TSMC chip fab site in Arizona, touted last year by Joe Biden, struggles with delays and scepticism

South China Morning Post
Tue, September 26, 2023 

It was last December when US President Joe Biden stood at a groundbreaking ceremony for a chip fabrication facility being built in Phoenix, Arizona, by the world's largest chip maker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, and described American union workers as "the single greatest technicians in the world".

"American manufacturing is back", Biden declared. "The reason why business should be hiring union folks, if you don't mind my saying, is simple: They're the best in the world."

His remarks elicited warm applause from the friendly audience and came in the presence of TSMC's chairman, Mark Liu, who took the opportunity to announce a second chip factory would be built in the southwestern US state.

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The moment appeared to advance Washington's goal of reducing American reliance on foreign semiconductor facilities, many of which are located in Taiwan.

But nine months on, the Arizona project - once hailed as the crown jewel of Biden's Chips and Science Act meant to make the US self-reliant in chips manufacturing - has been marred by delays, criticism and mounting scepticism.

TSMC has pushed back production plans, blaming a lack of skilled labour in the US and calling Washington to fast-track visas for Taiwanese workers. Unions counter that the tech giant has invented the skills shortage as an excuse to hire cheaper, foreign labour.

And while TSMC does not share Biden's love for unions, hiring mostly non-union workers through outside contractors, the company is under political pressure to negotiate with unions as Biden seeks to garner their support for his re-election campaign - pressure that has only been complicated by reports of safety issues at its first Arizona site.

Amid fraught US-China relations, concern has intensified in the US and Taiwan, where many of the world's most advanced semiconductors are made, over the possibility of China attacking the self-ruled island over which Beijing claims sovereignty and has vowed to reunite with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Taiwan produces more than 60 per cent of the world's semiconductors and over 90 per cent of the most advanced ones, while the US accounts for only about 12 per cent of global chip output.

As the Arizona project faces operational and political challenges, analysts question whether the US will be able to emulate Taiwan's chip success. And even if the US somehow becomes a major player in semiconductors, some wonder who would benefit most.

Most local union members have yet to take part in the project and have only now managed to begin talks on a labour agreement with TSMC.

According to Brandi Devlin, spokeswoman for the Arizona Building and Construction Trades Council representing 14 construction unions in the state, only about a quarter of the 12,000 workers on the TSMC site are union members.

The Taiwan-based company did not sign a much-needed project labour agreement with local unions, Devlin said.

"A job [of] that size and scope requires that there be agreements in place ahead of time that address many of the issues like workforce development, staffing, safety, workers and training," she added. "All of those get addressed in a project labour agreement."

The TSMC factory site in Arizona, pictured in December last year, has encountered labour-related issues. 

The American Prospect, a political magazine seeking to "advance liberal and progressive goals", reported in June that there were safety violations, worker injuries, alleged wage theft and out-of-state migrant workers at the fab site.

Luke Kasper, a sheet-metal workers union representative, was quoted as describing the fab as "easily the most unsafe site I've ever walked on".

TSMC has denied these reports, saying the company was "regularly audited" against industry standards. "For TSMC Arizona, our safety and injury incident rates are significantly lower than state and national benchmarks," a spokesperson said.

Devlin said she was aware that union and non-union workers had filed reports with Arizona's Department of Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Established by the US Congress in 1970, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, also known as OSHA, enforces safe and healthy working conditions for American workers.

"Just like any jobs, any large job site, there's going to be issues and incidents," Devlin said. "But I don't know what the state of Arizona and TSMC are doing to resolve those issues, unfortunately."

After resisting a project labour agreement for its delayed first fab, TSMC was now talking with construction unions to negotiate such a deal for its second chip facility in the state, she noted. The latter facility is estimated to commence chip production by 2026, according to a TSMC press release from December last year.

"They have been talking about some of the issues that not only union workers but non-union workers are dealing with at TSMC," Devlin said, adding that no timeline had been established to conclude the negotiations.

Meanwhile, the challenges befalling the company's first facility persist. It had been expected to open by late 2024. Now it is projected to finish construction by 2025.

The delay stems from an "insufficient amount of skilled workers with the specialised expertise", according to TSMC.

Ask labour leaders, however, and they attribute it to the company's management, not the lack of skilled American workers.

Michael Dea, a business manager at the Laborers' International Union of North America's local chapter in Arizona, said "zero" workers from his union were hired to work at the TSMC site.

The semiconductor giant was not a direct employer and was contracting out recruitment work, he added. "They contacted me about hiring 400 workers. And we were in good negotiations. Well, then I got a letter saying they're not interested.

"Their problem is their management and supervision, not the skilled and trained workforce that I could bring to that project to help," Dea said.

He described the union as hopeful that the current negotiations would help resolve these issues and produce a project labour agreement for the second fab.

That said, other conflicts have flared. Last month, a union representing the state's plumbers and pipefitters filed a petition with state lawmakers after TSMC announced its intention to bring about 500 workers from Taiwan to complete the project.

