At the CNN Presidential Town Hall on October 23, Vice President Kamala Harris said she prays every day. Yes, we know she was raised Baptist – the faith of her father, Jamaican American economist Donald J. Harris. But her mother was Shyamala Gopalan, a Hindu immigrant from India, belonging to the highest Brahmin caste – Iyengar. In a Christian-majority country, where Hindus or Indians account for just 1% of the voting population, Kamala Harris finds it prudent to not highlight... Read more
India was not mentioned in the Donald Trump-Kamala Harris debate on September 10. But soon after, Laura Loomer, the former President’s controversial ally, stirred the cauldron for Indian Americans by posting on social media that the White House would ‘smell like curry’ if Kamala got elected. She could as well have said ‘sambar’, the spicier staple of south India, to which Kamala traces her ancestry, as does Usha Vance, wife of the GOP vice-presidential nominee. After speaking to prominent Indian... Read more
When I was a teenager, I had this apocalyptic declaration on a patch embroidered on my jeans that said: ‘God is dead.’ Nietzsche’s misconstrued words perfectly reflected my loss of faith in my religion, Hinduism. A few years later, I learned meditation and was ready to vouch for at least the esoteric parts of my faith. Wearing your beliefs on your sleeve can anger some folks and lead to unending arguments. I was reminded of my teenage peccadillo when reading... Read more
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