![](\"https:\/\/64.media.tumblr.com\/547c2c56f904a506eb46e1e05145a169\/d668de28c37905b3-67\/s640x960\/b62f55899cc1f40e98689ebb98a658040a9dafb2.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>On this episode of APEX Express, host\u00a0Miata Tan<\/b>\u00a0is joined by ASATA members who discuss the \u00a0South Asian Coalition<\/b>, an emergent national network committed to collective liberation and solidarity.<\/p>
Together they\u00a0explore what it means to build South Asian political power in this moment\u2014and how cross-movement solidarity can shape a more just, multiracial future.<\/p>
Listen to the episode here<\/b><\/a>. <\/b><\/p> _______<\/p> Learn more about the South Asian Coalition:<\/b> The South Asian Coalition was convened in October 2024 by: Statement of Solidarity with\u00a0Nepali-speaking Bhutanese Americans Facing Deportation and Detention<\/b><\/p> Sign-On Form<\/i><\/b><\/a> for Organizational Sign-Ons<\/i><\/b><\/p> April 15, 2025<\/i><\/p> As members of immigrant rights groups, refugee advocacy groups, and community organizations and allies, we stand in firm solidarity with the Nepali-speaking Bhutanese American community currently facing unjust detention and deportation by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). For decades, we have been collectively advocating for immigrant justice, and we now raise that voice in support of our Nepali-speaking Bhutanese American neighbors and friends.<\/p> As of the writing of this statement, we have witnessed alarming reports of ICE targeting, arresting, and incarcerating more than 60 members of the Nepali-speaking Bhutanese American community across Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Kentucky, Vermont, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, and other states since March 2025\u2013and deporting at least 20 additional members to Bhutan since March 26, 2025. Those deported by the United States to Bhutan are rendered stateless and remain in peril\u2013with at least four community members<\/a> rejected by Bhutan and expelled to Nepal, where they are now in police custody. We continue to receive new, increasingly disturbing updates daily about people being targeted, detained, or deported.<\/p> This crisis resurrects painful memories for a community that has already endured forced displacement. As refugees who fled ethnic cleansing in Bhutan in the 1990s and spent over 15 years in refugee camps in Nepal, these people \u2013 families, children, communities \u2013 came to the United States starting in 2008 through official resettlement programs. Nepali-speaking Bhutanese American refugees have built homes, businesses, and families here. They have become an integral part of our social, economic, and cultural fabric.<\/p> Here are reflections from community members and advocates:<\/p> “This feels like a repeat of our history. First expelled from Bhutan, forced into refugee camps in Nepal, and now being torn from our American homes. How many times must we rebuild our lives<\/i>?”<\/p> “Our children are American. They know no other home. What message does this send to them about their place in this country<\/i>?”<\/p> “The detained and deported are economic anchors for their families. Their absence causes not just emotional trauma but threatens the stability and survival of entire households<\/i>.”<\/p> “The most painful part is seeing our neighbors disappear without explanation. They are taken from their homes, workplaces, and even court appearances with no transparency or accountability<\/i>.”<\/p> Our coalition stands firmly with the Nepali-speaking Bhutanese American community. We condemn these opaque and unjust disappearances that are terrorizing families and violating due process. We reject the callous disregard for this community’s unique vulnerability to statelessness given their history of persecution and displacement.<\/p> We ask ourselves: How is history repeating itself for this community? What are we doing to prevent another cycle of trauma and displacement? How can we use our collective power and resources to ensure justice for those affected?