The union urged American politicians to "stand with labour and block TSMC from replacing more than 500 American workers", calling the plan "a slap in the face".

Aaron Butler, president of the Arizona Building and Construction Trades Council and business manager for United Association Local 469, a union for plumbers and pipefitters, has accused TSMC of "blaming its construction delays on American workers and using that as an excuse to bring in foreign workers who they can pay less".

"While TSMC claims that these temporary workers will not replace American workers on the job, contractors and workers are being 'descoped', which is construction-speak for fired," he wrote in the Phoenix Business Journal in July. Butler said American workers "have built Intel for over 20 years", referring to another chip giant.

Amid labour agreement negotiations between TSMC and the unions for the second fab, the petition against the company has been withdrawn.

A rendering of TSMC's semiconductor fabrication facility in Arizona. Construction is now projected to finish by 2025. 

Devlin told the Post that what the company sought was "a very specific proprietary skill that only TSMC uses in their production". Current labour talks between the two sides include the prospect of transferring that skill to American workers, she added.

As TSMC sees it, the company is building the most cutting-edge semiconductor manufacturing technology in the US, saying it was in a "critical phase of handling all of the most advanced and dedicated equipment in a sophisticated facility".

The company in a statement said it placed "high value" on "nurturing [the] local workforce and still actively seek to hire from within the United States".

A recent TSMC post in LinkedIn invited "local trade partners" with experience in semiconductor tool installation to "ensure the success" of the Arizona project, without using the word union.

Reflecting on the developments at the site in Arizona, W John Kao, president of National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan, said there was going to be a "learning curve" for American workers that was not just technical but relating to a "mindset of precision" about "what's absolutely needed to go into these high-end chips".

Others closely involved in semiconductors have voiced concern as to whether fabs in the US could be as successful as Taiwan's.

Burn Lin, a former vice-president of R&D at TSMC, said the tech giant has had a factory in Washington state for more than a decade and enlists many local workers.

"We never can make it achieve the same performance as [our] own Taiwan factory," he noted. "We can never bring it up to the same level, no matter how hard we try."

Taiwanese workers, like their American counterparts, have their own frustrations.

Kao said many Taiwanese voters were "nervous" about US reshoring rhetoric and were questioning whether bringing Taiwanese engineers would serve Taiwan's interests, not just America's.

"Basically, are we being bullied to do something we don't want to do? What's in the best interest of the United States, we understand. But is it in our best interest?"

Engineers and their families might feel "disposable" and reluctant to relocate, knowing that the US's primary objective is to create local jobs, he added.

Kao contrasted the company's experience in Arizona with how the planned fabs in Germany and Japan were being "well received" as "win-win" partnerships. He said that "the engineers don't mind going" to those places.

TSMC is setting up a US$11 billion fab in Dresden and a US$8.6 billion fab in Kumamoto on the island of Kyushu.

Part of the disconnect between the US and Taiwan, according to observers, is how the Arizona plant is being framed in the media.

The overarching message from the US, according to Tain-jy Chen, a professor at the Taipei School of Economics, appeared to be: "The reason that TSMC has to build a factory in Arizona is because Taiwan is too dangerous".

"The Japanese will never say this," he said. "They will say, 'we need you because here [are] our customers, here [is] the local market'."

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Morocco aims to become key player in green hydrogen

AFP
Tue, September 26, 2023

Morocco has voiced ambitious plans to become North Africa's top player in the emerging "green hydrogen" sector, with plans to export the clean-burning fuel to Europe.

Hydrogen is seen as a clean energy source that can help the world phase out fossil fuels and reduce atmospheric carbon emissions in the battle to slow global warming.

Morocco, which already runs large solar power plants, also hopes to harness green hydrogen -- the kind made without burning fossil fuels -- for its sizeable fertiliser sector.

Around 1.5 million acres (6,000 square kilometres) of public land -- nearly the size of Kuwait -- have been set aside for green hydrogen and ammonia plants, the economy ministry says.

King Mohammed VI has hailed a national green hydrogen plan dubbed l'Offre Maroc (the Moroccan Offer) and called for its "rapid and qualitative implementation".

Speaking in July, before the country's earthquake disaster, he said Morocco must take advantage of "the projects supported by international investors in this promising sector".

Local media have reported about investment plans by Australian, British, French, German and Indian companies.

- Fertiliser sales -

Hydrogen can be extracted from water by passing a strong electrical current through it.

This separates the hydrogen from the oxygen, a process called electrolysis.

If the power used is clean -- such as solar or wind -- the fuel is called "green hydrogen", which is itself emission-free when burnt.

But there are problems: hydrogen is highly explosive and hard to store and transport. This has set back hydrogen fuel cell cars in the race against electric vehicles using lithium-ion batteries.

However, experts say green hydrogen also has a big role to play in decarbonising energy-intensive industries that cannot easily be electrified such as steel, cement and chemicals.

Powering blast furnaces with hydrogen, for example, offers the promise of making "green steel".

Hydrogen can also be converted into ammonia, to store the energy or as a major input in synthetic fertilisers.

