamen, 1992). A few businesses owned by Indians were forced to close because Indians were afraid to shop in Jersey City (James, 1989). No Indians walked alone, because, according to Vishnu Patel, they were “‘afraid to go out.’” Patel explained that even “‘people who work nights or return late at night are not going to their jobs,’” (Narvaez, 1987). Leaders in the Indian community were outraged by the police, because they felt that not enough effort was being put into stopping the crimes (1988, Mar. 16). Some Indians even enrolled in karate classes, so they would be able to properly defend themselves