<\/p> Refugee and immigrant communities across the United States recognize their own stories and histories in the journey of the Nepali-speaking Bhutanese community. Like the Bhutanese American community, Afghan, Cuban, Haitian, Venezuelan, Cameroonian, and Nicaraguan people here on Temporary Protected Stay (TPS) deserve to keep rebuilding their lives here in safety, but they too are being targeted for ejection from the U.S. And, like the Bhutanese American community, Southeast Asian people who came to the US as refugees fleeing war and persecution when they were very young children<\/a> and who know no country other than the US <\/a>are being stripped from their communities. For so many of our communities, the promise of the United States offered a hope of safety from painful circumstances, and the revocation of sanctuary for those who have painstakingly built lives in the U.S. is a cruelty that offends our shared values of humanity and welcome. If we ignore the way that Nepali-speaking Bhutanese Americans are being targeted, every person in the U.S. \u2013 citizens and non-citizens alike \u2013 become less safe, and our rights less secure. We must resist the push to demonize the most vulnerable among us.\u00a0<\/p> As we reflect on our collective movement for immigrant justice and human rights, we must advocate for the rights of refugee communities like Nepali-speaking Bhutanese Americans. We commit to learning from, and supporting, and defending grassroots organizations like Asian Refugees United that are leading this fight. We pledge to amplify their calls for justice, contribute resources to legal defense funds, and stand in physical solidarity at protests and community actions. We demand the immediate return of these community members who have been deported to a place where they face persecution and statelessness.<\/p> IN SOLIDARITY,<\/b><\/p> Alliance of South Asians Taking Action (ASATA), lead organizer<\/i><\/p> AAPI Equity Alliance<\/p> Adhikaar for Human Rights and Social Justice\u00a0<\/p> APEX Express<\/p> API Equality-LA<\/p> Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC<\/p> Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL)<\/p> Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders of New Jersey (AAPI NJ)<\/p> Asian Americans United<\/p> Asian Law Caucus<\/p> Asian Prisoner Support Committee<\/p> Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants<\/p> Center for Security, Race and Rights<\/p> Chinese for Affirmative Action<\/p> Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)<\/p> DRUM - Desis Rising Up & Moving<\/p> Hindus for Human Rights\u00a0<\/p> Hmong Innovating Politics<\/p> Indo-American Center<\/p> Japanese American Citizens League<\/p> Mekong NYC<\/p> Muslims for Just Futures<\/p> National Korean American Service and Education Consortium<\/p> National Partnership for New Americans<\/p> New Disabled South<\/p> North Carolina Asian Americans Together\u00a0<\/p> Ohio Immigrant Alliance<\/p> OPAWL - Building AAPI Feminist Leadership<\/p> Refugee Congress<\/p> Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus<\/p> Santanna Law Offices PC<\/p> Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF)<\/p> South Asian Network<\/p> South Asian Public Health Association<\/p> Southeast Dignity not Detention Coalition\u00a0<\/p> Stop AAPI Hate<\/p> The May 13 Group<\/p> The Sikh Coalition<\/p> We Are All America<\/p> How You Can Help:<\/b><\/p> We are releasing this statement at a moment when the American right wing is divided over the issue of skilled immigration and guest worker visas. With Donald Trump entering his second presidential term, white nationalists and their associates seek to restrict all immigration to the United States. Opposing them are tech industry oligarchs and Hindu reactionaries, who insist that high-wage skilled guest workers are meritocratically superior to low-wage and undocumented guest workers (who are, of course, demonized by both sides). When our opponents are in conflict, we have the opportunity to gain ground.<\/p> As a San Francisco Bay Area organization, ASATA’s membership includes current and former H-1B workers, their families, and their friends. We see the struggles of H-1B guest workers as intrinsically linked to those of all guest workers in the United States, as all guest workers hold in common a state of precarity and exploitation enforced by U.S. border policy. We hope to join these efforts in a common purpose \u2013 to fight together against all deportations, employment-based visa restrictions, visa overstay punishments, and all other forms of coercion levied against guest workers under the U.S. immigration framework.