MISSION STATEMENT FOR THE SOUTH ASIAN
Over the last several
months, persons of South Asian origin and ancestry residing in the United
States have had to respond to new and difficult challenges, precipited in
part by the events of September 11 and in part by the steadily worsening economic
conditions. September 11th has provoked an unprecedented sense of insecurity
among citizens of the U.S. and, correspondingly, heightened suspicion of
people who look foreign or unfamiliar. This climate of suspicion, with
intermittent expressions of racial hostility, has been aggravated by employment
insecurity. The prevailing
conditions of political and economic insecurity, and the need to address
them in a collective manner, are compelling reasons to forge a strong South
Asian community capable of acting locally and regionally.
But there is another
reason as well. Recent events in the South Asian subcontinent, particularly
the disturbing escalation in everyday violence, make it doubly urgent to have
a conclave of South Asians who can work past their partisan viewpoints -
in search of strategies that may diminish the antagonisms, suspicions and
fears that currently divide people from South Asia who reside there, as well
as here in the United States. It is fitting that this sort of initiative
should begin here, in the Upper Midwest. As people who reside in this
country as foreigners or, at the very least, are
regarded as different (since some of us are U.S. citizens), we can
testify to shared experiences and challenges. We believe it is possible
to take advantage of these shared experiences to find common grounds for engagement,
even though in a different geographic context we might have felt divided
by different viewpoints.
The South Asian
, as a monthly newsmagazine,
imagines itself as a voice of peace and justice that will address itself,
at least initially, to members of South Asian origin and ancestry who reside
in the Twin Cities area (with the intention of eventually extending this audience
to South Asians in the Upper Midwest).
The newsmagazine will have an unwavering commitment to various forms of difference
and debate. It aims to be a forum for all the people of South Asia:
a medium for serious conversation, humour, debate, dissent, reflection
above all, an honest exchange of ideas that can
provide the building blocks of an active and engaged South Asian community.
The content wishlist
for the "The South Asian" is large: it wants to address prevailing concerns
and problems among local South Asian groups, as well as perceptions of
those groups and their interactions with non-South Asian populations.
In addition, it wants to offer analyses of current economic, political and
social conditions in South Asia. It wants to voice the experiences of
children of South Asian descent growing up in the U.S., as well as confront
problems of gender, caste, race, and religion among South Asian groups.
It wants to discuss issues concerning the economy as well as those concerning
theology. It wants to provide a listing of local South Asian events
and organizations as well as movie and restaurant reviews! Most importantly,
it wants to function as a site for dialogue and discussion, without degenerating
into a rag that espouses hate, endorses
bigotry, or heaps denigration on a particular section of society.
The South Asian
A Forum for the People of South Asia
Proposal
A monthly newsmagazine for the diasporic
South Asian Community in MN (and the Upper Midwest), with intergenerational
content.
Proposed Editorial
Policy
- No Yellow Journalism
- No espousal of hate
- Copyleft
Proposed Commitments
to:
- The promotion of a broad South Asian identity
- To defending and promoting the rights of disenfranchised communities
- Dialogue and debate
- Fairness and accuracy in reportage
- The promotion of peace and anti-communalism in South Asia
- Reflecting on various concerns of the South Asian diaspora -Alerting
the South Asian diaspora to the importance of local citizenship in issues
outside their immediate domains.
- Commitment to discussing issues of race, gender and sexuality
