Tag Archive for 'Indian-Americans'

Nikki Haley and the new racial face of the American South

Published on June 25, 2010 in Leaders and Politics. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

Nikki Haley is poised to join Bobby Jindal as conservative Indian Americans running Deep South states. Tunku Varadarajan at The Daily Beast on how they’re exploding racial attitudes—and why the Dems don’t get it.

Nikki Haley, née Nimrata Randhawa, is almost assured of the Republican nomination for governor of the state of South Carolina. And if she does win her runoff on June 22, she is almost certain to be elected governor in November, which would give rise to the remarkable fact that two deeply conservative Southern states—South Carolina and Louisiana—will be home to governors of Indian descent, one the son of Hindu immigrants, the other the daughter of Sikhs.

What explains the success of Jindal and Haley in their respective states? In posing this question, I hint, of course, at the South’s lingering reputation for racial intolerance; and who can deny that the two states in question have not always been at the forefront of America’s historical striving for racial amity?

One answer is that these two politicians are consummate conservatives in a milieu that rewards political conservatism, and that their success is a validation of their ideology and intelligence. Their ethnicity, in other words, is an irrelevance. This view was expressed, in effect, by a friend—a law professor in Tennessee—when I asked him why he thought Indian-American conservatives were doing so well in some Southern states: “There are lots of Indians in the South, and they work hard and do well. Why wouldn’t people like ‘em, especially when they work hard at politics and espouse conservative, capitalist, pro-family views?” More:

Why are Indian kids so good at spelling?

Published on June 3, 2010 in Society. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Because they have their own minor-league spelling bee circuit. Ben Paynter at Slate:

Image: Slate / Spelling BeeThis April’s North South Foundation bee in Shawnee, Kan., might seem like an obscure place to find the spelling world’s two biggest stars. Mostly, it looked like the sort of geeky local bee I might have attended as a kid—except everyone there was Indian. Inside Shawnee’s Hindu Temple and Cultural Center, 23 awkward kids took turns passing a microphone back and forth in a hushed beige auditorium. No spotlights, no podium, just cringe-inducing feedback on the P.A. system. And for the record, the spelling was a-t-r-o-c-i-o-u-s. Just three of the first 10 contestants spelled their words correctly. At one point, a poor kid paced in circles and clutched his crotch before misspelling beleaguered and sprinting off to the restroom.

Amid it all, 13-year-old Kavya Shivashankar pronounced words from a fold-out judging table as her father, Mirle, emceed in a sharp dark suit. Kavya, the 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion, is a spelling superstar complete with signature move: She air-writes each word across her palm before speaking it. Kavya and Mirle—her innovative, ever-enthusiastic coach—were at the small-time competition to pay homage. Over the past two decades, tournaments like this one—a regional qualifier for the North South Foundation’s spelling league—have become a breeding ground for Scripps contenders. These minor-league competitions help kids as young as 6 years old work out the spelling kinks at an early age. The result has been an Indian-American dynasty at the National Spelling Bee. More:

Under pressure, Shah renounces Hindu group

Published on December 13, 2008 in Leaders. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

From National Journal (via 3quarksdaily):

sonal_shahThe controversy has been gathering steam in the Indian press and South Asian blogosphere for weeks now, but it went mainstream on Thursday when former GOP Senator Rick Santorum published an op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer questioning the appointment of Shah to the transition team — prompting a Lost In Transition post Friday.

Shah, a Google executive who previously worked for Goldman Sachs and served as a Treasury official in the Clinton years, was appointed to the Obama transition team in November and has since been tapped to be part of the three-person team to develop technology policy. She is also reportedly being considered for Secretary of Energy.

However, her appointment to the administration has drawn strong reactions from the South Asian community. While many prominent Indian-Americans have stood behind Shah, others have raised doubts about her past. Dr. Shaikh Ubaid is part of a group including several Muslim and Sikh associations and dozens of college professors that sent letters to both Shah and President-elect Obama, requesting further information on Shah’s past associations.

