Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Are we all Desi now?

Today, I turned on the radio to listen to the latest commentary on current events.  I tuned to the local NPR (National Public Radio) station, since I figure there is a better chance there to listen to intelligent discussion, not Muzak or political gossip...
I heard the beginning of a program called Here and Now from WBUR; (WBUR-FM (90.9 FM) is a public radio station located in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by Boston University. );  As I heard the introduction of the program, I noticed that the names of the hosts are both Desi, Indira Lakshmanan and Megna Chakrabarti.
Wow, I wondered;  how do you get two Desis to host a program on Public Radio?  Did they score higher than everyone else on the job interview?
I understand that they might be replacement hosts for the regulars who might be on an early Thanksgiving vacation;  But, how do you justify two Desis on a radio program in America?  Is everyone out to lunch mentally?
Then, to add insult to injury, the 1:00 PM program was over, NPR News with Lackshmi Singh came on, yet, another Desi.  

Don't get me wrong I love and respect all people.  In fact I have had great friends who are Desi.  But, this sudden burst of over-representation of people of  Indo-Pak Descent is ridiculous. If there were 30 million of them, perhaps then it would be understandable? But, with their current numbers, it's still not logical.

Now, that's what I call upward mobility. They must have good connections or know some people in high places?

Arsenio.

Desi [d̪eːsi] is a loose term for the people, cultures, and products of the Indian subcontinent or South Asia and their diaspora, derived from the Ancien tSanskrit देश (deśá or deshi), meaning country.[1] "Desi" countries includeBangladesh, India, the Maldives, NepalPakistan, and Sri Lanka.[2]
Two more Desis for the road:



Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (born June 10, 1971) is an American politician who is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana




(Nikki) Haley is the first woman to serve as Governor of South Carolina. At the age of 43, Haley is the youngest current governor in the United States.[11][12] She is one of two sitting Indian American governors in the United States, the other being fellow Republican Bobby Jindal of Louisiana.


Resources: Wikipedia.

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