Satya Circle Celebrates Two Years
and over 20,000 visitors.

Wednesday, January 29 marks the two year anniversary for The Satya Circle. I am pasting the press release below, but check out the site, there are quite a few new articles. My newest article entitled "The New America: Red, White, Blue, and Gray?" which discusses everything from INS detentions to domestic issues and the war with Iraq can be found here.

Press Release

PRESS RELEASE: for immediate distribution; please forward to all interested parties.

Please contact satyacircle@hotmail.com for more information and for republication.

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WASHINGTON, DC - January 29, 2003 - The Satya Circle (http://www.satyacircle.com) is celebrating the second anniversary of its launch today, with new columnists, a new board member, and many notable mentions in the press.

The Satya Circle, which officially launched on January 29, 2001, is an online forum intended to allow South Asians around the world to express themselves and discuss issues that affect their lives. Its primary goal is to enrich the level of discourse in the South Asian diasporic community through the medium of the Internet.

A brainstorm of Co-Founder and Co-Director of Development Dawinder S. Sidhu, The Satya Circle is entirely volunteer effort. Graduate students conduct the day-to-day maintenance of the site, and contributors voluntarily provide their submissions.

In the past year alone, The Satya Circle has enlisted a diverse new group of columnists. Suman Palit, a Chicago-based engineer, and Kaushik Banerjee, a business analyst, have both worked with The Satya Circle for several months. Most recently, Monica Duggal joined as a columnist in January 2003, with her first article on water sanitation projects in India.

Duggal explained, "I decided to write for The Satya Circle because I thought it was a unique way of reaching out to South Asians across the globe. I like the idea of having a centralized place for members of the Diaspora to convene and discuss issues that we feel are important."

Additionally, the site continues to receive article from its more seasoned columnists such as Jayesh Rathod, Sajit Gandhi, Kuntal Shah Warwick, and Paresh Shah.

"I have really enjoyed, and appreciated, the opportunity to express my opinions on different issues in an open and interactive forum," stated Mr. Shah. "Writing for The Satya Circle has helped me not only become more aware of current issues and events, but also develop my own ideas about them."

Mr. Gandhi has also joined The Satya Circle Executive Board as Co-Director of Development. A graduate student at Georgetown University and a Research Associate at the National Security Archive, he has been instrumental in the development of the site.

"[Sajit] has been a fabulous addition to our Board. His critical editorial eye and vision for progress has rejuvenated our operations," stated Co-Founder and Director of Operations Ami V. Shah.

Gandhi, along with Mr. Rathod, has also been mentioned in regards to The Satya Circle in major publications such as WashBizForward, Washington Post, and The World and I. To date, The Satya Circle has attracted over 20,000 visitors from a variety of countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, India, Nepal, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Greece, and the Netherlands.

The Satya Circle took off with a substantial number of submissions regarding the earthquake that occurred in Gujarat, India, on January 26, 2001, and has continued to present thoughts on current and timely issues such as the effects of September 11 on the South Asian-American community, diasporic culture movements, political and cultural issues close to the South Asian community, and the nature of religious fundamentalism in South Asia.

For more information on The Satya Circle, including how to submit articles or become a partner or benefactor, please visit http://www.satyacircle.com/

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The Satya Circle, 29 January 2003, All Rights Reserved
http://www.satyacircle.com (best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer)
satyacircle@hotmail.com

posted by sajit @ 10:51 PM