Rajmohan Gandhi

Rajmohan Gandhi is a biographer and grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. He is also a journalist and political activist. Mr. Gandhi, a research professor at the Centre for Policy Studies in New Delhi, India, has written widely on the Indian independence movement and its leaders, India-Pakistan relations, human rights, and conflict resolution. He has held appointments as visiting professor in the United States and Japan and received honorary degrees from universities in Canada, Japan, and the Kyrgyz Republic. Professor Gandhi also served as a member of the Upper House of India’s Parliament and led the Indian government delegation to the U.N. Human Rights Commission annual meeting in Geneva. Professor Gandhi’s biography of his grandfathers, “The Good Boatman: A Portrait of Gandhi” was published in 1995, and Rajaji: A Life in 1997. His scholarly record, however, extends beyond his lineage. His major publications include a biography of Indian freedom fighter and statesman Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Eight Lives: A Study of the Hindu-Muslim Encounter. His latest work Revenge and Reconciliation: Understanding South Asian History has just been published. His research includes the history and current state of South Asia, Hindu-Muslim and India-Pakistan relations, and ethnic tensions and their resolution. He has been actively involved with Initiatives of Change for the last several decades.

Urvashi Vaid Urvashi Vaid is a community organizer and grass-roots activist who has been involved in the gay/lesbian and feminist movements since the early 1980s. Her most prominent position was as executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), one of the nation’s oldest and most influential gay rights organizations. She served as executive director for three years and worked as that organization’s director of public information for an additional three years. Vaid has not limited her community service to gay/lesbian rights, however. She is a former staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), where she worked on behalf of prisoners in the ACLU’s National Prison Project. She described what she sees as the nature of her work for Vanity Fair, explaining, “The movement I work in might be called a gay and lesbian movement, but its mission is the liberation of all people. To me, my mission is about ending sexism, about ending racism, and about ending homophobia.”

Poonam Arora

Poonam Arora (Ph.D. SUNY Binghamton) is the Chair of the Humanities Department at U-M Dearborn and specializes in film, gender studies, narrative theory and post colonial studies, joined the faculty in 1989. Her professional experience extends to writing on south Asian cinema (Bollywood), ethnographic film, women filmmakers and script writing. In addition to teaching courses in the Film Studies program, she teaches courses in Women’s Studies, the Masters in Liberal Arts, and the African/African-American Studies programs.

Subodh Chandra

Before running for a Democratic candidate for Ohio Attorney General earlier this year, Subodh Chandra just completed service as Director of Law of the City of Cleveland, a billion-dollar corporation. Chandra led the work of an 82-lawyer department with both criminal and civil divisions. He also served as acting mayor in the mayor’s absence. As Cleveland’s general counsel, Chandra slashed by nearly 90% spending on outside counsel, saving millions of dollars. Under Chandra’s leadership, Cleveland handled legal work in-house, and moved vigorously through in-house investigations to clean up corruption, including bribery schemes involving city inspectors and purchasing officials. With a relentless focus on excellence and accountability, Chandra restored the reputation the department, and attracted top performers who helped make it the most diverse law firm in Ohio. Chandra is a graduate of the Yale Law School, where he was executive editor of the ‘Yale Law & Policy Review’. He also graduated with honors and distinction from Stanford University. Stanford awarded him the John Gardner Fellowship to work with Governor Richard F. Celeste to train young leaders from newly emerging democracies in Central & Eastern Europe in the skills required in democracy.

Arpana Inman

Arpana G. Inman received her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Temple University and is currently an Assistant Professor at Lehigh University , Pennsylvania , in the Counseling Psychology Program. Prior to this she was on the faculty at Seton Hall University , New Jersey. Her scholastic and research interests are in the areas of multicultural issues and Asian American concerns. Specifically, these interests span several topics including acculturation, South Asian immigrant and second generation cultural experiences, ethnic and racial identities, the psychology of women and supervision and training. She has presented nationally and internationally at several conferences and published in these different areas. Dr. Inman is also the recipient of the 2002 Jeffrey S. Tanaka Memorial Dissertation Award in Psychology, APA Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs (CEMA). She recently co-founded a listserve for South Asian Concerns called SAPNA (South Asian Psychological Networking Association). Dr. Inman was the Co-Chair for the Division on Women, AAPA, from 2002-2003 and the Vice President for the Asian American Psychological Association from 2003-2005. She is currently the Vice President for the Asian American Pacific Islander Special Interest group within the Association of Multicultural Counseling and Development in ACA.

