Are Indians part of gangs in the Western world? Yes, says an Indian-origin Professor from Cleveland, Ohio.
Prof. Sree Sreenath raised the issue of Indian criminal gangs rising in the U.S., and the need to tackle them early. Speaking at a session on ‘Diaspora organisations: Bridging distances, unlocking opportunities’, he said the second and third generation Indian diaspora were getting involved in crime. Most often, these gangs are diaspora-specific gangs. According to him, many children are dragged into gang activities when they are around 14 years.
The discussion touched upon the issues of many young Indians getting into contraband trade in cocaine and marijuana. In New Zealand, Indian gangs were into small-time crime, including drug peddling, theft and carjacking among others. “Some of the 1.77 million Indian diaspora are now getting involved in smaller crime,” said Sreedhar Mysore, a social worker from New Zealand.
Cultural taboo
Despite a rise in the number of cases, most Indian families, fearing stigma, acknowledge the fact that their children have adopted a life of crime, but try not to disclose it. According to former Canadian parliamentarian Ruby Dhalla, cultural taboo had forced many Indians not to disclose information when their children run into trouble. “A part of the problem is that these children have not seen the pain with which their families were brought up, and end up getting into the gangs,” he said.
According to him, most youngsters who are the second, third or fourth generation Indians will not be distinguished and will be treated as Canadians before the law. If someone is saying that their community is not indulging in such activities then they are lying, he added.
