• Source:JND
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Ohio has appointed Mathura Sridharan, an Indian-origin lawyer, as its 12th Solicitor General, the top appellate lawyer responsible for representing the state in high-stakes cases before state and federal appeals courts, including the US Supreme Court. However, what should have been a moment of professional recognition has turned into a social media storm, as Sridharan faced xenophobic trolling and racist backlash, particularly for wearing a traditional Indian bindi.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost officially named Sridharan to the post and praised her impeccable legal credentials. She was previously involved in arguing Ohio v. EPA before the US Supreme Court in 2023, a case that garnered national attention. Yost highlighted her legal acumen and noted that both of Ohio’s past Solicitor Generals she worked under, Benjamin Flowers and Jeff Gaiser, recommended her for the promotion.

“Mathura is brilliant. She won her argument at SCOTUS last year,” Yost wrote on social media. “I told her when I originally hired her I needed her to argue with me. She does, all the time! Excited to promote her. She will serve Ohio well.”

Online Hate Over Heritage And Faith

Despite her accomplishments, Sridharan became the target of racist and anti-immigrant attacks online. Commenters questioned her American identity and criticized her for wearing a bindi, a cultural and religious forehead mark common among Hindu women. Some went as far as to question her faith and loyalty to Christian values.

One user posted, “Is she a Christian? That’s the biggest factor that concerns me. Based on the bindi on her forehead, I worry she is not. That absolutely should matter to us when choosing our leaders.” Others implied she wasn’t truly American, calling her appointment “another American job given away to foreigners.”

Attorney General Responds

Attorney General Yost did not let the hate go unanswered. In a sharp response on X, he clarified, “A few commenters have asserted incorrectly that Mathura is not American. She is a United States citizen, married to a US citizen, and the child of naturalised US citizens.”

 “If her name or her complexion bother you, the problem is not with her or her appointment,” he added firmly. 

Sridharan’s appointment makes her one of the highest-ranking Indian-origin legal officials in a US state. Despite the controversy, her promotion is being celebrated by many for breaking stereotypes and showcasing the growing diversity in American legal leadership.