‘I had to stand up for what I believe in’

RAVIN GANDHI, IndianAmerican CEO

WASHINGTON:

Indian-American Ravin Gandhi did not expect the kind of backlash that hit him after he wrote an article last week about his disappointment in US President Donald Trump after the Charlottesville clashes, and his resolve to ensure he was a one-term president. The ethnic slurs and insults that followed have still not stopped.

The 44-year-old CEO of a Chicago-based company wrote an opinion piece for CNBC last week saying that though “flabbergasted” by Trump’s victory, he had decided to give him the “benefit of the doubt”.

In the first interview to an Indian news media outlet, Gandhi reveals the reasons for going public, the backlash and his reaction to it.

Did you expect a backlash when you wrote the Oped in CNBC, saying why you were done with President Trump?

I expected some minor backlash, as that comes with the territory with commenting on politics. However, I did not expect the overall frequency or vitriol...

Did you consider just ignoring the slurs, and moving on? Did

you discuss it with family or anyone before going public?

Given that this occurred just after Charlottesville, I knew that I must make this public somehow. My family thought I should keep quiet because of concerns about safety. My basic plan was to only share on my social network, and I expected it would end there with some expressions of outrage from friends, and some gallows humour. The fact that the story was picked up is astonishing to me.

What’s been the reaction at home — the family here in the US and relatives in India?

When the press started emailing me, my family pleaded with me to stay silent. I knew that was impossible because since I started the issue by writing my op-ed, I had to lend my voice and stand up for what I believe in. However, at this stage the story has taken on a life of its own, and stories are being written with no involvement of mine... My relatives in India send me links to stories that I am featured in, many of which are not even written in English.