<\/p> H-1B workers are skilled professionals who fill critical roles in specialized fields such as technology, engineering, and healthcare, often in high-wage positions. South Asians, particularly those from India, form a significant portion of this workforce. Indian nationals comprise 72% of all approved H-1B petitions in FY 2023. Workers from Pakistan and Nepal are also among the top ten countries associated with the H-1B program.<\/p> There are several points of overlapping interest between H-1B workers and other guest workers. Family migration for all categories of documented guest worker is conducted using the H-4 visa, and H-4 visa holders must apply separately for an employment authorization document in order to work in the United States. H-4 visa holders may find themselves in similar cycles of dependence, isolation, or financial hardship if they are denied their employment authorization, regardless of the type of work visa associated with their H-4 visa.<\/p> H-1B workers and their family members can become illegal. H-1B workers who overstay their visas are barred or restricted from future immigration benefits, while their children under H-4 visas can age out and lose legal status. The threat of illegal immigration status is an essential coercive force levied against H-1B workers and their families.<\/p> Ultimately, the anti-immigrant far right levies attacks against all guest workers regardless of wage or skill level, and at present it\u2019s clear that such attacks are inevitable and indiscriminate. No single group of guest workers can be rendered safe from white nationalism, and it is always advantageous to cultivate solidarity in situations where confrontation is imminent.<\/p> Above and beyond these specific and immediate recommendations, we advocate for the free movement of labor into and out of the USA.\u00a0<\/b><\/p> At present, fracture over H-1B visas is a conflict between right-wing factions without a clear left-wing alternative. White nationalists push for the end of all immigration, while tech sector capitalists and Hindu-American reactionaries advance \u201cmeritocracy\u201d for the skilled guest worker and border walls for the \u201cunskilled\u201d guest worker. Left unrepresented in this discussion are any South Asian guest workers themselves.<\/p> This is an opportunity to mobilize South Asians who are not content with these options. South Asians exist at all levels of guest worker visa status and skill level, and many South Asian-Americans find that a choice between white nationalists and the Hindu right is no choice at all.<\/p> We call on South Asian progressives, allies, and policymakers to stand in solidarity with H-1B workers and their families, as one facet of the fight for the dignity of all guest workers. South Asian employees should push their companies to adopt fair labor practices for guest workers, while unions and labor groups must ensure that guest workers of all skill levels are fully included in their demands. Policymakers must prioritize policies that uphold the dignity and rights of all immigrant workers. South Asian activists should align together against all attacks on immigration, whether they demonize specific segments of the population or attack all guest workers broadly.<\/p> We hope to contribute to a movement in which South Asians in the United States stand united across all skill levels, citizenship statuses, and communal boundaries, fighting together for immigration justice, labor rights, and a community that embraces guest workers and their families.<\/p>","link":"https:\/\/www.asata.org\/post\/777134732867731456","guid":"https:\/\/www.asata.org\/post\/777134732867731456","pubDate":"Tue, 04 Mar 2025 16:08:00 -0800"},{"title":"Reclaim Martin Luther King Day 2025","description":" ASATA members joined the Third World Liberation contingent on January 20, 2025 to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s radical, anti-imperialist legacy and stand in solidarity with all those impacted by heightened attacks as Trump took office that day. We are ready for the long work ahead.<\/p> On Sunday, December 1, volunteers with ASATA, Hindus for Human rights, and other local groups in solidarity painted a street mural in front of the Indian Consulate in San Francisco to call for justice on the 40th anniversary of the industrial disaster in Bhopal, India.