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Indian-American doctor faces racist abuse over bindi
Reddy said she was told to "go back to India" despite being born and raised in the United States.
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Malvika Choudhary - Thu, 23, Jul 2026
- 15:56 EDT
- 47
Karishma Reddy / Instagram/ @kreddyplastics
Indian-American physician Karishma Reddy said she faced racist and xenophobic abuse after posting an Instagram video about her bindi.
The board-certified plastic surgeon said the video recounted a lighthearted interaction with a patient. Still, it instead sparked a wave of anti-Indian comments, with several users telling her to "go back to India" despite the fact that she was born and raised in the United States.
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"Earlier this week, I made a reel about a patient encounter regarding my bindi and it was a light, fun memory that I have. But wow, the comment section went absolutely nuts. I have never seen so much anti-Indian rhetoric in my entire life," Reddy said in a follow-up Instagram video.
She said she had rarely encountered such hostility because she has spent much of her life working in healthcare, where she has consistently been treated with kindness and respect.
"I might be naive to that because I've spent a lot of my life in a healthcare setting in the hospital and clinics, and in the healthcare setting, Indian people aren't really seen as a minority," she said.
Responding to comments targeting her faith and culture, she also addressed misconceptions about Hindu beliefs, including the reverence for cows.
"A lot of these comments were regarding telling me to go back to India. I was born and raised here in America. And a lot of fixation with cows," she said.
"Hindu people don't eat beef. And the main reason for that is not because we have a sacred text telling us not to eat cows. It's because in the olden days when a lot of women died in childbirth, babies survived off of cow's milk, so out of respect for the cow, for giving humans the gift of life, we do not slaughter or kill cows."
Reddy said she was saddened that people had become increasingly comfortable expressing hate online and urged viewers to show kindness.
"I hope that this at least opened your mind to Hinduism and cows and cleared that all up because I don't know what in the Ripley's Believe It or Not happened where people think we're worshipping them and doing weird things with their pee. I don't know. Be kind, please," she said.
The incident has renewed attention to online racism targeting South Asians in the United States. Advocacy groups have repeatedly warned about online harassment and xenophobia directed at South Asians, particularly over visible cultural and religious symbols such as bindis, turbans and traditional attire.
Reddy's response has since drawn widespread support on social media. Her video has garnered more than 258,000 views on Instagram, with hundreds of users condemning the racist remarks and praising her explanation of Hindu traditions.
One commenter wrote, "Thanks for the explanation regarding respect for cows. That is beautiful."
Another said, "The irony is hard to miss. Some of the loudest voices telling an American-born physician to 'go back to India' also claim to follow Jesus, the same Jesus who taught love, compassion, humility, and care for the stranger."
A third commenter, identifying as one of Reddy's patients, wrote, "Dr. Reddy saved my life when she gave me the opportunity to live without pain every day. Take the hate elsewhere. All I know is love for her and her work."
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