Indian-origin Mathura Sridharan was appointed as Ohio’s 12th solicitor general, inviting the wrath of online trolls who questioned why a ‘non-US-origin’ person was not picked for the post. Sridharan’s LinkedIn went viral as critics questioned her credibility — forcing Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to issue a clarification, or a clapback at the trolls. Dave Yost, who announced Mathura’s promotion, said Mathura is wrongly being portrayed as a non-American. “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,” he said. “If her name or her complexion bother you, the problem is not with her or her appointment,” he added.“Mathura is brilliant… she won her argument at SCOTUS last year. Both the SGs she worked under (Flowers & Gaiser) recommended her. 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,” Yost wrote.Yost’s clapback also met trolling as people commented that she is not “American-American”. “Is she a Christian? That’s the biggest factor that concerns me. Based on the bindi on her forehead, I worry she is not,” one wrote. “Another American job… given away to foreigners,” another wrote. “She’s Indian. They all have a loyalty first to other Indians. horrible pick. Totally un-American. the GOP is pathetic,” a third user wrote.“No one with the last name ‘Sridharan’ fought in the US Civil War. She’s not an American,” another wrote.Before joining the Ohio Solicitor’s Office, Mathura clerked for Judge Steven J. Menashi of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Judge Deborah A. Batts of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. She holds a Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law, a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