\u00a0<\/p> Organizers like Farhana Sobhan from ASATA and Vivek Kembaiyan from HFHR brought together a coalition of organizations, activists, and artists to demonstrate solidarity with survivors using art with the support of longtime street muralist and organizer, David Solnit<\/a>. The mural and accompanying banner was designed by artist Kamardip Singh by adapting and combining previous campaign art demanding justice for the survivors of the Bhopal disaster. The mural is anchored by two women who are survivors and movement leaders in Bhopal, in front of the still unpremeditated chemical plant and billowing clouds of lethal gas. This image was made by artist Alizarin Menninga-Fong, in collaboration with movement leaders in Bhopal, to serve as a logo commemorating the 40th anniversary. The 40th logo was also worn as screen printed patches by participants at the event.\u00a0<\/p> On December 3, 1984, a Union Carbide factory in Bhopal leaked deadly poison into the community, killing thousands and leading to long-lasting damage that continues today. Our San Francisco action amplified the demands of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, including for the American company Dow Chemical, of which Union Carbide is now a subsidiary, to pay for the death and destruction they wrought, and for the central and state governments of India and Madhya Pradesh to hold the perpetrators accountable and provide for the health and safety of the people of Bhopal (which they have totally failed to do). <\/p> It was a beautiful day, in which we painted, listened to the music of artists from Bhopal, and tied the destruction in Bhopal to the ways companies like Dow Chemical are killing Americans as well. We are grateful to artivists Esha, Priya, Sangeeta, Hafsa, Sabrina, Fernando for helping to execute the vision of the mural. Learn more about Bhopal at\u00a0bhopal.net<\/a>.<\/p> Photos by Nicholas Lea Bruno<\/i><\/p>","link":"https:\/\/www.asata.org\/post\/768780761121882112","guid":"https:\/\/www.asata.org\/post\/768780761121882112","pubDate":"Mon, 02 Dec 2024 11:07:46 -0800"},{"title":"Sumud: Resistance Until Liberation Mural","description":" The SUMUD: Resistance Until Liberation<\/i> mural project is a collaboration between artists and activists in the U.S. and Palestine that explores and confronts the deep interconnections between the brutal systems of imprisonment in the U.S. and Palestine. ASATA members collaborated on the concept, design, and painting of a section of this mural titled Internationalism + The Fight Against Empire. See more about the SUMUD mural project here<\/b><\/a>.<\/p> Internationalism + The Fight Against Empire<\/b> By Haiti Action Committee, GABRIELA Oakland, Alliance of South Asians Taking Action (ASATA), and BAYAN Norcal<\/b><\/i><\/p> ASATA members volunteered at the SUMUD Mural Community Launch event on October 13th celebrating joy and resistance. <\/p> Read the full artist statement below: <\/p> As organizations with a history of working with each other, we understand the interconnectedness of our movements for liberation internationally, especially across the Global South. We know that the liberation of one of our homelands contributes to the liberation of all of us.\u00a0<\/p> Our spoon was inspired by Handala, a 10-year-old Palestinian cartoon character created by the Palestinian cartoonist Naji al-Ali. Handala\u2019s age represents Naji al-Ali\u2019s age in 1948 when he was forcibly displaced and became a refugee after the Nakba. Hence, Handala remains 10 years old, and he is depicted with bare feet, spiked hair, and tattered clothing, and always has his back turned to the viewer to represent the fight against empire.\u00a0<\/p> Our mural depicts Handala, hand in hand with a character robed in Lumud textiles of the indigenous communities in the Southern Philippines. This design is based off of a work by Cece Carpio, and for us in GABRIELA Oakland and BAYAN Norcal, resonates with our commitment as a movement to defend indigenous land against plunder and environmental degradation, from Palestine to the Philippines. On the far left, we also chose to include a peasant farmer. To this day, the Philippines remains a semi-feudal country, with peasants comprising the majority (75 percent) of the islands\u2019 population. Our peasant figure represents the 500 year legacy of resistance among Filipinos, especially in the countryside, and the will of the landless class to take up the struggles for liberation and basic human rights.