Kalaashakti rerouted the exploitative objectives of institutions like colonialism, EuroAmerican control over land, resources, knowledge, and cultural identity, and heteropatriarchy the dominance of men and heterosexual norms, through meditative pauses and re-embodiment. These practices loosen the grip of colonial and heteropatriarchal messages and framings inscribed into our breath and bodies that tell us, as Muslim … Read More
Creating Kalaashakti, a series of workshops centered on spiritual activism and healing, was a personal labor of love. The spiritual activism of these workshops was an experiment in a different kind of anti-violence, one that increased our inner fortitude to be with suffering and know it intimately, and open ourselves to healing in community — … Read More
Fifty years ago this month, a movement for economic justice built upon racial solidarity was brought to a halt in the US national capital of Washington DC. That movement was the Poor People’s Campaign, created by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in December 1967. In the wake of the civil rights victories of the mid-60s, … Read More
On a dewy January afternoon, I take the 7 train, “the most diverse commute in the country,” to a temple in Jackson Heights, Queens, a center of South Asian diasporic life in New York. After pausing to clap my hands in time to the Sikh prayer service happening on the first floor, I eventually find … Read More
A brisk wind whipped around NYPD barricades in front of Trump Tower on a mid-November evening. Outside of the building, a group of immigrants’ rights activists from across New York City set up shop to rally for the passage of a clean DREAM Act and more comprehensive immigration reform. Speakers representing organizations that work with … Read More
In Sri Lanka, homosexuality remains a crime. Non-profit organisation EQUAL GROUND works to dismantle cultural and social stigma, and fights back against police corruption and government inactivity to seek human and political rights for Sri Lanka’s LGBTIQ community. Kajal sat down with Executive Director Rosanna Flamer-Caldera to discuss Britain’s colonial legacy of homophobia, Colombo Pride celebrations, … Read More
Moving Art paves the way for expression and inspiration. In June, Kajal met with organizers at DRUM–South Asian Organizing Center about their Moving Art program for young, working class artists. Moving Art was envisioned as a space where politically conscious artists could learn and practice ways to integrate artistic practice of all kinds with progressive … Read More
The New York City-based DRUM–South Asian Organizing Center (DRUM, formerly known as Desis Rising Up and Moving) has often been at the vanguard of political activism among South Asian community organizations. The organization was formed in 2000 as a coalition of working class and low-income South Asians of all national backgrounds to fight for causes … Read More
Community organizer and activist Shahana Hanif advocates for her people in the Bangladeshi neighborhood of Kensington in Brooklyn, New York. She focuses primarily on language access, disability justice and female leadership. In Browntown’s second episode, Shahana walks us through Kensington and points out the familiar mosques, activism groups, and discusses what it’s like to live … Read More
October 19th. Mark your calendars. New York City’s Mayor Bill de Blasio just announced that October 19th would now be known as “Waris Ahluwalia Day” in honor of the man’s accolades. Ahluwalia, among other things, is a renowned model, writer and designer. In February, he made headlines when he was denied the right to board … Read More
