Manushi was founded in New Delhi, India as a non-profit, non-government organization. Manushi is dedicated to working for social justice, strengthening civil liberties and freedoms, and promoting the culture of self-governance for the Indian people, while working toward a democratic and consensual approach to finding effective solutions to the diverse problems that confront India today, including strengthening closer links with India’s South Asian neighbors.
Manushi is deeply committed to a Gandhian vision and principles as it carries out its activities and aims.
Founded to support Manushi in India, Manushi USA’s additional purpose is to work with diasporic South Asian communities based in the United States, in alignment with the Indian organization’s principles and goals.
- Manushi USA carries out its supportive purposes by several means:
- Heightening public awareness about Manushi’s work in India;
- Advocating for Indian women's rights in politics, the economy, the society and the home;
- Promoting social justice for the self-employed poor;
- Combating the culture of violence and corruption in the public sphere; and
- Strengthening the democratic representation of the poor and the underprivileged.
Manushi USA is building a network of persons interested in contributing to Manushi's diverse endeavors. Our goals are to raise public and private funds for Manushi's work, set up support groups in the USA, promote publications, films, and other materials produced by Manushi, and encourage volunteers to work with Manushi in India.
We intend to carry out programs, projects, and advocacy work on key issues that affect the South Asian community in the diaspora, especially women of South Asian origin living in the US.
We are currently engaged in organizing forums to build a community of actively engaged people to work toward these ends, and are cultivating solidarity with other groups who share Manushi's vision in working for social justice.
Manushi USA
Siddhartha Shome (Treasurer)
37932 Bright Common
Fremont, CA 94536
USA
Email: manushi.usa@gmail.com
Web Site: http://www.manushi.in/
Manushi USA has applied to the United States’ Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for recognition as a tax-exempt organization under IRS Code Section 501(c)(3). Manushi USA’s Federal Employee Identification number is 27-0188776. Pending IRS approval of Manushi USA’s tax-exempt status, your contribution is tax-deductible to the full extent permitted by law.
MANUSHI USA BOARD MEMBERS
Anurima Banerji (Secretary) is Acting Assistant Professor at UCLA’s Department of World Arts and Cultures. She has volunteered with Manushi for a decade. She is interested in bridging the worlds of art, academia, and activism in her work. Currently she is completing her doctoral dissertation at NYU, on the history of Odissi dance. Email: anurima@nyu.edu.
Sherally Munshi is a graduate student of literature at Columbia University in New York City. She has been a Manushi volunteer since 2000. Email: sherallym@yahoo.com.
Berny Horowitz was a union activist in the New York City public welfare system in the mid 1960's. In the 1970's he was co-director of a large scale study of material deprivation and child maltreatment. In the 1980's, he did a study of childcare and declining sex ratio in a Punjab village.Since then he has had his own consulting firm, Child Welfare Research, involved with evaluating various aspects of the public child welfare system in New York City for various foundations and government agencies. He has worked as a Manushi volunteer from 1980 onwards. Email: BernyHo@aol.com
Siddhartha Shome (Treasurer) is an engineer living in the San Francisco Bay Area. He holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and works at Parametric Technology Corporation. A long-time reader and admirer of Manushi and Madhu Kishwar's writings, he has become much more deeply involved in Manushi after meeting Madhu Kishwar for the first time in 2008. Besides Manushi, he is also affiliated with Asha for Education, an action group for basic education in India, and with the Breakthrough Institute, a progressive think tank focusing on environmental issues. Email: sidshome@gmail.com.
