Tags: Ajit Pai, Nikki Haley, Raj Shah, Seema Verma, Shalli Kumar, Trump
Desi Wall of Shame, a social media hashtag-turned-website, highlights South Asians in the public sphere with reprehensible politics. Notable South Asians working with the Trump administration have all made the list, for what the website details is their “anti-immigrant, anti-civil rights, anti-Muslim, anti-woman, anti-LGBTQ+, anti-Internet agenda(s).”
Wondering who’s on the #DesiWallofShame defending Trump’s racist policies over the past year? Here are five to start with: learn more and spread the word. https://t.co/FJGU0v3eht
— Deepa Iyer (@dviyer) January 30, 2018
Trump took office 1 year ago. His South Asian appointees/supporters have been pushing an anti-immigrant, anti-civil rights, anti-Muslim, anti-woman, anti-Internet agenda.
They belong on the #DesiWallOfShame. Learn the issues. Hold them accountable. #SOTU https://t.co/nlh3SkXySB
— Arjun Sethi (@arjunsethi81) January 30, 2018
Currently, the list has five names. Well-known South Asians like Ajit Pai, destroyer of net neutrality and Chair of the FCC, Nikki Haley, US Ambassador to the United States, and Raj Shah, the Principal Deputy Press Secretary at the White House have all made it on there.
Other South Asians also made the list, like Seema Verma, the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who is aiding Trump in mandating work requirements to access Medicaid. Shalli Kumar, founder of the Republican Hindu Coalition, is also on there for organizing a Bollywood event and PR Campaign to refute claims of Trump’s racism.
Deepa Iyer, author of We Too Sing America and civil rights activist, was the first to use the hashtag #DesiWallofShame last year.
“For some time now, a number of people have been expressing concerns about the disproportionate number of South Asians in the highest echelons of the Trump Administration who are implementing anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and anti-civil rights policies and rhetoric,” Iyer told Kajal over email. “The hashtag and site are just an outgrowth of those concerns. Hopefully, people will be interested by the viral nature of the campaign to learn more about issues such as net neutrality, immigration and health access, to hold South Asians peddling anti-immigrant narratives and enforcing anti-Muslim policies accountable, and to take action in their communities and campuses.”
The Desi Wall of Shame was created by a number of South Asian activists, including Deepa Iyer, Eesha Pandit, and Anirvan Chatterjee. The purpose of the website is for South Asian activists to hold their community accountable for their actions in perpetrating the Trump administration’s bigoted policies.
Some South Asian Americans embarrass their community by being slackers
Others embarrass their community by threatening minority-language content and immigrant tech entrepreneurs
Parents—don't let your kids grow up to be like @AjitPaiFCC#DesiWallOfShamehttps://t.co/N57TjKTtAA pic.twitter.com/150N231TZW
— Anirvan Chatterjee (@anirvan) January 31, 2018
These desis are the collaborators with a fascist Trump regime. They're enabling white supremacy. They deserve our disgust and they belong in the #DesiWallOfShame https://t.co/uk9bRD9VUB
— Sahar Shafqat (@sahar_shafqat) January 30, 2018
So far, the website and the hashtag have both received wide recognition over social media, where folks are spreading the word about the South Asians in the Trump administration. Others are offering their own additions, as well.
Even though he’s not in the administration – here’s an honorable mention into the #DesiWallOfShame pic.twitter.com/vHhSsSSCPA
— Imraan Siddiqi (@imraansiddiqi) January 31, 2018
Another nominee for the #desiwallofshame https://t.co/KwnKLlxckA
— (((Subodh Chandra))) (@SubodhChandra) February 3, 2018