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In 1989, Sandhya Nand was strutting down Victoria Parade in Suva by Anna Sweetman and Tanya Whiteside who are both considered OGs. In Sandhya’s words, Anna Sweetman was THE fashion organiser in the 80’s, she was a prestigious show producer and model agent and Sandhya was one of her top models. Sandhya tells me that […]
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University of the West Indies (UWI): BA Theology degree that discriminates It sits innocently in the Undergraduate Humanities Programmes list, alphabetically bookended by Theatre Arts and Visual Arts. Yet the University of the West Indies (UWI) Bachelor of Arts BA Theology degree is a jarring testament to the religious and ethnic discrimination that still exists […]
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Today! I want to speak to the newly appointed Ministers; of Tourism and Culture Hon Dr Michael Usi, as well of civic education and national unity Timothy Pagonachi Simbega Mtambo Dear Sirs, Both of you have the responsibility of bringing the nation as a whole in an effort to promote tourism, respect and adoration to […]
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When 15, ninth grade Gerald Cotten in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, was selling get-rich-quick schemes on online forums and learnt how to deceive investors covering his tracks. This gave him a good grounding to the world of digital currencies and outright financial scams. He soon became captivated by the charms of this surreal world called TalkGold, […]
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Disclaimer: This is a general order of events that occurs in an Indo Fijian wedding. The Haldi ceremony, the Mehendi ceremony, the weeks of ‘naach gaana’ (singing and dancing), the arrival of the Baraat, the countless shopping trips. Ah, weddings. Indo Fijian culture recognises marriage not only as two individuals making a pledge to embark […]
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Over 60, 000 Indian indentured labourers came to Fiji – the adults on a five-year contract, after which they could return to India at their own expense or on a free passage after 10 years’ ‘industrial residence’ in the colony. (Lal, 2019). As indentured emigration was state sponsored, the Government of India was kept informed […]
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Ganesh Halo: Art Of Homeland Seperation — AS THE MIC IS handed over to Ganesh Haloi after the experts have had their say at a book launch held in Mumbai recently, he smiles shyly and mutters something on the lines of, “I am not a speaker,” before quickly slipping away to exchange pleasantries and sign […]
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The power of women to change their world. First it was the children, a three years old boy marked with bruises and signs of abuse, then the eight year old that he began to slap and kick and beat and then Lily the 35 year old mother with five children could not take it anymore. […]
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A Homeland for Indians displaced by Indentured Labour The stories of hardship, abuse, discrimination, murder and racial violence of Indians displaced by Indentured labour have not eroded with time, the living conditions of Indians under colonial rule dating back over 160 years ago still prevail today, this time under a new administration. The oppression and […]
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Mr. RAMAPHOSA, HAS THE DUSK SET IN ON THE NEW DAWN ALREADY? Is the once vaunted ANC even capable of producing a president who can carry himself to two terms successfully? “Oh what a tangled web we weave when we first practice to deceive” Mr. President The Ides of March is upon you, beware – […]
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The Immigrant Experience: Overcoming Hurdles — The immigrant experience is full of excitement and the hurdles become easy to overcome because of the irrepressible desire to succeed, says DIVYA KAELEY It’s mid-2012 when we arrive at the busy Toronto Pearson Airport as permanent residents. The hustle and bustle makes me nervous and the cool July […]
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Meet The 23-Year-Old Indian-Origin Astronaut Whose Life Mission Is to explore space — Sirisha Bandla worked hard at her dream of going into space despite having it shattered once. The young Indian-origin astronaut talks about her incredible experience in space – and about doing a somersault! The earliest memory that Sirisha Bandla, Vice President of Government […]
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Over 60, 000 Indian indentured labourers came to Fiji – the adults on a five-year contract, after which they could return to India at their own expense or on a free passage after 10 years’ ‘industrial residence’ in the colony. (Lal, 2019). As indentured emigration was state sponsored, the Government of India was kept informed […]
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Women Harnessing The Positive Power Of A Crisis — Munmun, a Transmission Line design Technician in Boston, is working from home like many other mothers simultaneously handling duties of work and motherhood. Since February, she had spent several hours glued to news channels following the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic. The initial panic has started […]
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Thota Vaikuntam: Exploring Identity Through Brushstrokes Of Indian Roots — ONE OF THE life-altering moments that Thota Vaikuntam remembers vividly from his student days at the Baroda College (1971-72) was his mentor KG Subramanyan’s advice—“If you want your art to be original, stop following Europe and Britain. Instead, reach back into your own roots. The […]
