Kshama Sawant’s file photos. On February 21, 2023, Seattle became the first US city to ban caste discrimination through city council laws, a measure Sawant defended. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Kshama Sawant, an Indian-American politician and critic of Indian Hindu rights, said he “urged” the country’s political opposition to speak for critics like her. And they say it’s their interest to do so.
In a virtual interview with Hinduism, Sawant noted that the utter impossibility of political opposition cannot propose a unified agenda for those working not only in India but also worldwide. This led to the elections between (Donald) Trump (US) and (Narendra) Modi (India).”
“I urge India’s political opposition to speak up for people like me, Ashokswain, Avanidias and other Modi critics to speak up for people like those who have been denied visas,” he said. Visa applications that visited mothers were rejected twice, and visa applications were rejected twice. 2024. She said the opposition should gather together to say they do not support “an inhumane agenda where Indian citizens like my mother are not allowed to see their families.”
“We didn’t have that kind of protest out of political opposition,” said Sawant, a former City Councilman in Seattle.
Ashokswain is a professor based in Sweden, with Indian origins, and India’s overseas citizenship was revoked in July 2023 to “indulge in non-imitation activities of India’s sovereignty and integrity.” Avani Dias is the former South Asian Director of Australian Broadcasting, who left India in April 2024, cites his refusal to extend Visa on preparations for the general election in India. Modi government.
“We need to remember that this is happening at the time the Trump administration passed an extreme anti-immigrant enforcement order, which is 104 people who are bound to get the right documents and sent back to US military planes. It was clear from the Indians of the United States. We must remember that Trump will take power on such a large deportation promise and unleash a series of workplace raids. So there is a cold , Democrats have completely failed in opposing these measures, and that’s the same case in India,” Sawant said.
Sawant’s mother, 82-year-old Vasundhara Ramanujam, is a retired school teacher. She lives with Sawant’s sister in Bengaluru. Vasundhara has been diagnosed with ischemic heart disease, hypertension, chronic kidney disease and other debilitating diseases. The letter was attached three weeks ago along with an emergency visa application for Sawant and her husband, Priest Calvin. “The emergency visa is permitted within a few days, but I have not received any previous responses. My husband was given a visa during the last two applications, and the reason for denial of my visa is that There were none. What else is there, political retaliation?” Sawant asked. Sawant said he is exploring a legal challenge to denial of a visa, but has not yet begun the process.
After serving for 10 years on the Seattle City Council, Sawant founded a political organization. Workers advocate a federal minimum wage of $25 an hour, combined workforce with big technology to support large corporations that she calls “pent-up frustration.” hand”. Earlier in her career, she gained notoriety early in her career, with the implementation of a minimum wage of $15 an hour in Seattle City in 2014. This has increased to $20.76 an hour this year, with the highest minimum wage in the US continuing to be $7.25 an hour – $7.25 an hour since July 2009.
Sawant has managed to pass a number of resolutions on measures by the Modi government, as other cities set precedents to follow, such as the Citizenship Amendment Act in February 2020. On February 21, 2023, Seattle became the first US city to ban caste discrimination through city council laws, a measure Sawant defended.
“What did Indian diaspora Pramila Jayapal and Locanna (the leaders of the Democratic Congress in Washington and California, respectively) do to fight Trump’s agenda? They were silent,” Sawant argued. He denounced liberal politicians in the US and India for the leaning of the right-wing side of both countries, saying, “It is in their interest to regain normal people.”
She condemned their role in the Liberal Party for their role as workers’ voices and their support for the “billionaire class” in both India and the United States. . “There is no viable opposition,” Sawant said. “The only way is to move independently working class.”
Published – February 6th, 2025, 11:34pm
