On Wednesday, January 22, the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI), with the support of the South Asia Center, hosted the panel discussion Beyond Borders: South Asian Immigrants and the Northwest. Held in conjunction with the Museum’s exhibit Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation, the panel brought together local leaders in South Asian scholarship and community affairs to examine the political, cultural and historical impacts of the South Asian diaspora on our region.
Exhibit co-curator Amy Bhatt, who received her PhD in Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies from UW in 2011, moderated the panel, which featured Rita Meher (founder and Executive Director, Tasveer), Bidisha Biswas (Professor of Political Science, Western Washington University), and Anand Yang (Professor of History and International Studies, University of Washington).
Addressing a packed house in the atrium of MOHAI’s South Lake Union campus, the panelists sparked a lively discussion on multiple facets of the South Asian diaspora in the Pacific Northwest, spanning cultural and economic contributions, implications of shifting demographic patterns, and the community’s impact on politics and social movements, both in the US and in South Asia.
South Asia Center Managing Director Nick Gottschall introduces the panel (left to right): Amy Bhatt, Bidisha Biswas, Rita Meher, and Anand Yang.