Morocco is already a major player in the global fertiliser market, thanks mainly to its immense phosphate reserves.

It profited after fertiliser shortages sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent prices up to 1,000 euros ($1,060) per tonne.

Morocco's state Phosphate Office has announced plans to quickly produce a million tonnes of "green ammonia" from green hydrogen and triple the amount by 2032.

- Solar power -

Analysts caution that Morocco still has some way to go with its ambitious green fertiliser plans.

The sector is "embryonic and the large global projects will not see the light of day until three to five years from now", said Samir Rachidi, director of the Moroccan research institute IRESEN.

Morocco's advantage is that it has already bet heavily on clean energy over the past 15 years.

Solar, wind and other clean energy make up 38 percent of production, and the goal is to reach 52 percent by 2030.

For now green hydrogen is more expensive than the highly polluting "brown hydrogen" made using coal or "grey hydrogen" produced from natural gas.

The goal is to keep green hydrogen production below $1-$2 per kilogram, Ahmed Reda Chami, president of the Economic, Social and Environmental Counsel, told the weekly La Vie Eco.

Rachidi of IRESEN said water-scarce Morocco must also step up the desalination of seawater for the process.

It must build "an industrial value chain which begins with seawater desalinisation plants for electrolysis, electricity storage, to transportation and hydrogen marketing", he said.

Already hit by droughts that threaten its farm sector, Morocco has announced plans to add seven desalinisation plants to its 12 existing facilities.

- Regional contest -

Morocco is competing on green hydrogen with other regional countries from Egypt to Mauritania.

Business consultants Deloitte have predicted that North Africa will be the world's largest green hydrogen-exporting region by 2050, reshuffling the global energy cards.

Algeria, a major fossil fuel exporter, can capitalise on "one of the most important potentials in the world" in terms of solar and wind energy and gas pipeline infrastructure, said Rabah Sellami, director of its Renewable Energies Commission.

Currently, Algeria produces only three percent of its electricity through renewables, but is investing heavily to boost capacity.

Algeria has numerous desalinisation plants whose capacity is set to more than double to two billion cubic metres (about 70 billion cubic feet) in 2030.

Its roadmap for green hydrogen targets "production of one million tonnes for export to the European market" and 250,000 tonnes for domestic consumption, said Sellami.

Tunisia also wants to enter the fray, provided it can build up its renewables production, said its energy ministry's general director Belhassen Chiboub.

It hopes to grow clean power output from three percent now to 35 percent by 2030.

If it meets that target, Chiboub predicted, "it will be able to export between 5.5 and six million tonnes of green hydrogen to Europe by 2050".

bur-isb/kao/fka/im/fz

CANADA

Fraud Or Nazi Sympathizer?

By Davide Mastracci • 27 Sept 2023

Good morning, Maple readers.

Today we have my latest article, asking a tough question about Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, an opinion piece from The Breach condemning Canada’s inaction on Indian-government targeting of Sikh activists and a short video from The Breach about how Canada’s social housing system got demolished.

But before I get into that, I have a quick question for you: What are some of your favourite Canadian independent local news publications that align with The Maple’s mission? We’re currently planning our October fundraising drive, and we’d like to share the proceeds from new members with a few independent publications whose work we support. If you have any suggestions, please reply directly to this email. We read everything you send.

Now, enjoy today’s newsletter.

Is Chrystia Freeland A Fraud Or A Nazi Sympathizer?

Davide Mastracci | The Maple | September 26

Since Friday’s double-standing ovation for a Nazi in Parliament, many MPs have tried to excuse their actions by claiming they assumed the man had been vetted and that they didn’t know he was a Nazi. I don’t think that’s a good excuse, because the way he was introduced should have set off alarm bells. Still, I can see why these MPs have offered that particular excuse. There is one MP, however, who could never reasonably do so: Chrystia Freeland. In my latest, I argue that at this point, given her track record, she’s either a complete fraud or a Nazi sympathizer. I explain why in the piece. Let me know what you think.

I write, “Freeland is the most powerful Ukrainian nationalist in a country full of them. She speaks Ukrainian, owns a residential property in Kyiv, has lived, studied and worked in Ukraine, has edited at least one scholarly article pertaining to Ukrainian Nazis during the Second World War, and is often positioned, by the media, government, and herself, as a knowledgeable voice on Ukraine, at least relative to other politicians and public figures in Canada. If we are to believe the frequent and lavish praise of Freeland’s supposed deep understanding of Ukrainian history in the 20th century, then she should have absolutely been triggered by Rota’s description of Hunka (assuming she didn’t know of him before the invitation was sent, or even at any point before he made his appearance before parliament, which also seems unlikely). And yet, despite that, or perhaps because of it, Freeland joined the rest of the MPs in offering a standing ovation for Hunka, beaming as she did so.” (5-minute read)

Canada Has Ignored India’s Targeting Of Sikh Activists For Too Long

Kunal Chaudhary | The Breach | September 22

Another piece of major news in Canada in the past couple of weeks, of course, has been Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s declaration that India was behind the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June. For what it’s worth, I personally can’t believe the statement entirely until some sort of proof is offered, just as I have been critical of the claims made against China (which is not to say I feel the same about both governments). Regardless, there is a long and clear history of India targeting Sikh activists in Canada. This article outlines that history, bringing up many things I had little idea about.

