SRINAGAR: US President-elect Joe Biden has picked a young Kashmir born lady as one of the key functionary in his White House’s Digital Strategy Team. Her name is Aisha Shah and she is the daughter of Kashmiri parents and belongs to one of Kashmir’s influential families.
Ms Shah would be the Partnerships Manager at the White House Office of Digital Strategy, which would be headed by Rob Flaherty, Director of Digital Strategy, according to an announcement by the Biden transition team.
“Communications professional with a demonstrated history of working in the social impact, arts & culture, & education sectors. Skilled in Branding & Identity, Communication, & Event Management,” is how Ms Shah describes herself on social media.
Ms Shah has previously worked as a digital partnerships manager in the Biden-Harris Campaign. Currently, she serves as an advancement specialist for the Smithsonian Institution. Before that Ms Shah ha worked as an assistant manager on the Corporate Fund of the John F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts, according to reports appearing in the media.
“Shah also served as a strategic communications specialist at Buoy, an integrated marketing firm that specialises in social impact communications, as well as spitfire strategies, where she enabled non-profits to use pop culture as a tool for social change,” one report said.
Aisha Shah was born in Kashmir and raised in Louisiana. She is the daughter of Aamir Shah, a doctor, and Elfie. People who knew the family in Louisiana said the family belongs to Gagribal in Srinagar. They have emigrated to the US in 1993.
Ms Shah belongs to one of the illustrious Srinagar families who have immensely contributed to education. She is said to be the granddaughter of Syed Ahmad Shah, who was popular as Shamji. He retired from Jammu and Kashmir as DIG in 1982 and later served BSF for a short period. Shamji was the elder brother of Dr Naseer Ahmad Shah, the husband of Dr Girija Dhar. The other siblings of the Karnah’s family include Mehmooda Ahmad Ali Shah, Barkat Begum.
“Dr Shah is the son of Syed Ahmad Shah whose daughter Azra Shah is also a doctor,” one Srinagar resident who knew Dr Shah said. Both the siblings studied in Government Medical College Srinagar. Dr Azra eventually headed one department of the GMC. “He married the daughter of an engineer Mansoor (son of former SMC executive Mohammad Rajab) and they later settled in the USA.” It was Mansoor who had married a resident of Hyderabad making Aisha’s mother “half Kashmiri and half Hyderabadi”.
Aisha and her sister are flying to Srinagar almost every year during vacations during which they would study the languages – Urdu and Kashmiri. At one point in time, their mother had hired a teacher to improve jer daughter’s Urdu language, another person said. They have their property in Gangribal and they coming quite often.
(Note: The report was cleared from certain factual inaccuracies.)
