PERSPECTIVES

Kamla Bhasin 1946-2021: Poet, Feminist Icon and a Revolutionary in Her Own Right

Kamla Bhasin had covered a lot of ground in her 75 years on the planet…

The Other Side of H1-B Visa Debate: Indian Techies are the Primary Targets of Anti-immigration Lobbyists

On Sept. 19, Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough announced that “Democrats can’t use their $3.5 trillion…

In Defense of Dharma: Forces of Hindutva Cannot be Defeated by Excluding Religion From Political Discourse

Under its current Hindu nationalist government, India has seen a marked decline in the quality of democracy. This,…

‘We Always Exist On the Verge of Threat’: Do Dalit Lives Matter in America?

India’s caste system is among the world’s oldest forms of social stratification. The system which…

Day of the Pink Hibiscus: Observing Pitru Paksha When the Deceased Loved Ones are Close to the Living Realm

It is Pitru Paksha, the fortnight of the waning September moon when Hindus remember their…

Biden-Harris Talk Up Democracy With Modi Even as His Party Accelerates State-sponsored Violence Against Muslims

As the Biden-Modi bonhomie in Washington make headlines in India, the precipitous slide in Indian…

‘It Must Be a Full Moon Night Somewhere in America’: Poets Congregate for an Evening of Lyrical Passion

Poetry of Diaspora in Silicon Valley hosted a memorable evening of poetry on August 29,…

Brown Sisterhood: I Cherish the Bond With Democratic State Legislators Who ‘Flipped’ Their Districts

While we might be “Zoomed out,” I love that I have developed friendships via video…

One Tumultuous Year On, Indian Farmers’ Protest Keeps the Values of Secularism Alive

It’s been one year of seeing our farmers face police batons, water cannons, rainfall, scorching…

When She Held My Hand: How My Daughter and I Found Each Other in an Orphanage in Calcutta

The heat and humidity of Calcutta in April 1987 were overwhelming. I had not experienced…

Ode to a Broom: The Magic Whisk Whirls me Back to the Bountiful Bowers of Childhood

We lived in Chembur, a suburb of Bombay, the financial and Bollywood capital of India.…

American Debacle in Afghanistan: The What, When and How It All Unraveled

The Kabul airport massacre, the drone strike and the Taliban’s attacks on women’s rights are…