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Ah, the good ol’ feeling of not being Indian enough and not being Fijian enough. It is a feeling that has festered for years and probably will continue to fester. The years of almost desperately craving for acceptance and validations from India Indians – oh wait let me give you context. ‘India Indians’ – my […]
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Art in the diaspora: A Work of Art in Every Direction — A COMMUNITY THAT WAS once maligned in mainstream US culture, South Asians appear to have gained a new prominence in recent years. With the rise of stars like Riz Ahmed, Mindy Kaling and Aziz Ansari, it has never been a better time to […]
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Patriarchy: ‘a system of society or government in which the father or eldest male is head of the family and descent is reckoned through the male line.’ According to Dr Greda Lerner (Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin), “Patriarchy has gone through many forms, and is an institutionalised pattern of male dominance in […]
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The MEC for Transport, Community Safety & Liaison: KwaZulu-Natal Mr. Siboniso.Mbhele Sir Re: Road Carnage in KwaZulu-Natal is unacceptable/ Conduct of Taxi Drivers are a hazard Congratulations on your appointment as the MEC of Transport, Community Safety & Liaison KwaZulu-Natal. As we approach the end of the year and the start of the holiday season, […]
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Trick or treat. Candy. Costumes. Carving pumpkins. Ghost stories. Horror stories. Frantic consumerism to keep up with the demands of children. Nightclubs packed with people dressed up in their favourite Halloween costumes. Halloween has its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. A pagan religious celebration which welcomes the harvest at the end of […]
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The President: Republic of South Africa Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa Sir IS SOUTH AFRICA BECOMING A “BLACK” COUNTRY – OR HAS IT ALREADY BECOME ONE? ARE “BLACKS” THE ONLY CITIZENS WHO ASCEND TO SENIOR POSITIONS? I write to you with a caveat that this correspondence, while invoking the ideology of race, it is not meant to […]
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Dowry: A Curse In The Life Of A Married Indian Woman – Is dowry a tradition or a trap? A question that goes through most Indian young women who are married off to men working or studying abroad. Besides, before the wedding, the bride’s family and the bride are under the impression that the groom […]
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Beware the Ides of March! Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France before being overthrown by revolutionaries and being publicly guillotined following the abolition of the monarchy in France, is famously attributed for the almost brazen quote, “Quils mangent de la brioche” – traditionally translated as “let them eat cake”. Her utterance was the result […]
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MY DEAR ELIZABETH/LIZZIE By far, the reference to the late Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain as “My dear Elizabeth” and “Lizzie” by one Nelson Mandela, always evokes a wry smile in me, as much as it raised consternation amongst his close aides at the time. His reason was simple. “Why shouldn’t I call her Elizabeth, […]
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Introduction Thank you for giving me this opportunity to be the Guest Speaker to your 5th Triennial Delegates’ Conference. It is indeed an honor to speak to your delegates and guests since some of the founders and very early members of your Union were members and founders of the political party which I have […]
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THE UGANDA OIL PROJECT: A CAREFULLY CONSIDERED OPPORTUNITY FOR UGANDA’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BY HON. Dr. ELLY KARUHANGA. Personal opinion Throughout my life I never knew I would find some environmental activists objectionable and so counter to African interests. This is disturbing. I give you a woman called Joyce Katushabe who is from Buliisa on oil rich western […]
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AN APPEAL TO THE PRESIDENT OF MALAWI AND THE LEADERS OF ASIAN BUSINESS CAPTAINS. By Yamikani Nicholas Kachingwe. I for one have noted with great disdain on how some people due to ignorance and lack of knowledge are going astray to the extent of becoming paupers and enemies of progress. The majority of Malawians need […]
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DON’T SHOOT SIR, I AM ONLY A CHILD! (Dedicated to the memory of all the children who are victims of war) The flaming sounds of fury and rage, Thundered through the stillness of the sleepy dawn, I dared not move my little frame in fear of the impending rampage, Beweeping softly my direful fate as […]
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Today, with your leave, we are going to try something a bit different on The Global Indian Series: a debate. Our motion is as follows: ‘This House believes that India’s decision to abstain from U.N. vote against Russia was craven” https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=Ibdia+abstain+UN+ In the interests of fairness, we shall put forward both sides of the argument, […]
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Vladimir Putin: A Russian Tyrant and a Demagogue who must be punished I am inherently opposed to war between countries in any form. Yet, every so often we get reminded of Wilfred Owen’s poem, The Futility of War”, like we are being reminded at this moment in history. Being a closet polemologist, it was depressing […]
