Welcome to Roshni, the Light of South Asia!

People of Indian origin (POIs) have been making a difference all over the globe for decades, but stereotypes still abound, and the public remains ignorant of the valuable contributions people from India have made wherever they go. Roshni, the Light of South Asia is dedicated to dispelling myths and celebrating the achievements of the most successful POIs in the world.

The work of Roshni began in 2005 with Roshni, the Light of South Asia,, a sleek, black-boxed coffee table book authored by Roshni founder Dr. Rashmee Sharma and featuring original artwork by Padmsree painter Laxman Pai. Roshni, the Light of South Asia presented short biographies, interviews and photographs of 101 people of Indian origin who had built their own empires in the United States. This small sample represented a cross-section of disciplines from business to medicine to technology to the arts.

It soon became clear that the United States edition of Roshni, the Light of South Asia had barely scratched the surface of the highly valuable body of work – both professional and philanthropic – that POIs had created. Thus, a second book, Roshni: the Light of South Asia: North American Edition was released in 2012. The North American Edition highlights 56 POIs who had made their mark in both the US and Canada. The book was launched in October 2011 with a gala event at the New Jersey home of Roshni founder Dr. Rashmee Sharma.

Plans are underway and nominations are already being accepted for Roshni’s most ambitious effort to date: Roshni, the Light of South Asia: the Global Indian. It is too early to tell just how many highly successful POIs will be profiled or from which far-flung corners of the world they will come, but this next book promises to be even more beautiful, informative and inspiring than its predecessors. The Roshni legacy continues. And Roshni will never be done spreading the Light of South Asia, because people of Indian origin continue to rise to the top of their fields every day. The possibilities are only limited by the reasonable size of the books. Perhaps you know someone who deserves to be honored with a profile in Roshni, the Light of South Asia: the Global Indian. You can nominate them using the convenient form found here.