Nationalism
Stop Urban Shield, Stop Violence Against Our Communities
If there is anything that Urban Shield and the racist history of policing in the U.S. teaches us, it is that the police and military are two faces of the same system of global repression and racism.
Glimpses of a Muslim Childhood
Sajda
On the morning of my sixth or seventh Eid,
My mother dressed me in white Pakistani robes,
Holding my hand gently
As we walked through the bright wooden gates
Of the Islamic Community Center by our house.
I had not yet learned how to pray.
But my mother taught me how to bow in sajda,
The devotion of pressing one’s forehead
To the ground to feel smaller than God
has made you,
to feel as grounded
as feet.
As I lifted my forehead
from the carpeted floor of the mosque,
Memory as Guide: Iam.lk and personal narratives of Sri Lanka
Ahalya Satkunaratnam reflects on how the stories of elders in the website, Iam.lk assist in complicating identity in Sri Lanka and how this site provides a discussion of national history and personal belonging that circumvents hostility that often accompanies web-based discussions of identity, the nation and the war.
New Orleans thunderstorm, after the Boston marathon
birds echo and a tentative sun
retreats to darkness, knowing
far away news about to flood
our transplant hearts.
days, it’s been rising
pushing
up
seeking the jagged cracks in
facades of cheery every-day.
SWAT teams lockdown
again,
“please…not…a muslim…brown…”
one brown man after another flashed across the screen
we prayed
fearing marines neighborhood shellings on the screen
fearing our brothers pushed in front of a New York subway
fearing fear bursting into lives
Why We’re Not Losing: Decoding Indian Sexuality Politics in an Election Year
Svati Shah provides a historical sketch of the recent 377 judgement, and frames 377 against the broader backdrop of both the vital LGBTQI movements protesting this law and Narendra Modi's ongoing campaign to be India's next prime minister.
Book Review: The State of Islam: Culture And Cold War Politics In Pakistan by Saadia Toor
Hamzah Saif reviews Saadia Toor's The State of Islam, "a forceful corrective to the dialogue on Pakistan."
The Pitfalls of Language Politics in Bangladesh
A High Court ruling seeks to eliminate any distortions of the Bangla language on television or radio channels. The ruling is absurd and dangerous and can present real challenges to the freedom of press in Bangladesh. Part of SASI's (South Asia Solidarity Initiative) monthly series that explores current social justices issues in South Asia.
Lean Left: Young Radical Voices
Flash back to the first time you met another Desi lefty. Can you remember the quickening of your heart? Your excitement at finding someone who cared about the same issues and communities? For most of us, the moment we realized we weren’t alone in the world, struggling against the conservative expectations of our parents, aunties and uncles - when we realized that we had sisters and brothers in the cause who understand where we come from and where we wanted this world to go - was life-changing.
Drifting Across Desi Youth: Youth Activists Reflect on Social Justice, Resistance and Solidarity
Over one weekend in August 2015, three South Asian American youth camps took place across the US: Bay Area Solidarity Summer (BASS) in Oakland, CA, Chicago Desi Youth Rising (CDYR) in Chicago, IL and East Coast Solidarity Summer (ECSS) in New York City, NY. In an effort to collaborate long-distance, camp organizers asked the youth participants to collectively define three key concepts at the beginning and end of their camp expereinces. Below is a summary along with reflections on the camp experience.
