Sunayana denounces hate crimes in her blog

Sunayana Dumala, wife of murdered Indian techie Srinivas Kuchibhotla, wants to return to the US and spread the cause of peace and love in tune with the thinking of her late husband. This is the message of a blog she wrote on her Facebook page on the night of 28 February when Srinivas’ funeral rites were performed at Maha Prasthanam crematorium in Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad.

Sunayana’s family sources in Hyderabad, too, confirmed her intentions and said that they all appreciated and lauded her strength of will in times of grief. By penning a 2,800-word blog on her Facebook page, Sunayana has let out the emotional pain she has undergone since Srinivas’ brutal killing a week ago. Though Srinivas’ father Madhusudhan Rao wants his younger son Sai Kishore, who too works in Kansas, to return to India due to safety concerns, sources in the family told this newspaper that they might not object to the wish of Sunayana to go back to work in Kansas. However, they prefer to be silent on the issue till all ceremonies are over in a week.

“I need all your support to pass this strong message of spreading love and giving confidence to every foreign national that their fight will be listened to,” said Sunayana in her blog, though she raised the same questions she voiced in the US: “Is this the same country we dreamed of and is it still secure to raise our families and children here?”

“I will now ask the same question—on what basis we decide a person is good or bad, and of course, it’s not based on the colour of your skin. So what decides that? Many times, these issues are talked about for a few weeks and people tend to forget about them afterward, but the fight must go on towards eradicating hatred from the minds of people. So what is the government going to do to stop hate crime?

“Lastly, to answer the question that is in every immigrant’s mind, DO WE BELONG HERE?” asked Sunayana by using capital letters to highlight her concerns.

As per the norms, her dependent visa stands cancelled as her husband is dead. Efforts are underway to represent her matter to the US consulate in Hyderabad and in Delhi.