An Old (2006) Profile of Professor Vijay Prashad

Profile of Professor Vijay Prashad For Vijay Prashad, the assistant professor of International Studies at Trinity College, Connecticut, US, writing is not a profession but a passion. He claims to pen down his first book, a fiction, when he was barely sixteen. Though the book never saw the light of the day. “It was just the home assignment by my father during the summer break. But I admit it propounded a passion in me for writing, for the appreciation I received from my households,” informs Vijay, who was born in Calcutta, brought up in Delhi, did his schooling in Dehradoon before finally settled down in US. The college days in America played a pivotal role in shaping his future life. Reminiscing an event in US he says, “During my college life in US, I started participating in student politics and social activism. I used to actively participate in demonstrations against the anti-black policies of the government. During one of such demonstrations at El-Salvador, the police opened firing on the protest march of the agitating students, who were calling for the resettlement of black refugees. I was also among those students. Many students were killed, but somehow I managed to save my life. This accident cast a deep impact upon me and further substantiated my resolve to fight against the oppressive regimes.’ He adds further, “To garner the public opinion against the system, I started writing anti-government pamphlets and posters and when I joined Trinity College as a lecturer, writing became my second occupation besides teaching. In addition, I began to write regularly for some periodicals and magazines criticizing the imperialistic policies of US administration and racial discrepancies showed by the White against the Black.” It is interesting that he scribed his first published book during also the summer break in India. ‘Untouchable Freedom’ is about the Balmiki community, about its history, sociology. The book investigates the role of Balmikis in the anti-Sikh riots of 84. While his second book ‘The Karma of Brown Folk’ explores the life of Indian settled in US and the cultural diasporas. ‘War Against the Planet’ is the analysis of US war against Afghanistan in general and foreign policies of US government in particular. Being an expert on US foreign affairs, the main focus of Vijay Prashad’s writing remains around US intervention in international politics. His recently published book ‘Namaste Sharon’ throws light on new emerging trilateral friendship between India, Israel and America and its fallout on world affairs. Vijay Prashad has nine books under his belt to this date and his tenth book ‘Darker Nations: Rise and Fall of Thirld World’ is soon to be published. Besides a prolific author, Vijay Prashad is also a regular columnist of some national and international publications. His monthly column ‘Letter from America’ in the magazine ‘Frontline’ is said to be one of the best read columns by any NRI in India. Elaborating on the non-fiction writing, Vijay says, “Though the non-fiction writing has a very limited readership, still the fact that it is attached to the intellectual core of the society is the reason enough for a writer to inflate. Moreover, it is the most influential instrument to bring about the radical change in the society.” While there is quite a fan following behind him, Vijay himself is an ardent fan of Indian writers like Aijaj Ahmed and P. Sainath. “It is the original concern of the writer which I like most in a piece of writing,” says Prashad, who is presently in India working for his organization ‘Forum of Indian Leftists’.