"As an Indian American myself, I recognize the strategy here: this isn’t just political disagreement. It’s an effort to mark someone as foreign, out of place, and less American,” wrote New York based Kaivan Shroff in his weekly Substack newsletter that features his views on politics and culture. He was irked that Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City was being targeted by US President Donald Trump and members of his Republican party "in a coordinated effort to paint him as extreme, dangerous and un-American,” because of his Muslim lineage and leftist positions.
Kaivan Shroff: reaching different audiences
Since the Substack platform gives contributors flexibility to share their content in written, audio or video formats, Shroff says that he launched his newsletter "to engage more directly with readers on the political and cultural issues shaping our world. It builds on my work as an attorney, political commentator and contributor to outlets like The Hill, Forbes and The Boston Globe.” When responding to queries from Parsiana, he clarified, "The newsletter usually focuses on one or two key themes — often tied to my media appearances or interviews with rising change makers. It’s become a space for more personal reflections that complement my national commentary on networks like CNN, ABC News, and more. As an online influencer with 135,000 followers on Tiktok, 108,000 on Twitter and 20,000 on Instagram, I’m constantly exploring new ways to reach different audiences and have important conversations.”
Being a delegate for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris during the 2024 Democratic National Convention, Shroff considers this "a highlight of my public service — an especially meaningful experience given her historic nomination as the first South Asian woman on a major party ticket. I continue to advocate for inclusive civic participation and media accountability, themes that resonate across my writing and broadcast work.”
Cautioned Shroff in his newsletter, "Republicans spotlight imperfect victims (and to be clear, nobody’s perfect)... The individual becomes secondary to the narrative: a means to portray the values of inclusion, fairness and protecting civil rights as fringe or dangerous. The goal is always to create division, bait overreaction, and shift the conversation away from substantive issues toward performative outrage.”
Holding a joint degree from Harvard Law School and Harvard Kennedy School, a masters in business administration from the Yale School of Management and a bachelors in political science from Brown University, 31-year-old Kaivan advises The Institute for Education in Washington, mentioned his grandfather Phiroze (Phil) Shroff, urging his contacts, irrespective of the party they support, to sample the writings of "our very own Zoroastrian in the political arena. You can support him by subscribing (to his newsletter). It is only seven dollars a month.”
Younger son of Anahaita Kotval and Zubeen Shroff, Kaivan considers himself privileged "to get the best of our culture through my grandparents [Dhun and Phil Shroff, and Daulat and (late) Peshotan Kotval] who live local to me. I grew up attending ZAGNY (Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York) classes.”