<\/p> On the other side of Handala, is a figure representing Haiti\u2019s continuing resistance to colonialism, depicted by a boy similar in age to Handala, holding the flag of Haiti. The flag is a symbol of Haiti\u2019s historic revolution and overthrow of slavery which gave birth to the first free Black nation in the Americas. Sculptural metal birds adorn both sides of the mural, and represent symbolic elements deeply rooted in Haitian spirituality and creative resistance.\u00a0<\/p> The figure wearing a sari has designs on the pleats of the sari inspired by different countries in South Asia, as well as a design that represent the South Asian descendants of indentured servitude. We also incorporated a design inspired by Kashmiri weavers to connect the occupation and resistance struggles of Kashmir and Palestine.\u00a0The figure was intentionally designed to challenge the binary of masculinity vs. femininity that exists within most patriarchal cisheteronormative South Asian cultures, and to include the colors of the pride and trans flags to represent solidarity with queer and trans communities. The South Asian figure holds a farming tool to represent the farmers\u2019 movement and uprising.\u00a0<\/p> Taking inspiration from Naji Al-Ali\u2019s Handala, in which he wrote that the character stood as \u201cthe arrow of the compass, pointing steadily towards Palestine,\u201d our figures stand before a landscape symbolizing a future of freedom and return. The image of a tree whose roots reach out to each figure, and whose branches touch the sky, is meant to symbolize the strength we draw from rootedness in ancestral lands, and in the interconnectedness of our struggles.\u00a0<\/p>","link":"https:\/\/www.asata.org\/post\/764361443606921216","guid":"https:\/\/www.asata.org\/post\/764361443606921216","pubDate":"Mon, 14 Oct 2024 17:24:37 -0700"},{"title":"From Bhopal to the Bay","description":" Press Release at this <\/span><\/b>link<\/a><\/b><\/span>.<\/span><\/b><\/p> __________________________<\/p> 40 years ago, Bhopal, India, experienced the world\u2019s worst-ever corporation-caused disaster, resulting in the deaths and disabling of hundreds of thousands of marginalized people over multiple generations. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, corporations have been exploiting, polluting, and appropriating land and people for over a century. How can we disrupt this corporation-enriching global extractive system that results in widespread injustice, poverty, hunger, climate change, and irreversible environmental destruction? Join changemakers, knowledge-holders, and innovators from Bhopal and the Bay, representing over 30 organizations and diverse perspectives, as they discuss how frontline\/ indigenous communities and activists across the world are taking on what is the greatest challenge of our time. Participants will include organizers, community\/ indigenous leaders, artists, lawyers, activists, musicians, reformers, and other changemakers from a diverse range of ethnicities and perspectives, including waste reduction, carceral reform, Indigenous rights, land sovereignty, social-environmental justice, climate change, human rights, food sovereignty, and corporate accountability.<\/p> __________________________<\/p> COVID protocols:\u00a0<\/b><\/p> As COVID rates are on the rise, we are implementing the following protocols:<\/p> Accessibility:\u00a0<\/b><\/p> The event space is 100% wheelchair accessible. Gender neutral bathrooms are available.\u00a0<\/p> We are not able to provide food\/drinks; however, you are welcome to bring your own snacks and reusable closed beverage bottle. We request that you minimize plastic and landfill waste\/garbage.<\/p> Child Care:\u00a0<\/b><\/p> We are sorry that we are unable to offer child care services at this event.\u00a0<\/p>","link":"https:\/\/www.asata.org\/post\/760107314509463552","guid":"https:\/\/www.asata.org\/post\/760107314509463552","pubDate":"Wed, 28 Aug 2024 18:27:03 -0700"},{"title":"Stop the Genocide: Federal Court Appeal","description":" June 10, 2024 \u2014 San Francisco<\/p> ASATA members rallied in front of the San Francisco Federal Building today to support the plaintiffs in the historic case to charge the U.S. Government with complicity in genocide. Vivek gave a speech highlighting how the Israeli government is exporting its apartheid legal tactics to the U.S. and to countries like India which have been used against our most vulnerable populations. ASATA continues to stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine as we resist fascism in all its forms.