Brown skin, white masks

A new book by Vijay Prashad, Professor of International Relations at Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, has a provocative title: Uncle Swami.

It could be subtitled South Asians, part II, for his earlier book Karma of Brown Folks had discussed the history of the early South Asians immigrants in the US.

Swami is about South Asians in post-9/11 America.

I like the pun in the title, but the book doesn't do the usual "minoritization" of America thing; there is no danger of Sam getting Swami-ized. Excerpts tell me that Prashad is concerned about rising anti-Indian sentiments in the nation.

I'm a little doubtful of the blurb on the cover that hails Prashad as the new Franz Fanon, unless Prashad is accusing brown skin of putting on white masks.