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Ahimsa Youth Organization (AYO) is a non-profit 501(c)(3), charitable and educational organization dedicated to educating and promoting the culture of South Asia to the general public, specifically non-South Asians, and assisting the less fortunate through community service.
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| Growing up in Rockville Md., Ashish Dashottar, 24, felt uncomfortable with the images he saw of Indian-Americans. There was little interaction between the Indian Americans and people of other cultures -- no festivals and few organizations. "It was like living in an isolated society," he said.
This spring, the GW University information systems major, hooked up with four other Indian-American friends and started Ahimsa, a non profit organization dedicated to closing the cultural gap between Indian and nonIndian communities. Known as the Ahimsa Youth Organization, the group expects to host projects that promote the culture, tradition and folklore of the Indian people.
"Ahimsa" is a word that Gandhi brought into reality," said Dashottar, who played the role of Gandhi in a school performance 12 years ago. "Ahimsa means nonviolence; it fits perfectly into what we are trying to do. We want to make other cultures more aware of the Indian culture while at the same time, erase the existing negative stereotypes." The 1990 census count of Indian-Americans living in the Washington Metropolitan Area was nearly 50,4255, according to Wajahat Habibullah, Minister of Community Affairs at the indian Embassy. Of this number, he hopes to see more organizations like Ahimsa.
We want to make other cultures more aware of the Indian culture while at the same time, erase the existing negative stereotypes." -Ashish Dashottar, Ahimsa Group To Jaya Mathur, another member, Ahimsa also means togetherness and community spirit. The group wants to involve youth as |
much as possible, she said, because most Indian organizations are geared toward older generations. At the celebration of India's 50th independence anniversary earlier this year, the group introduced area youths to traditional Indian foods such as samosas --a spicy, deep-fried potato pastry usually eaten as a snack.
The festivities took place at the Capital Children Museum in northwest Washington, where a make-shift Indian village featured spices, ethnic jewelry, clothing and crafts. Young people danced the dandia and kathak, and mingled as folk musicians pounded on tabla drums and rhythmically plucked the stringed sitar. The village highlight was "The Mehndi Shop." Mehndi is an ancient form of skin tattooing that is usually reserved for weddings or special occasions.
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