“When she was appointed, it was initially a proud moment for us, her being an Indian-American,” said Ubaid in an interview given before Shah’s latest statement. However, the reports regarding Shah’s past ties to the VHP gave Ubaid and others a cause for concern.

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The President-elect and India

Published on November 17, 2008 in Leaders. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .

Martha Nussbaum in 3quarksdaily:

I should like to focus on a letter written by then-candidate Obama to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, dated September 23, 2008, and published in India Abroad, the October 10 issue. I address these remarks to my former University of Chicago Law School colleague in the spirit of the type of respectful yet searching criticism that I know he will recognize as a hallmark of our faculty workshops and discussions.

The Obama letter has three slightly disturbing characteristics.

First, the letter gives lengthy praise to the nuclear deal, without acknowledging the widespread debate about the wisdom of that deal in both nations. Perhaps, however, this silence simply reflects politeness: Obama is surely aware that Singh has been an enthusiastic backer of the deal, risking much political capital in the process.

Second, the letter speaks of future cooperation that will “tap the creativity and dynamism of our entrepreneurs, engineers and scientists,” particularly in the area of alternative energy sources, but never mentions a future partnership in the effort to eradicate poverty and illiteracy. This silence, unlike the first, cannot be explained by politeness, since Singh has devoted a great deal of attention to issues of rural poverty, and it is plausible to think that he could have gotten a lot further had he had more help from abroad.

[Martha Nussbaum is the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at The University of Chicago, and the author of The Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence, and India's Future.]

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Obama’s Indian: The many faces of Sonal Shah

Published on November 9, 2008 in Leaders. 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

[Updated on November 14]

Vijay Prashad in CounterPunch [via 3quarksdaily]:

sonal1But there is a less typical side to the Shah story. Born in Gujarat, India, Shah came to the United States as a two-year old. Her father, a chemical engineer, first worked in New York before moving to Houston, and then moving away from his education toward the stock market. The Shahs remain active in Houston’s Indian community, not only in the ecumenical Gujarati Samaj (a society for people from Gujarat), but also in the far more cruel organizations of the Hindu Right, such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Overseas Friends of the BJP (the main political party of the Hindu Right) and the Ekal Vidyalaya. Shah’s parents, Ramesh and Kokila, not only work as volunteers for these outfits, but they also held positions of authority in them. Their daughter was not far behind. She was an active member of the VHPA, the U. S. branch of the most virulently fascistic outfit within India. The VHP’s head, Ashok Singhal, believes that his organization should “inculcate a fear psychosis among [India's] Muslim community.” This was Shah’s boss. Till 2001, Shah was the National Coordinator of the VHPA.

[Vijay Prashad is the George and Martha Kellner Chair of South Asian History and Director of International Studies at Trinity College, Hartford, CT.]

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The Sonal Shah controversy:

And here is Reuben Abraham’s defence of Sonal Shah [via India Uncut]

And Vijay Prashad again in CounterPunch [via 3quarksdaily]: Guilt by participation

Previously in AW: Indian-born women figure on Obama’s A team

Indian-born women figure on Obama’s A team

Published on November 7, 2008 in Leaders. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

sonal_shah

Indian-American Sonal Shah, a 40-year-old economist who heads Google’s philanthropic arm has been appointed an advisory board member by President-elect Barack Obama to assist his team make a smooth transition to power.

To read a brief backgrounder on her at Changemakers, click here. For news links click here, here and here.

Meanwhile, Preeta Bansal, a partner at the international law firm Skadden Arps, who was a senior advisor on the Obama campaign, is being tipped to play a significant role in the new Obama administration and speculation is rife that she could be the new solicitor general. Read that report in the Am Law Daily here.

Sonal Shah: The girl from Sabarkantha

From the Times of India:

Born in Mumbai, Sonal completed her studies in US after her father Ramesh Shah moved from Gujarat to New York in 1970. She, along with her sister and mother, joined him in 1972.

While Sonal, the eldest sibling, grew up in US, India helped define her strong social service values, says sister Roopal. “Sonal believes strongly in the power of young people to make a difference like Obama, she too believes in the spirit of service and the spirit of sacrifice…”

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