No one really knows how many people are dying of coronavirus each day in India. In some states, like Modi’s Gujarat, the discrepancy between fact and fiction is stark. On April 16, for example, official figures put total deaths at 78. But disaggregated data from seven cities — Ahmedabad, Surat…

Personal statement for undergraduate admission to Vassar, circa 2013. It was my second week, I was fidgety and the patient was irritable. One of the clip-ons broke when I tried to pin it onto the Welch Allyn electrodes. I don’t like clichés, but the rest as they say, is history. The patient inquired, not too kindly, what the delay…

A dispatch from D.C — Four years after newly elected President Donald Trump vowed to stop “an American carnage,” insurrectionists rallied by his lies stormed the U.S Capitol in an attempt to overthrow the results of the November elections. …

Remarks for Georgetown’s M.A Conflict Resolution commencement. Delivered virtually on December 18, 2020. — Thank you Dr. Girod. Ambassador Yalowitz, thank you for taking the time to join us today, and for offering your words of wisdom and encouragement. A huge thank you to the rest of the CR team — Dr. …

Here are two things I know to be true. The police knelt on George Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. The police shot Breonna Taylor as she slept in her own bed. I can’t stop thinking about those two sentences. …

In Richmond, Virginia, history is being re-envisioned as we speak. A statue of Robert E. Lee — the Confederate general who fought to protect slave-powered industry— has been pockmarked with revolutionary slogans. A few miles away from Lee, Columbus — the serial colonizer, murderer and rapist — has been toppled…

A primer for South Asians on why Black Lives Matter — An important note: Don’t read this for a history of anti-Black racism in the United States. For that, you should read Black authors, activists, practitioners, and academics. You can start with Te-Nehisi Coates’ letter to his teenage son, or read Angela Davis’ Freedom is a constant struggle. If you don’t…

Dear Izzy, You are walking and I am not there to chase you. I want to be, but the vast distance between wanting and doing is what we are all grappling with right now. These — I hope to remind you when words make sense — are surreal times. I…