Kunal Chaudhary writes, “With India’s role in the assassination of Nijjar, it is clear that this “fundamental respect” for Canadian sovereignty is lost on the Indian government—and never seemed to concern the Canadian government all that much either. Given their record of interference over the last few decades, it is arguable that any notion of respect for Canada’s sovereignty on India’s part has been a politically-convenient fiction for both governments, while they bolstered economic ties at the expense of the rights of Sikh and Muslim Indians and Indo-Canadians.” (6-minute read)

Liberals And Tories Demolished Canada’s Legacy Of Social Housing

The Breach | YouTube | September 22

I haven’t shared a video in quite a while, so here’s a very short one from The Breach outlining how Canada’s federal Liberals and Conservatives both put work in to destroy the legacy of social housing. Of course, such a short video can’t capture the entire history or its nuances, so do follow this up by checking out our course on housing (just make sure you’re logged in to your account).

Here’s the video description: “Decades ago, the Canadian government helped build massive amounts of public and non-profit housing for working people. That legacy was destroyed—by Liberals AND Conservatives. It’s time the government builds again.” (2-minute watch)

Rishi Sunak considers cutting the U.K.’s ‘most unfair tax’—but doing so would help Britain’s ultra-rich the most, says economic research report

Prarthana Prakash
Wed, September 27, 2023 

WPA Pool/Getty Images

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's potential cuts on inheritance tax which could offer the most gains to Britain's wealthiest 1%, according to a study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

If Sunak’s Conservative Party moves to abolish the tax, it could cost the country £7 billion ($8.50 billion) in revenue, or about 0.3% of the U.K.’s GDP, a year.

But about half of the benefits of such cuts are forecasted to go to those with estates valued at £2.1 million ($2.55 million) or more, which represents only the top 1% of all estates, an IFS report published Wednesday found.

The research institute also said that such an abolition of inheritance tax would also exacerbate inequalities in the U.K.

“While a reformed inheritance tax could do more to promote intergenerational mobility, big wealth inequalities by parental background already exist before inheritances are received,” the IFS report said.

The authors argue that inheritance has been growing in recent times—and as that growth is set to continue, younger generations are expected to acquire larger sums from their ancestors.

“Together with the growing importance of inheritance as a part of lifetime economic resources, this inequality in future inheritances means that parental wealth is set to be a greater driver of lifetime income across younger generations,” the report said.

Proposed inheritance tax changes come ahead of the general elections slated for next year as Sunak’s party is finding ways to boost its support.

Many of Britain’s richest people have estates in constituencies that Conservative members of parliament hold, so a potential inheritance tax overhaul could shore up the party’s votes.

How important is the inheritance tax for the U.K.?

The U.K.’s inheritance tax has been divisive. It’s charged at 40% on assets valued at more than £325,000 ($395,000), with extra allowances on passing on a main home to heirs and some case-by-case exemptions.

In its present form, this tax was only applied to under 4% of the U.K.’s deaths, according to government data from July.

As a result, revenues from the inheritance tax are also minuscule. But in about 10 years, IFS estimates the revenue will expand to over £15 billion ($18.23 billion), in today’s prices, double the collections made now.

Representatives at the British government also underscored the importance of the small, yet significant collection from the inheritance tax.

“More than 93% of estates are forecast to have zero inheritance tax liability in the coming years—however, the tax raises more than £7 billion a year to help fund public services millions of us rely on daily,” a government spokesperson told Fortune in a statement.

Talks on a possible change to the taxing on inheritance are set against a backdrop of persistently high but easing inflation and high-interest rates impacting British households.

These factors have also put pressure on public finances in the long run as government debt is tied to them. A reduction or abolition of the inheritance tax could further affect national spending.

The current regime, first introduced in 1986, was an effort to redistribute wealth in society by taxing the rich and directing that into benefits for those who are less well-off.

But over time, this system has earned a reputation for being easy to circumvent and has consistently been one of the most 'unfair taxes' in the country.

Reforms to the system such as placing a cap on certain reliefs that typically “open up channels to avoid the tax” could help create a robust source of revenue for the government, raise up to £4.5 billion ($5.5 billion), IFS argued.

These funds could then be channeled into other public-sponsored programs or tax cuts in other areas

Mikhail Bakunin Archive

ABOLISH INHERITANCE

---

On the Question of the Right of Inheritance

https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/bakunin/works/1871/inheritance.html

Report of the Committee on the Question of Inheritance

The Anarchist Library

https://theanarchistlibrary.org › library › mikhail-baku...

We intend that both capital and land—in a word all the raw materials of labor—should cease being transferable through the right of inheritance, becoming forever ...

