Vijay Prashad

Vijay Prashad teaches International Studies at Trinity College, Hartford, CT. He is the author of ten books, including two chosen by the Village Voice as books of the year (Karma of Brown Folk, 2000 and Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting: Afro-Asian Connections and the Myth of the Cultural Purity, 2001). His forthcoming books include, Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World (New York: New Press, and New Delhi: Leftword, 2006) and, with Teo Ballve, Dispatches from Latin America: A NACLA Reader (New Delhi: Leftword, and Boston: South End Press, 2006). He writes a monthly column called "Letter from America" for Frontline (Chennai), and one for Counterpunch and ZNET. A co-founder of the Forum of Indian Leftists, he sits on the board of the Center for Third World Organizing, the National Priorities Project and United for a Fair Economy. He teaches at Trinity College.

Archived Blogs

Letter to a Young American Hindu May 23, 2007 Letter to a Young American Hindu. Dear Friend, Like you, I was raised in a mixed family. My parents' families came to Bengal from Punjab, and from Burma. One side leans towards Hinduism; the other to Sikhism. The city, the metro, provided its own cultural mooring, and in secular India, I found myself interested in all religions and deeply schooled in none. Id meant fellowship with my Muslim neighbors and friends; a Navjot meant a crash course in Parsi life; Nanak's birthday meant a visit to Gurudwara Sant Kutiya in the center of town; Christmas, which is Bara Din in Calcutta, meant a brightly lit Park Street and a visit to St. Paul's Cathedral; and, of course, Diwali and Holi represented the high-points of our festival culture. Religion was colorful, and friendly. It didn't represent either the harshest of personal morality nor the resentments or distrust of others. (originally published in www.passtheroti.org) Full Story | Comments (0)

Someone buy Karl Rove a calculator November 21, 2006 Karl Rove and his crew got licked in the election. The Republicans suffer spectacular reverses in the U.S. congressional elections owing mostly to the Iraq policy and to economic downslide. The ball is in the Democrat's hand, but given their own track record.....good luck. Full Story | Comments (0)

Tears for Beirut July 23, 2006 The bombs are falling again. Twenty years later, Israel is back with a vengence. The "Paris of the East" has crumbled, and its people are held hostage to the wiles of an arrogant state. Where is the cry for the Lebanese, that same cry that yelled "genocide" for Darfur? Full Story | Comments (2)

Desi Summer April 30, 2006 Young desis are on the move. There is not one progressive organization without at least one desi on its staff. Desis are represented at all the protests I go to -- anti-war, pro-poor, anti-capitalist, pro-people...... We are everywhere. Now, to create a larger communities of progressive desis, and to deepen our own analysis of the situation, young desis are creating summer schools. The most recent creation is inside the beltway. If the Hammer (DeLay) and the Scalpel (Frist) exemplify the culture of corruption in Washington, these young desis exemplify the anti-thesis of corruption. Full Story | Comments (8)

Push Them Around. March 04, 2006 Bush has left the subcontinent. He leaves behind an Ambassador who has the honor of pissing off the entire political spectrum. That's David Mulford. He's a piece of work. Manmohan Singh has, meanwhile, graduated from the Blair Academy of Poodledom. Full Story | Comments (3)

Desis and the Drug War February 10, 2006 The US government has decided to take the fight to the enemy: the Patels. In this new installment of the drug war, it is the small merchants who are getting the stick. Operation Meth Merchant is on.....if you're a Patel, duck. Full Story | Comments (3)