Moushumi Khan

Moushumi Khan graduated from Mount Holyoke College cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1993. There she studied Critical Social Thought. She spent a year doing a General Course at the London School of Economics in England in 1991 where she studied Government. Ms. Khan received her JD from the University of Michigan Law School in 1996. She has had extensive experience in the non-profit, economic development and law sectors. She worked for the Grameen Bank, the world’s premier micro-lending institution, in Bangladesh as well as helped set up the Grameen Foundation in Washington DC. She has worked for non-profits and a law firm in Washington D.C. before moving to New York. She is a co-founder and the President of the Muslim Bar Association of New York. Since February 2001 Moushumi has been in solo practice in New York City, concentrating on civil rights and corporate law. Her clients include the local Bangladeshi and immigrant populations, among others. Since September 11, she has spoken extensively on civil rights issues and their impact on the Muslim and immigrant populations. Ms. Khan is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Ms. Khan grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Dr. Vastupal Parikh

Dr. Parikh is a professor of Chemistry and was possibly the first Jain to settle in Canada. Author of “Jainism and the New Spirituality”.The book explains principles and practices of Jainism in a simple lucid language and links this ancient religion with the modern concepts of spirituality. The author proposes that Jainism represents a new spirituality – one that has at its core the human and animal rights, social justice, and environment. The book will be a valuable reading for anyone interested in spiritual values, world religions, multi-faith movement, peace, ecology, and social justice.

Sumaya Kazi Sumaya Kazi was named one of BusinessWeek’s Top Young Entrepreneurs of 2006. She is the co-founder of The CulturalConnect, an online media publishing company with a collection of four interlocking Web sites and e-magazines aimed at spotlighting and connecting young minority professionals with each other and to the nonprofit world: The DesiConnect caters to South Asians, then there’s The AsiaConnect, The MidEastConnect, and The LatinConnect. Each of the sites’ content consists largely of profiles and interviews of young minority professionals who are working corporate and nonprofit jobs. The sites’ most popular feature is “The ConnectionPoint,” a tool that allows the reader to network with featured professionals. Kazi’s also the youngest manager in her marketing department at Sun Microsystems.

Raymond Rouf

At the age of 24, Raymond co-founded The CulturalConnect (TCC), an online media publishing powerhouse that distributes four (soon to be five) weekly e-magazines for the young, driven and forward-thinking professional. As Business Director, Raymond drives growth of the 4 magazines (developing advertising and revenue models, business strategies, and overseeing human resources and day-to-day operations). In addition to TCC, Raymond has also co-founded software development company, Prodeant LLC, after graduating college, and recently co-founded an startup investment company.

Mike Ghouse

Mike’s personal mission is to promote goodwill amongst peoples of different affiliations, be it religious, nationalistic, race, linguistic or any stick. He strongly believes that if people can learn to accept and respect other peoples’ god given uniqueness, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge. Born and raised in Yelahanka, Bangalore, and influenced by his father’s inherent disposition to treat all people with dignity, Mike grew up enjoying and celebrating all Hindu, Muslim, Jain, Sikh, Parsee and Christian Festivals. He has freed his god from religious confinement cells and has allowed God to be any where and every where and every one’s. He sees Gods greatness in every which way and in every place of worship. He has ready phrases like “Don’t lock up God in any one spot “; “No one owns Jesus, Krishna or Mohamed”: “Ram is not the property of Hindu’s, he belongs to all, Christians don’t own Jesus, he belongs to all”; “Don’t let prejudice stop you from learning all the good you can learn from all religious teachers” By profession, Mike is a Real Estate & Business Consultant with offices in Dallas and Bangalore. He has earned his Master Degree in Commerce from Bangalore University and a Masters in Business from the University of Dallas. Dallas is his home and he enjoys the life with wife Najma, kids, friends and the Subcontinentian Community. He speaks Kannada, Urdu, Hindi, Telugu and a bit of Tamil & Malayalam and part takes in every Subcontinentian activity.

Vijay Chattha

Vijay Chattha, VP for Market Development & PR Vijay is the head of VSC Consulting, a San Francisco based marketing and public relations firm focused in the entertainment and technology realm. VSC has enabled IPSH to gain visibility in The Financial Times, San Jose Mercury News, Hollywood Reporter, PC Magazine, and various other news media. As VP of Development Vijay has also handled human resource recruiting, strategic business development, and partnerships into various other realms for IPSH including the defense and political sphere. Prior to VSC, Vijay has spent over six years developing projects for the lifestyle market converging technology and entertainment. In 1998, Vijay co-founded UrbanGroove Networks, which encompasses thirteen lifestyle related media resources including philly2nite.com; with a focus in business development, fundraising, and sales. Nominated for 2005 Young Professional of the Year Award

Biju Matthew

A Jesse E. Harper Associate Professor of business at Rider University in New Jersey, Dr. Biju Matthew was also an organizer of an illegal New York taxi-drivers strike and is now an active member of the Taxi Workers Alliance. He co-authored with Vijay Prashad an article for the Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India and Marxist organizations. They are both co-founders of the Forum of Indian Leftists (FOIL) and members of Youth Solidarity Summer (YSS). He is known to rally against the “rot” of both Indian and U.S. governments, pointing out the financial underpinnings of Hindu nationalism hidden in the Indian professional community of the Diaspora in an extensive network of electronic communication, student organizations, and corporate funding. He speaks out against global capitalism and diasporic identity battles that fund the Hindu right-wing communal violence currently taking place in India.