Queer couple’s wedding in India sparks backlash from highest cleric in Sikhism

Namita Singh

Wed, September 27, 2023 



When they were planning their wedding, Dimple and Manisha always agreed that they wanted their “big day” to include a traditional Sikh religious ceremony. A queer couple living in India’s Punjab state, they had no idea that their wedding day would trigger such a huge controversy and draw criticism from the highest priest in Sikhism himself.

Manisha, 21, says the priest was very encouraging when she approached a local gurdwara with her fiance Dimple, 27, who goes by male pronouns.

“We spoke to him in the presence of my parents and told him that it is not a male-female wedding, but [rather] with a person who has been assigned female sex at birth,” she tells The Independent.

India does not recognise same-sex marriage, but Manisha says that the priest, Hardev Singh, told her similar marriages have happened in the past. “He took my phone number, saying that he will discuss this with the gurdwara committee and call me back.”

The committee approved their union and the couple got married in front of the Sikh religious scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, on 18 September.

Since then, a controversy has erupted over their wedding prompting the priest to issue an apology for officiating the ceremony, amid criticims from the highest cleric in Sikhism, Giani Raghbir Singh.

Describing same-sex marriage as “unnatural and contrary to Sikh ethics”, Mr Singh told the BBC that the marriage of two women in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib was “a severe moral and religious violation”.

The outlet reported that he has also ordered the suspension of the priest who oversaw the marriage rites and three others present during the ceremony.

The priest, Hardev Singh, has since claimed in an interview with the BBC that he did not know it was an LGBT+ wedding, arguing that one of the couple was wearing a turban for the ceremony. He did not respond to The Independent’s attempts to contact him by phone for comment.

Questioning his claim, Manisha says: “We told him all the details in person. In fact we submitted the documents, including biometric identity proof, Aadhaar [government-issued ID] card where it is clear that Dimple is female.”

Dimple’s parents knew all along that he feels like a man trapped inside a woman’s body, the 27-year-old tells The Independent. “I was very open from the beginning. I behaved like a boy who was attracted to women. So, I never hid anything from my family.”

However, Manisha says her parents took some convincing. The reluctance came in part because same-sex marriage is not recognised in India, while gay sex was only decriminalised in 2018. The family also come from a rural background, where there are fewer conversations around gender and sexuality than in the major Indian metropolises.

India’s supreme court is currently in the process of hearing arguments in favour of recognising same-sex marriage. The government has previously opposed marriage equality, calling it an “urban elitist view” and defending the institution of marriage as “exclusively heterogeneous”.

Gender rights activists and supporters of the LGBT+ community attend a pride parade in Mumbai on 24 June 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)

“When I told my parents that I wanted to marry Dimple, my mother refused right away,” says Manisha.

“But she came around later the same day. And once she was on board, she convinced my father as well. It did not take very long to persuade them about our alliance. You know what they say: ‘Parents can do anything for their child’s happiness’.”

Despite the opposition they have faced at different stages from family, state and society, Manisha never doubted her decision to marry Dimple. From the moment they started dating, it was a whirlwind romance.

“I have known him for sometime. We work in the same factory. So, I knew almost everything about him,” she says, referring to Dimple’s previous partners.

“I was dating a woman for five years before we broke up. And another woman for few months. I frequently turned to Manisha when seeking resolution of emotional issues,” says Dimple. When they finally began dating, the foundation of their friendship meant it did not take long to consider marriage.

“It was within a week of us dating that I proposed.”

Dimple is still contemplating whether to get his gender reassignment surgery done. “I did think and went to hospital for the surgery. However, the doctors said that most people are not satisfied with the outcome. So, I am thinking of getting it done from outside of India.”

But that will not anytime soon, he says, and he is in no rush.
“I have just started spending time with my wife. If she is happy with me and accepts me as it is, then I might not get it done at all.”

Punjab: India row after LGBTQ couple marry in Sikh temple
Gagandeep Singh Jassowal - BBC Punjabi
Tue, September 26, 2023 

Manisha (left) and Dimple's wedding ceremony was attended by around 70 relatives

While India waits for the Supreme Court's verdict on legalising same-sex marriage, an LGBTQ couple's recent wedding in the northern state of Punjab has made headlines - and also created controversy.

Dimple, 27 - who uses the pronoun he - and Manisha, 21, married in Bathinda city on 18 September with the blessings of their families - something that's highly unusual in a conservative country like India.

But what was even more unusual was that their marriage was solemnised in a gurdwara - a Sikh temple - with the bride and groom performing all traditional rituals.

The wedding has been criticised by some religious leaders, including Sikhism's highest priest Giani Raghbir Singh who declared that "same-sex marriage was unnatural and contrary to Sikh ethics".

The marriage of two women in the presence of Guru Granth Sahib - the holy Sikh scripture - was "a severe moral and religious violation", he said, and instructed the Bathinda gurdwara committee to suspend priest Hardev Singh, who conducted the marriage, and three others from their duties until further notice.

