Indian-origin 12th Solicitor General of Ohio Mathura Sridharan is facing flak for wearing 'bindi'
An Indian-origin woman, who has been appointed as Ohio’s 12th Solicitor General, is facing online racial trolls over her complexion and for wearing a bindi on her forehead.
Attorney General Dave Yost announced the appointment and wrote on X: "AG Yost today named Mathura Sridharan as his pick for Ohio’s 12th solicitor general, the state’s top attorney for appeals in state and federal courts."
Mathura is brilliant… she won her argument at SCOTUS last year. Both the SGs she worked under (Flowers & Gaiser) recommended her.
— Dave Yost (@DaveYostOH) July 31, 2025
I told her when I originally hired her I needed her to argue with me. She does… All the time!
Excited to promote her. She will serve Ohio well. https://t.co/VKB8LkFQlJ
Following her appointment, Mathura Sridharan will now represent Ohio in high-stakes cases before state and federal appeals courts.
According to The Federalist Society website, Mathura Sridharan is currently serving as the Deputy Solicitor General in Ohio's Office of the Solicitor General.
"She also directs Ohio’s Tenth Amendment Center for which she initiates and directs suits to defend Ohioans against unlawful federal policies and to preserve separation of powers between the federal and state governments," read the website.
Before joining the Ohio Solicitor’s Office, Mathura clerked for Judge Steven J. Menashi of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Judge Deborah A. Batts of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Following her appointment, she has faced online trolls for wearing a bindi, typically worn by Indian women.
One of the internet users wrote on X: "Why not an American?"
Another said: "Dot on forehead "
An internet user said, "This person is not an American."
Amid the trolls she was facing online, Yost came out in support of Mathura's appointent and said: " A few commenters have asserted incorrectly that Mathura is not American."
"She is a United States citizen, married to a US citizen, and the child of naturalized US citizens. If her name or her complexion bother you, the problem is not with her or her appointment," he said.
IBNS
Senior Staff Reporter at Northeast Herald, covering news from Tripura and Northeast India.
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