An Interview with Dr. SimranJeet Sandhu
Dr. Simranjeet “Simi” Sandhu is a local community member from Maryland and the president of Hands2Inspire, a non-profit that shares cultural books to Title 1 schools nationwide, and much more. Simi shares about her latest projects and the inspiration she received from her grandfather Mr. Maluk Singh Sandhu. She credits him for transforming her into an activist, and inspired her to author several books including, Kisaan, Mool Mantar, What is Mediation, and just recently, We are Sikhs. In addition, she is an English Learner and Multilingual Education educator with Montgomery County Schools.
In the last few months Simi has been doing local book talks and recently was invited to Barnes and Noble in Ellicott City, Maryland, and Frederick, Maryland. Simi received her PhD in Educational Leadership from Hood College, and resides in Frederick. She will also begin workshops geared towards children from the ages of 12-17 called “Leading through Gurbani”. We recently had a chance to speak with her regarding her books.
On her children’s book, Kissan:
Kisaan, or farmer, is a very special book for me. It is a story about Simran and Sehaj. The two main characters share a narrative about farmers from Punjab and Haryana, by telling the story of their great-grandfather, who in real life was my grandfather. My intention with this book was to raise awareness for the farmers in Punjab and Haryana.
Unfortunately, many people outside of India do not know the full story about these farmers who help feed the billions of people in India and around the world. This story serves as a mirror for other farmers and as a window to those who pick up this book and are not familiar with the farmer’s fight this past year in India.
On the inspiration behind writing children’s books, and how she developed her idea:
Since November 2020, farmers have been protesting in India due to unjust laws set forth by the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi. Many farmers have left their farms to protest these laws in hopes of getting them repealed. Many of the farmers are of an older generation, over 70 years old and have been suffering by police and arrested on false pretenses. I see my grandparents in the elderly men and women sitting at the protest sites. I decided to write a book to raise awareness of farmers in Punjab and Haryana, who have been amongst the most vocal protestors.
I wrote because I want to be a voice for the Kisaan, and my hope is that children from all over the world will learn about farmers and help advocate for those who have spent a lifetime feeding others through their hard work and effort.
You can order any of Dr. Sandhu’s books on Amazon, or by contacting her directly here.
About the Author:
Dr. SimranJeet Sandhu is a lifelong learner, ESOL educator, and author of multiple books. She can be followed on instagram at @ikjot_onelight