Indian-origin astrophysicist barred from attending garba event in US, told surname 'did not appear to be Hindu'

Karan Jani, an astrophysicist from Vadodara settled in Atlanta in the US, was on Friday barred entering a garba venue there after the organisers said that his surname did not 'appear to be Hindu'. Posting the details about the incident, he said that he and his friends were denied entry at Shree Shakti Mandir Center in Atlanta. 

"Yes this happened in year 2018! In the United States! This is one of the biggest Hindu temple and Garba venue in the US. I have been going here for last 6 years," he said.

Speaking about the incident, his father Pankaj Jani said: "Volunteers stopped him and told him he doesn't look like a Hindu and even his surname doesn't appear to be that of a Hindu. They check IDs. His ID has national emblem on it, even then he was asked to leave. Later he talked to me over phone and sounded nervous."

In a Facebook post, Karan recalled the embarassment. He wrote: "My Konkani friend who came to Garba for the first time *due to enthusiasm of us Gujaratis* was pulled out of line & was told:
“We don’t come to your events, you are not allowed to ours”
She: “My last name is Murdeshwar. I’m Kannada-Marathi!”
Him: “What is Kannada? You are Ismaili”
My other friend’s last name had “Dangarwala”. We spoke in Gujarati to them. They still said we were “Vohra, Sindhis”. They actually kept stating other religions!! And what is wrong even if we are!!
They ganged up and told us to leave. They were rude to the females in our group. In Amba Ma’s temple. What Irony!!"

Questioning the treatement meted out to him, he lashed out at the organisers. "“I come here to play Garba for last 6 years. How could you not let us in because of our last name," he asked.

Tagging External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and the Consulate General of India in Atlanta, Karan wrote: "Bigotry is independent of spacetime. But this is an illegal and discriminatory treatment of Indian citizens on foreign soil. Such mandirs neither represent India, nor the values of our Constitution, nor the ethos we stood for thousands of years."