Hardev Singh has since been removed from his position. In his defence, he said that he couldn't figure out that both the bride and the groom were female as one of the women was wearing a turban.

Dimple has questioned the claim, saying that they had provided copies of their identity proof to the gurdwara so there was no reason for confusion.

Dimple is from Mansa district while Manisha is from Bathinda - both are remote areas where LGBTQ+ rights are rarely ever discussed in public. Dimple, an upper-caste Jatt Sikh, and Manisha, a Dalit Hindu, met at a garment factory in Zirakpur, a town near Punjab's capital Chandigarh, where they both worked.

When I met them a few days after their wedding, they looked like any happy newly-wed couple. The couple told me that their Anand Karaj (or Sikh wedding ceremony) was attended by nearly 70 relatives.

Dimple dressed as the groom for the wedding ceremony

In their wedding photographs and videos, Dimple appears dressed as a traditional Sikh groom with the customary garland of flowers tied to his maroon turban, while his bride Manisha is wearing a maroon and gold tunic, salwar bottoms and a silk scarf and both her arms are covered with red bangles.

Dimple, who mostly dresses in a shirt and trousers and keeps his hair short, says when he told his parents that he had no interest in boys, they understood and "extended their support, expressing joy in his happiness".

An only child, he once contemplated gender reassignment surgery and even consulted a doctor, but decided against it as his parents were concerned about the procedure's outcomes.

It was in 2017 after he moved to Zirakpur for work that he became more aware of LGBTQ+ issues. "There, I met like-minded friends who understood my situation and I also gained awareness from YouTube," he says.

Historic India same sex marriage hearing enters day two

'My parents were ready to kill me for their honour'

Manisha, says Dimple, wasn't his first love. "I was in a relationship with a girl for five years. Earlier this year, we broke up. Then I dated another girl for three-four months, but that also didn't work out."

Manisha, who was then a co-worker and a friend, often helped him resolve his differences with his girlfriend.

"That's when I realised that Manisha could be a better partner for me. She also enjoyed my company, we grew closer and had long chats. So, we officially became a couple a month ago," says Dimple.

Manisha says he proposed to her over the phone just three or four days after they began their relationship, adding that she readily accepted. "A woman needs a life partner who understands her, respects her, showers her with love, and treats her like a child."

But it did take some effort to convince her parents that she wanted to marry Dimple.

"My mother told me it's not possible to marry a girl. Eventually, I convinced her that if she wanted my happiness, then she had to let me marry who I wanted. Once she agreed, she also persuaded my father."

Dimple and Manisha's wedding sparked controversy in the state's Sikh community

Their parents then met and the wedding date was finalised. As Dimple is a practising Sikh, his parents say he wanted to marry following Sikh rituals so they approached the gurdwara priest.

The couple insist that they never hid their identities and show the marriage certificate Bathinda gurdwara committee has issued them.

India decriminalised gay sex in 2018, but same-sex marriages still lack official recognition. The Supreme Court recently heard a slew of petitions seeking marriage equality and judgement is due soon.

So at the moment, a same-sex marriage is not legal in India which means that Dimple and Manisha cannot access rights enjoyed by heterosexual married couples, but at the same time, experts say it is not considered a felony.

But the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, the apex religious body of Sikhism says it is investigating if there have been any violations of religious codes.

BBC News India is now on YouTube. Click here to subscribe and watch our documentaries, explainers and features.

Indians surpass Chinese as largest 'Asian-alone' group in U.S.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Tue, September 26, 2023

Jason Armond

Indian Americans are now the most populous Asian-alone group in the United States, according to a new report from the Census Bureau.

They have surpassed Chinese Americans, who were previously the largest in that category, though when the populations are counted with multiracial people included, Chinese Americans still make up the largest share of the country’s Asian population at 5.2 million.

Those who identified as “Indian-alone” — that is, as 100% Indian — on the 2020 census numbered nearly 4,400,000. It represents a 55% growth over the course of a decade, and experts say the U.S. is already seeing the impacts.

“It is momentous,” said Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder of nonprofit group AAPI Data. “Americans’ perception of who is Asian is still very much informed by demographic patterns from a century ago. They think of East Asians as quintessentially Asian and are less likely to think of South Asians as Asian … Well, the demographic realities have shifted away from the stereotype.”

What is behind the rapid growth

The rapid increase in the population can be traced back to the 1990s, when the tech boom coincided with the start of the H1B visa program for high-skill workers, said Gaurav Khanna, an assistant professor of economics at the University of California at San Diego.

Engineers and computer scientists trained at top schools in India began to immigrate by the thousands with their families, and U.S. tech companies turned their attention to the subcontinent.

“At the time, people were talking about who would be feeding this workforce, and a lot of people thought it was going to be China,” Khanna said. “But in India, people are very comfortable with English … it was a British colony, and that matters quite a bit.”

America has also become a very attractive place for South Asian students on F1 and J1 visas looking to enter high-skill fields, he said. And though there is a burgeoning population of U.S.-born Indian Americans, the vast majority of the population is made of immigrants, according to Census Data.