<\/p> Watch the full speech here. <\/a><\/p> Photo courtesy of Vivek<\/i><\/p> The rally at the Federal Building was organized by Arab Resource and Organizing Center, Anti Police-Terror Project, Center for Political Education, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, Bay Resistance, Jewish Voices for Peace, U.S. Palestinian Community Network, and International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network. <\/i><\/p>","link":"https:\/\/www.asata.org\/post\/752943955424018432","guid":"https:\/\/www.asata.org\/post\/752943955424018432","pubDate":"Mon, 10 Jun 2024 16:48:31 -0700"},{"title":"ASATA Statement on the March 3, 2024 “Unity March against Anti-Semitism” ","description":" There will be a \u201cUnity March against Anti-Semitism’’ in San Francisco tomorrow. However the last 147 days of\u00a0 genocide in Palestine have made clear that this \u201cunity march\u201d is just a cover for Zionists advocating to continue bombing and starving Palestinians.\u00a0<\/p> The only non-Jewish speaker at the event is Pawan Deshpande from the Hindu American Foundation (HAF). HAF is a right wing Hindu Nationalist (Hindutva) hate group that started as an outgrowth of the core Hindu Nationalist group, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), associated with the current fascist BJP regime in India. These organizations advocate for Hindu Fascism at every level, both in the US and India. You can read more about the VHP in this recent report<\/a> by Savera, a new, progressive South Asian coalition in the US.\u00a0<\/p> The presence of an HAF speaker at this Zionist march is a clear signal of the deep ideological and political alliance between Zionists and Hindu nationalists. Both ideologies are built on the belief of an ethnonationalist state only achieved through normalizing violence against minorities, ethnic cleansing, state repression, and cultural erasure. Zionists and Hindu nationalists have been increasingly working together on building power and strategy. This alliance is apparent in India being the largest purchaser of Israeli weapons<\/a>, their use of Israeli technology and strategy in the ongoing occupation of Kashmir<\/a>, and India\u2019s recent sale of \u201ckiller\u201d drones to Israel<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p> Pawan Deshpande and the HAF don\u2019t represent the diversity of the South Asian or Hindu communities in the Bay Area. ASATA stands with the majority of Americans in calling for a permanent ceasefire. Since October, we have joined our Palestinian and Arab comrades, along with people of conscience across the Bay Area, fighting for an end to US aid to Israel and a Free Palestine.\u00a0<\/p> We continue to call on South Asians and South Asian organizations in the United States to reject the continued co-option of our identities by organizations such as the HAF and to see clearly that the only \u201cunity\u201d perpetuated by this march is a unity in support of a fascist and genocidal regime that continues to invisibilize the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.<\/p>","link":"https:\/\/www.asata.org\/post\/743903553016528896","guid":"https:\/\/www.asata.org\/post\/743903553016528896","pubDate":"Sat, 02 Mar 2024 20:55:12 -0800","category":["south asian","asata","hindutva","zionism","palestine","free palestine","san francisco","bay area"]},{"title":"ASATA Statement on Palestine | October 2023","description":" ASATA members joined hundreds of protesters in front of the Israeli consulate in San Francisco on October 8, 2023. <\/i><\/p> The Alliance of South Asians Taking Action stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine in the face of the current escalation of violence unfolding in Gaza and the West Bank. Over the last two weeks, ASATA members looked to the leadership of Palestinian activists in the San Francisco Bay Area who continue to lead protests that lift up the unrelenting resistance of those living under violent occupation.