To this South Asian Dem party member, America gives hope to the whole world

If you asked Mohammad Saleh, years ago, if he ever imagined America standing at historic crossroads by being so close to electing its first woman—and woman of color—president, he would likely give an affirmative yes. 

That might be because of the optimism he got from his father—himself an activist from Bangladesh and a freedom fighter, who participated in the war of independence against British rule in South Asia in the 1940s—that led him to continue working to see this day.

An optical engineer by day, and also the chair of the Cheshire County Democrats (CCD), Saleh said his father inspired him to stand up for what’s right and seek the path of social change. 

“My father said, ‘Try to do something that the whole world remembers you for,’” said Saleh, a Keene resident who’s originally from Pabna, Bangladesh. “My father said that every person has that potential within them.”

Always thought America was “my” country

When Saleh moved to New York in 1991 to get a degree from the City College of New York, his home country of Bangladesh was just two decades old (it gained complete independence in 1971). The political discourse and the struggles of a post-colonial country were quite different, he said. 

“But…I didn’t for a second think that America was not my country. I came with the legal path of immigration, and I felt that I have as much right as people who are born here have,” he said. “And there is no other nation on earth for an immigrant to move in and feel that way.”

From the very beginning, Saleh said, he was moved by the upward mobility and social acceptance he felt in America, and that made him want to do his bit to keep the country on the right track. 

But it wasn’t until Barack Obama’s campaign in 2008 that Saleh got the impetus to hit the ground with political engagement. 

“I have [always] been politically conscious and followed politics closely but fully got engaged as an activist and a volunteer during the [first] Obama campaign,” he said, adding that he did volunteer fundraising for Obama’s campaign that year. 

Saleh, who has been living in the Monadnock Region since 2012, said once he moved to the state, he started involving himself in small grassroots initiatives for the Cheshire County Democrats for a few years and eventually became the vice chair of the committee in 2016. 

In 2021, he was elected as the chair of the CCD. 

9/11, a rude awakening

Saleh was raised Muslim, and he said that rising racism and xenophobia in a post 9/11 world was a rude awakening for him. But that did not prevent him from keeping his vision of fraternity and togetherness tight. 

“I realized that maybe I have been a little naive and thinking everything is great,” he said. “I personally experienced some very rude comments or my airport check-ins took 10 times longer than other people because of my name. But I did not take particular pain in my personal suffering.”

What particularly motivated Saleh to work in grassroots politics, though, was his son, Oni. On a trip to Bangladesh—when Oni was all of three—he said to Saleh, “why did you leave such a wonderful country and move to America?”

Oni said that because he realized in a post-9/11 divided world we were different, Saleh explained, as he teared up. 

“So I told him that in the world that we’re moving into, it doesn’t matter what you look like or where you’re from.”

And many years later, Saleh is still working to fulfill the promise of building a world that belongs to everyone for his kids.

“I realized that even though [America] has a history of slavery, this is also a country that fought a civil war to free people of color. So, to me, America was always a hope for the whole world.”

And that’s why he’s been working extra hard to make sure enthusiasm for Kamala Harris’ candidacy stays “through the roof.”

“My vision is to make Cheshire County, which is already blue, more blue, and we bring more people in the party,” he said, adding that he wants to open more grassroots dialogues between already Democrat voters and Independents, and Republican voters.

For every voter in the Granite State, Saleh has one message. 

“Consider doing volunteer work,” he said. “All of us need to do a little bit more than what we normally do to make sure that we come out on the winning side in this great moment for our country.”

For anyone interested in volunteering to write postcards, do phone banking, or canvas, reach out to your county Democratic chair, Saleh said.