Among H1B petitioners, Indians make up almost 75%. Chinese nationals, the next largest pool of petitioners, make up only 12%.

“People then go from H1Bs to ultimately applying for and getting green cards, even though there are long delays in those processes,” Ramakrishnan said.

Impacts of the shift

This weight shift in the Asian-alone category is something sociologists say they saw coming for years. And while not as populous as Indian Americans, other South Asian groups are seeing rapid growth as well.

The Nepalese population saw a substantial uptick, the report said, with a 250% overall increase between 2010 and 2020. The Bangladeshi population also grew by 85.4%, due in part to family sponsorships, Ramakrishnan said.

With the 2024 presidential election on the horizon, political experts say it’s a change that is hard to ignore — and one whose impact shouldn’t be underestimated.

“The political parties, when they are looking at Georgia, Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, they need to actually think through, ‘OK, it’s no longer just about Chinese or Koreans. I actually need to have a strategy to actually engage Indian Americans,’” said Christine Chen, executive director of civic organization Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote.

With a largely English-proficient population, reading and submitting ballots don’t pose barriers to the same degree as with other Asian communities, Chen said. ​​

“Not only are they growing in population, but their tendency is to lean in more and participate at a higher rate,” she said.

Political issues important to the diaspora, like discourse around Hindu nationalism and caste oppression, are also making their way into U.S. life, she said. And Indian American figures, like presidential candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley, are gaining major attention, Khanna said.

“The second generation especially … they’re becoming politically active themselves,” he said.

Ramakrishnan says that, with the recognition of the Census and a new community milestone, both Asian Americans and Americans at large should be paying attention.

“My hope is that this will spark important conversations about the role of South Asians in Asian America,” he said.

RIP

Gita Mehta, writer on India who made her name with Karma Cola, a hilarious account of spiritual questers – obituary

Telegraph Obituaries
Wed, September 27, 2023 

Gita Mehta had a dry wit and was very good company. Asked to discuss her sexual fantasies on television, she recalled: ‘I nearly fainted… In the West you talk about love and sex lives; in India we are more likely to talk about bowel movements’ - Sophie Bassouls/Sygma via Getty

Gita Mehta, who has died aged 80, was admired as a novelist and as the author of books about her native India – the India seen from the inside by a returned emigrée, and the India as sold to the West in images of mysticism, poverty and chaos.

She made her name in 1980 with her first book Karma Cola: The Marketing of the Mystic East, a hilarious essay on “spiritual travellers” from the West – The Beatles, Hollywood rich kids in detox, intense Scandinavians, British colonial guilt-trippers – who go in search of the mystic soul of India, but only succeed in keeping everyone awake playing the bongos on 24-hour train journeys while filling the pockets of self-appointed “swamis” in a flourishing guru industry.

“They thought we were profound. We knew we were provincial,” Gita Mehta wrote. “Everybody thought everybody else was ridiculously exotic and everybody got it wrong.”

Writing in The Daily Telegraph James Cameron observed that of the many books he had read about India, Karma Cola was “the only one that has intentionally made me laugh”, while Ann Morrow commended it as “ideal for parents to give their children before they set off to India in the youthful hope of finding themselves and a guru”. The book’s cynical tone and colourful reportage earned it comparisons to the “New Journalism” of such American writers as Tom Wolfe.

Later Gita Mehta took to fiction, and published Raj (1989), a commercial blockbuster about rich princeling families looking for love in the run-up to Partition, which was hailed in the New York Review of Books as a powerful reinterpretation of history, though less kindly received by British critics.

Her A River Sutra (1993), a collection of tales told in poetic prose, centred around a civil servant who retires to rediscover his soul and run a guest-house by the sacred river Narmada where pilgrims come and tell him their stories.

She returned to opinionated reportage in Snakes and Ladders (1997), a 35-chapter guide to modern India, taking in politics, economics, autobiography, jokes, history, polemic, anecdote, interviews, race, the arts, literature, caste, and the sex industry.


Karma Cola: ‘ideal for parents to give their children before they set off to India in the youthful hope of finding themselves and a guru’

Gita Mehta was married to Sonny Mehta, known as one of the top names in transatlantic publishing, the brains behind the Picador imprint at Pan Books in London and subsequently head of Knopf, the most “literary” imprint of Random House US.

A glamorous literary couple, the Mehtas divided their time between London, New Delhi and New York, where Gita, elegant in floaty saris whatever the weather (“because we’re one of the few peoples left in the world whose form of dress isn’t defined by Calvin Klein”), was known for her vivid, all-embracing personality, her delight in meeting new people and in new ideas, and for a beady-eyed scrutiny and dry wit that made her very good company.

In an article in The Daily Telegraph she recalled being rung up in New York and asked to appear on television to discuss her sexual fantasies: “I nearly fainted… In the West you talk about love and sex lives; in India we are more likely to talk about bowel movements… I recommend a return to the bowel movement – you don’t have to worry about being too old for it.”

