Kshama Sawant is an Indian-American activist who recently got denied an Indian visa to visit her critically ill mother, find out mor about her and her husband
Unsurprisingly, the denial has sparked all kinds of reactions from various corners with reports of it stemming from her outspoken political stance against the Indian government.
Who is Kshama Sawant, as activist is denied Indian Visa to visit her ill mother, biography, age, husband, education, nationality, religion and net worth
India's PM Modi & the BJP government are denying me a visa to see my ill mother.
I’m not alone. Modi has retaliated against other activists & journalists, denying or revoking entry into India.
Sign the petition. Urge Modi to stop this retaliation. https://t.co/pnLOLW5IHb
My…
— Kshama Sawant (@cmkshama) February 1, 2025
According to reports, Kshama’s 82-year-old mother, Vasundhara Ramanujam, is currently battling multiple life-threatening conditions.
Kshama Sawant denied Indian visa
Renowned Indian-American activist Kshama Sawant is currently facing a major setback after she was denied an Indian visa twice. The denial is preventing her from visiting her elderly mother, who is currently in very critical health.
Despite making urgent appeals and even providing medical documentation of her mother’s severe conditions, which include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, and heart disease, Sawant has failed to obtain visa applications. An emergency visa request that she submitted in late 2024 also remains unresolved till date.
Unsurprisingly, the visa denials with no proper reason have raised eyebrows. Sawant first shared details about the incident with a news channel last year. She expressed her frustration, stating:
I am left with no other conclusion than this is political retaliation.”
According to Kshama Sawant, her visa rejections are a direct response to her political views against the Indian government. Shockingly, the authorities have granted a visa for the same trip to her husband, Calvin Priest. Moreover, Sawant has already traveled to India before without any issues, including a trip back in June 2022. As such, the current denials have created more suspicion.
Kshama Sawant bio
Kshama Sawant who is a Hindu by religion is an Indian-American politician who was born on October 17, 1973, in Pune, Maharashtra. She is also a successful economist who has served on the Seattle City Council from 2014 to 2024. Kshama was also a member of the Socialist Alternative, and she is notably the only party member who has gotten elected to public office till date. Kshama is currently 51 years old and lives in the US with her husband. She is also the author of a book called “American Socialist.”.
Education
Kshama Sawant attended the University of Mumbai and graduated in 1994, following which she attended North Carolina State University.
Sawant is a prominent socialist politician, economist, and activist based in Seattle, Washington and was born in Pune in 1973, grew up, studied, and worked in Mumbai until 1996. Sawant studied computer science and graduated from the University of Mumbai in 1994 and after working as a software engineer for a year and a half, she accompanied her husband, Vivek Sawant, an engineer with Microsoft, to the US.
She studied economics, obtained a PhD from the North Carolina State University in 2003, moved to Seattle in 2006, and joined Socialist Alternative.
Nationality
Kshama Sawant is an American citizen with Indian roots.
Profession and career
Kshama Sawant is a popular activist who has been a controversial figure over the past few years due to her outspoken criticism against the Indian government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration. Sawant vehemently opposed policies like the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Last week, Kshama Sawant (@cmkshama) came on my show and stressed the importance of voting for Greens this election cycle—but also voiced her strategic disagreements with the Stein campaign. Sawant stressed the necessity of a totally offensive campaign against the Democrats, and… pic.twitter.com/rzHUVvNr9v
— Chris Hedges (@ChrisLynnHedges) November 9, 2024
Sawant has also played a major role in making Seattle the first US city to recognize caste discrimination as a protected category. During her time on the Seattle City Council, Sawant advocated various progressive causes like raising the city’s minimum wage from $7.25 to $20.76 per hour. She also implemented the JumpStart Seattle tax, a tax that targets billion-dollar corporations like Amazon to fund COVID-19 relief and affordable housing.
Marriage and husband
Kshama Sawant is currently married to her husband, Calvin Priest, since 2016. She was previously married to Vivek Sawan, whom she divorced in 2014.
Sawant listed her net worth as $550,000 back in 2021 and it had more than doubled since 2016 when it was listed as $270,000.
At one point, Sawant vowed to only accept an “ordinary worker’s salary” for her work of about $40,000 and that she would donate the remainder to the Kshama Sawant Solidarity Fund of which the majority of the donations made its way back to Sawant via Socialist Alternative.