Racist Outburst Against Indian American On Airlines Shuttle Sparks Outrage

India-West News Desk

LOS ANGELES, CA – A shocking incident of racial abuse unfolded on a United Airlines shuttle bus at Los Angeles International Airport, drawing widespread condemnation online. Wedding photographer Pervez Taufiq captured the exchange on video, documenting a confrontation between his Indian American family and a woman who hurled a barrage of racist insults.

The ordeal reportedly began mid-flight when the woman, seated near Taufiq’s 11-year-old son, made inappropriate comments about his heritage. The situation escalated on the shuttle bus when she told the children to “shut up.” Taufiq confronted her, prompting an even more hostile response.

In the video, the woman, dressed in a green striped shirt, raised both middle fingers and launched into a tirade: “Your family is from India, you have no respect, you have no rules… You guys are fg crazy.” She went on to mock him, saying, “I’m going to record your fg tandoori a… your tandoori stinky a*.”

When Taufiq asserted his American identity, she dismissed it, insisting, “You’re not American. Not originally, no, you’re from… India.” Taufiq countered calmly, saying, “I was born in America,” but the woman retorted, “No, you weren’t, that’s not on your passport.”

As the altercation unfolded, other passengers intervened, demanding the woman be removed from the shuttle. One passenger told a United Airlines employee, “She is out of line, she’s drunk, and we need her off the bus.” Another added, “She’s been calling racist slurs at this nice family. They didn’t do anything.

United Airlines staff escorted the woman off the shuttle, which Taufiq later acknowledged in his Instagram post. “Blown away these types of people still exist,” he wrote, thanking those who stood by his family during the incident.

Taufiq, a Boston native and an accomplished wedding photographer who travels globally with his wife, reflected on the incident in disbelief. “My blood is boiling right now,” he said in the video. “We were just having an altercation with this lady who was giving us a really hard time telling the kids to ‘shut up.’ I lost it and said, you know, you don’t have a right to talk to my kids like that.”

The video, shared on Instagram, quickly went viral, drawing support for Taufiq and his family. Notable figures, including journalist Katie Couric, commented on the post, expressing solidarity.