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“What’s in a name?” as Juliet so famously asks. ‘”That which we call a rose/ By any other name would smell as sweet.” Or would it? Names matter. They enshrine identity. Indeed, they enact it. Names tell their own (his)stories and silence others. They are not mere labels. They carry a freight of associations which […]
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It was with horror that we at The Global Indian reacted to your highly insulting and profoundly unfunny joke about the Roma. Your referred to it as a ‘career ender’ and your words may well prove prophetic. All right minded people are appalled by your comments. You are an educated man with a keen wit. […]
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This year marks sixty years since the world came to the very brink of nuclear war. The event hascome to be known as the “Cuban Missile Crisis”. We now know from the documents releasedfrom the US State Department, the Kennedy papers and more recently from the archive in theformer Soviet Union that we were really […]
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COULD SOUTH AFRICA HAVE A WHITE, INDIAN OR COLOURED PRESIDENT CHOSEN ON LEADERSHIP MERIT IN THE FUTURE? A Pik Botha Deja vu moment I encountered my first taste of racism at the tender age of seven. My dad had taken me on a fishing trip to what was then commonly referred to as the “Snake […]
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India has contributed dozens of words to the English language. This is a testament not only to the richness of Hindi, Urdu and Hindustani but also to the peculiar way the English language, perhaps more than any other, has of absorbing words from other languages. English and ‘Indianness’ Inevitably, English has shaped notions of […]
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The Indian Diaspora is not a modern phenomenon. As we say on the Global Indian series, we’re everywhere! And South Asians were there a long, long time ago. The Roma (or Gypsies as they are known in Britain) hail from the Punjab region of northern India as nomads and entered Europe between the eighth and […]
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He was dimunitive – quite affable – oftentimes quite rumbunctious, but he was never boring – never. I had the distinct honour and privilege to have met the “Arch”, together with the Reverend Frank Chikane and the Reverend Beyers Naude, while being a student at the University of the Western-Cape, during the turbulent days of […]
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When the 21-year-old Harnaaz Sandhu from the Punjab was crowned Miss Universe, India rejoiced. And why not? When she did her cat impression, they laughed. When she said: “Never compromise on your hobby because that could lead to your dream career” they nodded sagely. There she was with her sash emblazoned with ‘Miss India’ -a […]
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Civilisation & Drugs-The Hidden Truth For most, the notion of psychedelics brings to mind Goa in the 1970s or the Beatles sitting crossed legged, beads in hand exploring the yellow submarine of sorts. However despite the propaganda of the notion of left field hippies, there is a growing movement of change that is dispelling […]
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Priti Patel is cock-a-hoop. Her controversial Nationality and Borders Bill has been passed by Parliament. The Nationality and Borders Bill raise questions about what it means to be a “British subject” in the 21st Century. Because the stark reality is If you fall into the “wrong” category, you or your kin could be repatriated […]
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Child Bride: Naila Amin At just 15, Naila Amin was a just a schoolgirl. Yet she had already been engaged for eight years to a man 13 years her senior. What is more, she had taken part in two Islamic religious marriage ceremonies, both against her will. Engaged at 8. Married at 15 In […]
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It was with a great deal of sadness that I read Ramharack’s lengthy article in the “Stabroek News” of November 28, 2021 headlined “Re-imagining Cheddi Jagan: Cultural Moorings and Political Recklessness”: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2021/11/30/opinion/letters/we-have-found-other-beliefs-which-work-for-us/ The author is a well-known anti-Jaganist, one of those middle-class Indians who hates Jagan’s pro-working class politics. First of all, he, like so many […]
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Child marriage murders innocence. To be married as a child effectively brings childhood to an end. And it robs a girl of the education to which she should be entitled, it forces her to deal with the trials of adulthood before she is ready and breaks most of her human rights. In short, the scourge […]
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Beginning from October 29, world leaders will assemble in Scotland to discuss one of the most important global problems that face every person, which is the question of Climate Change. This issue is so important that it can spell the end of life as we know it on earth and therefore demands more than talk […]
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I was shopping at a wet market in Singapore, when my 3-year-old son Ishaan, pointed towards something and said “Mama, can I buy this please?” he was holding a long stick with a loop at an end. He had found it next to the cashier, at a very prominent place for a fresh vegetable shop. […]
