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Acceptance, representation, and activism go hand-in-hand: A Sikh monologueSirat Kaur “Oh, right haha I thought you said you were sick,” said a white woman in academia as I told her “I am a Sikh” after her specific question about my faith and upbringing.This wouldn’t be the first time when someone…

Author: Mahtab Javed Siddiqui, Program Associate, Mental Health Unit – South Asian Network As a child, I watched my mother meticulously preparing a paste of turmeric and black pepper over the hot flame. The sizzle of the paste and aromatic scent of turmeric was overcome by the pain from my…

Harsirat Kaur, Artesia, California — October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, associated with the purple color and its symbol characterized by a purple ribbon. Throughout the month, organizations in the gender-based equity field highlight their work in domestic violence prevention, treatment, and recovery for survivors.  South Asian Network (SAN) is…

Friday, October 20, 2023 The South Asian Network stands in solidarity with all oppressed and occupied people worldwide. We mourn the loss of all the innocent lives that have been taken over many decades of Palestinian occupation, land theft and ethnic cleansing, which has displaced many from their homelands, torn…

PRESS RELEASE Oct 10, 2022 Contact: Shakeel Syed – shakeel@southasiannetwork.org ——– On behalf of the board and staff of South Asian Network serving tens of thousands of South Asian-Angelenos in the Los Angeles County, we demand: 1. The Councilmembers Nury Martinez, Gilbert  Cedillo & Keven de Leon must immediately resign from their offices. 2. The rest of the Councilmembers must denounce their racist…

This past Sunday—August 7th—I gave a short speech regarding the importance of civic engagement and the power of American citizenship. Keep scrolling to read the speech: I would like to stress the importance and significance of your citizenship; its value is not limited to just the certificate in front of…

Oftentimes, it’s easy to forget how recent colonization in South Asia by Europeans ended. In reality, for many of us today, our grandparents, parents, or even ourselves lived through it. While the West was beginning to see progress towards inclusivity in the 1900s, South Asia had just been left by…

Despite the challenges South Asian Americans face in this nation, a significant amount of Americans’ cultures contain stolen or borrowed aspects of South Asian cultures—whether it be shared through the west’s earlier colonization or South Asian immigation to the United States. Consequently, as AAPI is coming to a close, we…

This month, May, is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. As we have previously discussed, South Asians are becoming a growing part of this county’s population and history. South Asian Americans must be recognized for our contributions for many decades in this country.  It’s important that during this month,…

TRIGGER WARNING: SEXUAL ASSAULT AND VIOLENCE, CHILD MOLESTATIONS. While we at SAN want behavior, stigma, and climate to change around sexual assault in our communities, we understand that a cultural shift does not happen overnight.

TRIGGER WARNING: RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT. that there is nothing more important than being selfless.

BY CYNTHIA CHOCKALINGAM, CIVIL RIGHTS UNIT INTERN AT SAN Islamaphobia Rising In India Marked By New Law In The Southern State Of Karnataka That Bans Muslim Headcovering Muslim women in New Delhi protesting against the Hijab ban [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters] India is seeing rising Islamophobia as the southern state of Karnataka…

When I was—probably—around 10 years old, I learned at Chinmaya Mission—a Hindu Sunday School system—that when I walk around with scissors, the blade should be facing myself so no one else is at risk.

One thing I am proud of in my South Asian culture is the idea of gratitude: the South Asian culture strongly pushes to be thankful and pay people back when they help you. This starts with something as simple as when someone lends you a dish, you always send it…

During the summer of 2020, the height of this “modern” Black Lives Matter movement, I had a conversation with my father—sitting in a car driving through Hammond, Indiana t.o see what had happened to our old, predominantly black and brown community