\u00a0<\/p> As we mobilized for direct actions and joined the call for Palestinian liberation, we also deepened our understanding of how the state of Israel\u2019s settler colonial tactics are proliferated and being replicated in the Indian government\u2019s violent occupation of Kashmir. As part of a diverse South Asian Diaspora, ASATA members clearly see the close relationship between Hindutva (Hindu Nationalism) and Zionist ideologies. As South Asians, we challenge all forms of imperialism. Thus, we oppose Zionism, a settler colonial project displacing indigenous Palestinians, resulting in the world\u2019s largest diasporic refugee population.\u00a0<\/p> The current close relationship between India and Israel has enabled a security regime where India has adopted Israeli tactics of collective punishment (such as the arbitrary revocation of residency and citizenship rights, arbitrary detention, statewide suspension of internet, etc.) in its occupation of Kashmir.\u00a0 The deployment of the Israeli hacking software Pegasus to spy on Indian journalists,<\/a> lawyers, activists, academics, supreme court judges, opposition politicians, and many others must be seen in the context of the announcement by India and Israel that cyber security is a key area of cooperation<\/a> between them. The NSO group, an Israeli firm that\u2019s an expert in cyber surveillance, has in effect abetted the Indian government\u2019s surveillance of its own citizens<\/a> as it has done in a dozen other countries<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p> The Israeli government\u2019s alliance with and support of the BJP\u2019s Hindutva agenda is part of a longer history where it has exported its violent policies and military tactics to South Asia in order to suppress resistance movements there. For example, The New York Times<\/i> has reported that as early as the 1980s, Israeli intelligence agents trained<\/a> their Sri Lankan counterparts in their fight against Tamil groups. Israeli human rights lawyer Eitay Mack has raised questions about Israel\u2019s more recent role in war crimes committed during the Sri Lankan civil war, and has called for criminal investigations<\/a> into the involvement of Israeli companies, officials, and individuals.\u00a0<\/p> India\u2019s embrace of Israel is polarizing the Indian-American diaspora, and has exacerbated the islamophobia of those who subscribe to the toxic ideology of Hindutva. The US-India Political Action Committee (USINPAC) is modeled after AIPAC and the AJC<\/a>, and the Hindutva lobby\u2019s use of the accusation of \u201cHinduphobia\u201d to shut down critical discourse is inspired by the Zionist lobby\u2019s success in silencing critics of Israel\u2019s policies by weaponizing charges of anti-semitism.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p> The BJP\u2019s fearsome \u201cIT Cell\u201d is a massive disinformation machine that amplifies Hindutva propaganda through an army of paid employees and volunteers that flood social media with fake news, and through a large-scale use of bots that power harassment and trolling campaigns. Many accounts known to push Hindutva content are now being used to spread disinformation about Hamas<\/a> while continuing their systematic spreading of islamophobic content.\u00a0<\/a><\/p> Indeed, as documented by BOOM, one of India’s most reputable fact-checking websites, India is now one of the largest sources for disinformation<\/a> targeting Palestinians negatively. We call on fellow South Asians in the diaspora to condemn the demonization of Palestinians, and ensure we do not contribute to the spread of disinformation and anti-Muslim hate.\u00a0<\/p> We take inspiration from the women of India\u2019s National Federation of Dalit Women (NFDW) who have declared their solidarity with Palestinians<\/a> \u2014\u00a0 invoking the \u201chistoric oppression\u201d and \u201csystematic dehumanization\u201d that both communities have faced.\u00a0<\/p> We are also in solidarity with the many anti-Zionist Jewish groups and individuals both within Israel and world-wide that are opposing the Israeli state\u2019s attacks on Palestine, and its long standing policy of apartheid against the Palestinian people.