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Never did it cross my mind that my home and people would need to be protected in the manner which has been required over the last week. The sense of survival and fear mixed with adrenaline was the combination felt by many citizens in the KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng provinces of South Africa. It was […]
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by Hardeep Singh | First published in The Spectator | President Biden’s decision to ‘end the war in Afghanistan’ means the complete withdrawal of 3,500 US troops by the 20th anniversary of 9/11. However, what may be domestically popular — particularly among Trump voters — will soon have consequences for the Afghans left unguarded by […]
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*The madness and futility of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict* Wars serve no purpose – they destroy humanity – they exacerbate human suffering to extreme levels of intolerability. Wilfred Owen, in his 1918 poem, “Futility”, exemplifies what a wasteful by-product war has become of man’s inhumanity to man. The raging Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a heresy and must […]
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On Monday May 10, clashes between Palestinians and Israelis erupted once again. The reason for the clashes this time was due to the fact that the Israeli regime have moved to expel Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem to make way for new Israeli settlers. They are people who were not just born in […]
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I for one have noted with great disdain on how some people due to ignorance and lack of knowledge are going astray to the extent of becoming paupers and enemies of progress. The majority of Malawians need a total mindset overhaul. We are used to average levity, poverty-infused development, and living below the poverty line […]
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*When you leave this world, what kind of child would you have left behind when your story is eventually told?* William Wordsworth’s epigram, “the child is the father of man” encapsulates a unique but unwritten reality that most parents face today. As children, blessed enough to have had the consort of parents, most of us […]
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My daughter Larra wrote this – at the time she was 6. She entered a literary competition for Black Lives Matter. She did not make it into the finals, but for me, the theme and how it was tackled by her could be a lesson that we can all learn from our children. It looks […]
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Why are kids are so sensitive these days? Why do they just cry even for the smallest things? How to deal with Tantrums and unending demands? Should I punish my child for his bad behaviour or is he too young? Every time my daughter does not win a prize or even a star in school […]
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Many of the global indian diaspora is dispersed through immigration. We are everywhere! Our parents and grandparents often tell stories of how they arrived in the country with nothing but a few pounds and a dream. We often laugh at this exaggerated statement but when we stop and realise the sacrifices they made, we are […]
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The ushering in of a Global Indian 2021 seemed so extraordinary – surreal in fact. No family and friends mingling, no hugs and handshakes for the neighbours – for the very first time in my life, and I suspect for countless others, the dawning of the new year could not have been so different as […]
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The colonial importation of Indian citizens from the sub-continent to South Africa in 1860 entrenched a historical perspective that runs very deep into the veins of a country whose own history has ebbed and flowed in ways we least imagined. The prime objective of this importation was not simply a migration but a decidedly egregious […]
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In this world where a pandemic is not discriminating who it attacks, we have for centuries been living with a pandemic that has touched every single person in the world in every era and has never been given the respect and healing it deserves. This is the pandemic that is mental health illness. Everyone of […]
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Divya Nazran takes a second look at social constructs within the South Asian community, and provides a challenging view on beliefs v reality
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As Curry Goat is quite easily and readily seen as both Jamaican and Indian, so too must Jamaican identity itself be seen. An in-depth discussion by Dr Kirk Meighoo
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Rajesh Gopie delves into the question of identity, indenture and the need to understand more about our joint experiences
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Sadhguru Isha foundation – Global Indian Perspective JRD Tata, whose family is among those responsible for building the basic foundations for Indian industry, was once asked if he wanted India to become an economic superpower. He replied, “No, I do not want India to be an economic superpower. I want India to be a happy country.” The […]
Confused about your teens career choices? In this insightful episode, we explore the fascinating world of brain mapping and how it can guide children toward their strengths and passions, especially during crucial career decision-making years. Our guest, Dr. Sweta Adatia, a renowned neurologist and founder of Zebra-Brain, shares her expertise on how understanding the unique […]
