How the Shared Heritage of Harris, Haley, and Khanna Shapes Their Politics

These Indian American Leaders Live the Legacy of a Historic Struggle for Independence

On August 15, 1947, my father George Mayer celebrated India’s freedom from 300 years of British colonial rule by flying kites with his friends off Howrah Bridge, over the Hooghly River in Kolkata.

Kites in India are made by delicately attaching colorful tissue paper to dry reeds using lehi, a glue made from boiled white flour. Thin kite strings are made with strong cotton fiber called manja, wrapped tightly around a decorated spindle reel or laddi. As kids taking part in a neighborhood kite fight, we would coat the first few …

‘Navigate’ Is an Overused Metaphor

And Other Observations From a Native English Speaker Who Relocated From India to the U.S.

In the 15th century, Italian merchant Amerigo Vespucci undertook many a voyage—navigating rough seas for months, sometimes years, between Europe and the New World.

There’s nothing I would change about that …

What Do Indian Women Want from This Election?

They’re Voting in Historic Numbers. But It Might Not Make Them Happier or More Prosperous

Since April 19, the day general elections began in India, voters have queued up outside polling booths, braving a muggy, scorching heatwave. The mood appears mostly upbeat. Voters talk to …

Our Favorite Essays of 2023 | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Our Favorite Essays of 2023

In the Boxing Ring. At a Parking Lot. Through Prison Glass. These Stories Captured the Sights, Sounds, and Heart of the Year

South Africans got it right when they made “kuning,” the isiZulu word that roughly translates to “it’s a lot,” one of the defining words of 2023.

It was a lot this …

When ‘Honor’—and Bureaucracy—Stand in the Way of Marriage

Indian Law Protects Intercaste and Interfaith Unions. But Many Couples Still Can’t Wed

In May 2022, a video depicting a 25-year-old man in Hyderabad being publicly murdered by his wife’s family members in retaliation for the couple’s interfaith relationship went viral on social …