PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos is walking back her office’s decision to issue a ceremonial citation that praises an Indian woman named Kajal Hindustani following backlash from groups who describe Hindustani as a “known Hindu supremacist.”
Matos issued the citation to Hindustani — who changed her name from Kajal Shingala — on July 21. The lieutenant governor hailed Hindustani for an “unwavering commitment to community empowerment, women’s safety, and social harmony.”
The citation sparked immediate backlash from a coalition of civil rights advocates and interfaith organizations, which wrote a letter to Matos urging her to rescind the praise and condemn Hindustani for her past statements…