A journalist who requested an interview recalled that “Would you mind awfully if I… chain-smoked throughout?” were her first words.

But Gita Mehta’s “insider-outsider” take on modern India was derived as much from family background as her own cosmopolitanism. The second of three children, she was born Gita Patnaik in New Delhi on December 12 1942 to Bijayananda (“Biju”) Patnaik, the scion of a princely family from Orissa (now Odisha), and his wife Gyanwati, née Sethi.

Her enormous extended family covered all parts of the Indian political spectrum, from intense Anglophilia – “There was a time when my mother had seven male cousins up at Cambridge simultaneously. Others were in the RAF” – to revolutionary activism. A cousin of her father’s, a 19-year-old poet, was shot dead while leading a raid on the British armoury at Chittagong, while another was taken in chains to the Andaman Islands aged 14 and imprisoned for 17 years.

Raj: her blockbuster novel about princeling families looking for love in the run-up to Partition

Gita’s father Biju would become celebrated postwar as one of the most colourful and maverick personalities of Indian politics. At the time of his daughter’s birth he had come under the spell of Mahatma Gandhi, and the family home in New Delhi, which sheltered nationalists escaping the law, was known throughout the country as Absconders’ Paradise. Yet he did not follow the example of other Indian “freedom fighters” in seeking an end to British rule through collaboration with the Japanese.

Instead, on the outbreak of the Second World War he joined the RAF and, according to his daughter, was “complimented, even decorated, by the Vicereine of India” for the large number of British civilians he had evacuated from Burma in the teeth of the Japanese advance. At the same time, however, from his RAF aircraft, he dropped bags of Gandhi’s “Quit India” leaflets on to Indian troops under British command and made clandestine flights to carry Congress Party leaders to secret meetings.

In early January 1943 he was arrested and jailed for his exploits and Gita recounted the tale of how, as he was being led away, he whispered to his wife to get rid of their weapons. This she did, using the family two-seater Sunbeam-Talbot convertible which she only knew how to drive in reverse. Unwittingly, in the dark, she dumped the cache outside the local police station. Fortunately, no connection was ever made.

As her mother campaigned to get her father released (she was finally successful in 1946, a year before independence), Gita, barely three years old, was sent with her older brother to a boarding school in Kashmir run by Irish nuns who told her: “We don’t allow crying here”.

Gita Mehta and her husband, the leading publisher Sonny Mehta, in 2011: they met at Cambridge - Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic

“My brother and I spent the entire time trying to escape,” Gita said. “We once collected biscuit tins, waited until 9pm and tried to stack them up by a wall and climb over it, but…”

Back home in Delhi, she acquired a lifelong love of literature from visits to street booksellers hawking Mad magazine alongside works by Plato and Dickens: “Anna Karenina, sahib? Madame Bovary? Hot books, sahib, only this minute arrived.”

Having read her way through much of the literary canon, from Bombay University she read English at Girton College, Cambridge, where, by mistake, she sat her finals at the end of her first year: “Afterwards they hauled me up. I said, ‘But did I pass?’ and they said Yes.” With uncharacteristic meekness she sat her finals again when she was expected to.

At Cambridge she played bridge with Germaine Greer and Clive James and became friends with Eric Idle of Monty Python, Jonathan Lynn the co-writer of Yes Minister, and Richard Eyre, later of the National Theatre, who recalled her as “extraordinarily beautiful” and of having “the air of someone who had lived several lives… I don’t think I’d met anyone that cosmopolitan.”

It was at Cambridge, too, that she met fellow student Sonny Mehta while they were standing in a queue to see Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal; they married in 1965.

The Duchess of Cornwall, as she was at the time, chats to Gita Mehta at a reception to celebrate the Everyman's Library Centenary in London, 2006 - Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

After graduation she studied at film school in London and embarked on a career as a documentary filmmaker for British, European and American networks, including reporting the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 for NBC and making Dateline Bangladesh, a film compilation of the war which was shown in cinemas in India.

Her development as an author was slow in gestation, partly due to her proximity, through her husband, to prize-winning writers. “Imagine: You’re working on a book and Gabriel García Márquez comes for a drink,” she told Publishers Weekly: “You think, ‘Does the world really need me?’ ”

The idea for her first book was sparked by a cocktail-party conversation in New York: “There had been the usual talk about karma. I wafted past in a sari and somebody said, ‘She can tell you what karma’s all about.’ I said, ‘It’s not what it’s cracked up to be.’ The guy said, ‘Yeah, that’s a great answer, so write it.’ It was the chairman of Bantam Books so I wrote it.” It took her just three weeks. Her last book, Eternal Ganesha (2006), was a coffee-table book about the ubiquitous, elephant-headed Hindu deity.

Gita Mehta was offered one of India’s highest civilian honours, the Padma Shri, in 2019, but declined on the grounds that “the timing might be misconstrued” because of an imminent general election.

Gita Mehta’s husband Sonny died in 2019. She is survived by their son.

Gita Mehta, born December 12 1942, died September 16 2023