Premal Shah

Premal Shah is President of Kiva.org – a new online lending marketplace that connects internet users with developing world entrepreneurs in need of low cost capital. Prior to Kiva.org, Premal was a Principal Product Manager at PayPal, an eBay company where he spent 6 years building the world’s largest internet payment network (114 million users in 55 countries — and a current Kiva.org partner). Premal also co-founded the Silicon Valley Microfinance Network and has worked in India at NGOs focused on economic empowerment and microfinance. Premal began his career as a strategy consultant at Mercer Management Consulting in New York and graduated with a B.A. in Economics from Stanford University.

One thing’s for sure: today’s campus politics is complicated!

-Pete

What’s this? Manju embracing nuance? Naaaah =)

OK. I understand your position and everyone’s gotta do what they think is right. Just remember, there’s some harsh rhetoric being thrown around and behind the certainty there’s some real lives and real reputations of some fellow desis at stake. When everything seems so black and white, it’s easy to forget the brown and beige.

Unfortunately, I don’t read SM comments regularly enough to know how often Manju and Abhi agree with each other. But from your previous comment, Manju, I can probably guess what your politics are like.

The Michigamua issue at Michigan is important for many reasons. Many Native American students – including those with whom I was good friends – feel threatened by the presence of a secretive society that has not only used their heritage in offensive ways, but that also has close ties to administrators at the University. When a community of color feels threatened by the presence of such a group – especially on the campus of an institution that claims to be dedicated to diversity (remember the affirmative action cases?) – something needs to be done. On campus, most student of color organizations (the Black Student Union, La Voz Latina, UAAO, etc…) have recognized the need to stand in solidarity with the Native American Students Association when it comes to the Michigamua issue: what affects the well-being of one community, affects us all. However, the Indian American Student Association and (now) the South Asian Awareness Network, have been notable exceptions – they have seemingly chosen to ignore the importance of standing in solidarity with other students of color who feel threatened on campus.

UAAO is not taking any militant, neo-con, gwb-like actions. Rather, they are doing what needs to be done to maintain an Asian American commitment to solidarity with Native American students despite the ignorance/apathy of our fellow brown students.

Oh well, I guess the black klansman will have to freeze over some other time. At least you’re embracing a form of W’s neo-conservatism.

Now I am off to the fortress of solitude.

Where, no doubt, you will climax.

“You could be wrong?” You disappoint me Manju. It is a better bet that you are wrong.

Sometimes I think you are nothing but a 2D fictious comic book character sent to the blogosphere to oppose me and thus give my blogging all the more meaning. I would have quit, given up my powers, and married Lois Lane long ago if not for the clear and present danger your Lutherian ideas pose to the impresionable young minds who visit this blog.

Despite my snarkiness I generally agree with Rahul and his philosophy on the matter (especially since we acted on that same philosophy in ’98). More importantly I found your whole “nobleness of native american cultures” argument laughable (but I’m sure you knew that).

Now I am off to the fortress of solitude.

Rahul:

i’m all for hardline policies like the one the UAAO is adopting if the context is right, like say combatting aparthied, communism, or terrorism; but in this case your stridency is not justified. Michiguama has already begun admitting women and minorities and the most common example of their racism, the appropration of native american artifacts and culture, is–at least outside college campus’–highly debatable as to whether this constitutes bigotry.

I don’t doubt you genuinely believe this is a racist group, but do you really want to treat thier desi members as if they just joined the KKK or al qaeda?

I could be wrong, but knowing abhi’s (misguided) politics, when he said…

Let me translate and paraphrase in my own words: “You stand either with the racist establishment or you stand with other Asians of color.”

…he was mocking the UAAO by asociating them with GW Bush’s unnuanced rhetoric. If you read this blog regularly you’ll know that abhi and I agreeing is rarer black klansman. So when this happens, perhaps you should take notice.

Safe or unsafe does not come down to just a physical sense of safety. Since it’s inception, Michigauma members have included not just a class of senior students but also well known University presidents, professors, and administrators of UM as advisers. The Power of Michigauma is in it’s alumni network which is made of a majority of all white males. Every Building on the Michigan campus is named after a Michigauma member. Even the new Ford Public Policy Building. Michigauma has no need to wave around it’s power or actually threaten people on campus because their power is internalized into the University of Michigan system already, it’s a part of it. For example, until 3 years ago, you could have Michigauma marked on your transcript as an Honor, even when it was a “secret” society.

To combat Michigauma’s pervasive influence in the university, Students of color need to make a showing of power to force the administration to hold Michigauma accountable, which they have not been if you have researched Michigauma’s history of broken promises to the Native American Community and student of color on Campus.

This is a good site for general information, listing of previous classes, etc.

This is a running blog of all the information that is coming out at UM.

Also interesting is this video of the Student of Color Coalition taking over Michigauma’s “Tower” in the Union in 2000, which is after the time they had promised to remove their cultural appropriation customs and return artifacts back to the Native Community. Which incidentally are still missing after the University took them into custody. Imagine that.