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p> We call on our fellow South Asians and South Asia- led organizations in the United States to reject the \u201cboth sides\u201d argument that invisiblizes the experiences and dignity of the Palestinian people. We call for an immediate ceasefire and end to the ongoing siege and genocide in Gaza. We call on the US to stop arming the Israeli apartheid regime with billions\u2019 of dollars worth of weaponry. And finally, We invite our communities to embrace the ways our histories of anti-imperialist struggles are connected so that we may build power and protect our communities against anti-Musilm hate violence and state-sponsored terrorism. Free Palestine. \u00a0<\/p>","link":"https:\/\/www.asata.org\/post\/732285312529760256","guid":"https:\/\/www.asata.org\/post\/732285312529760256","pubDate":"Thu, 26 Oct 2023 16:08:14 -0700"},{"title":"Domestic Workers’ Organizing in California: An ASATA Update","description":" by ASATA Member Preeti Gamzeh<\/i><\/p> Over two million homes across California depend on the essential care provided by more than 300,000 domestic workers in the state \u2013 yet they remain without health and safety protections in the workplace. Care workers who ensure our economies have a healthy workforce, are ironically and sadly, marginalized and invisible-ized by intentional exclusion from worker protection laws. These exclusions are a remnant of the United States\u2019 legacy of slavery and discrimination against Black and brown immigrant women workers that continue on in California state\u2019s labor code today.<\/p> As a result, domestic workers are regularly exposed to health and safety threats. These include exposure to toxic products, heavy lifting leading to muscle tears, sprains, back\u00a0 injuries and other long-term chronic conditions such as asthma, chronic cough, vision impairment, impacts on the reproductive system, and more.<\/p>![\"Abstract](\"https:\/\/64.media.tumblr.com\/8244866a501ae1822a5d5d7e57ccebdc\/f558cd150dc20538-99\/s640x960\/07067ec8b9df9713c9005b8377617e1b28b9c3a5.jpg\")
ALT<\/span><\/figure><\/div>1. Our position and why this is needed<\/b><\/h1>
2. Who are H-1B workers?<\/b><\/h1>
3. How do H-1B workers relate to the fight for guest workers\u2019 rights?<\/b><\/h1>
4. How can we fight for H-1B workers?<\/b><\/h1>
5. Reject the right-wing debate, pick a third option.<\/b><\/h1>
![](\"https:\/\/64.media.tumblr.com\/b0ac7438af7f83919347449af5544485\/47cd9c28856355b6-b9\/s640x960\/e64d16efb4d1819432321901246ddfb969df05aa.jpg\")
<\/figure>![](\"https:\/\/64.media.tumblr.com\/7814cf3cb5ccac3bd3f80c452a9fcb3f\/47cd9c28856355b6-29\/s640x960\/62ab223bf5073359a9222438ebeb5abc6ba9c53a.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>","link":"https:\/\/www.asata.org\/post\/773311467418271744","guid":"https:\/\/www.asata.org\/post\/773311467418271744","pubDate":"Tue, 21 Jan 2025 11:21:25 -0800"},{"title":"Justice for Bhopal Art Action ","description":"![](\"https:\/\/64.media.tumblr.com\/4941f5c1baed9c4b232ba1bfc7a70c20\/7b7491bc6a0799f0-46\/s640x960\/bd34d49f1630b15f4b476024f22212536bc2658a.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/64.media.tumblr.com\/3eceb6799aa00bf277d8eaeac3388a78\/7b7491bc6a0799f0-0f\/s640x960\/4d597f53b30db3da72051b94fe87dd8eb1897d8c.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/64.media.tumblr.com\/6a95daa2b66d6e670361e7fb4a30045f\/7b7491bc6a0799f0-e4\/s640x960\/fcaedddb1ca2a293fb99c3c652a955891a3b8a1c.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/64.media.tumblr.com\/7bf9ff38943ccf0164e4d1a655dfa327\/7b7491bc6a0799f0-02\/s640x960\/5fb5d8e6981ea409edcd399b4a4f4fdfd7d4546a.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/64.media.tumblr.com\/21e276027c1eb5ca42da8dbb078d602b\/00798eeb6b88e3a2-2e\/s640x960\/c6a0ff909496398da3c2a2cc394c3b33c988d940.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/64.media.tumblr.com\/a80def4ddbc96959abb74641614f2b71\/00798eeb6b88e3a2-37\/s640x960\/fb76e20976563e57b6fe064b77e5d8122ca101b1.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/64.media.tumblr.com\/d12c719442e8e62db024df24ae49aabc\/dcde2363e3505d98-4d\/s640x960\/63333c790b0f38f7ad13050e82b5bc6d355c1a37.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>Come join us in Downtown Oakland on September 25th, 2024, at 6 PM. RSVP here<\/a> (seats are limited).<\/b><\/h2>
![](\"https:\/\/64.media.tumblr.com\/018ae6a7176d0bdf4edb35a37c9281c4\/54e8b44a2e3dd4eb-e2\/s640x960\/367c868ec75ee860e1fa416cf002881643bd242b.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/64.media.tumblr.com\/7eaa4c041f138381c116c193d235d526\/a23e09517137e755-87\/s640x960\/9798ca205c82a5ae10747a92ca71d1036a81bf2e.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>Domestic Workers\u2019 Organizing in California: An ASATA Update<\/b><\/h1>