Prashad attended The Doon School, received a B.A. from Pomona College in 1989, and earned a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago in 1994.

Prashad is a well-known commentator on world affairs, writing in many journals on and off the web. At Counterpunch and in Frontline one can follow his writings on the United States, on India, on war and on economics. His recent writing includes pieces on the Fort Hood shooting [1], Mali and Africom [2] and American policy on the Afghanistan war [3]. In his article for The Nation, Prashad lays out his vision for the struggle toward socialism. He argues progressive forces typically have very good ideas, but no power. He asserts that without power, good ideas are of little consequence and claims that socialists must not simply theorize but also organize.

A self-described Marxist

Prashad is a self-described Marxist and a co-founder of the Forum of Indian Leftists or FOIL. His views on capitalism are most clearly summarized in his book Fat Cats and Running Dogs.

Critique of Mother Teresa and western charity

Prashad offered his analysis of Mother Teresa's missionary work in Calcutta, designating her as a representative of the collective 'bourgeois guilt' of western nations. He argued how people like Mother Teresa obscure the tragedies of capitalism. For instance, " During the night of December 2—3, 1984, methyl isocyanate left the environs of a Union Carbide factory and poisoned thousands of people. The Bhopal massacre by Union Carbide was but the most flagrant example of a transnational corporation's disregard for human life at the expense of its own profit. In 1983, Union Carbide's sales came to $9 billion and its assets totalled $10 billion. Part of this profit came from a tendency to shirk any responsibility towards safety standards, not just in India, but also in their Virginia plant. After the disaster,Mother Teresa flew into Bhopal and, escorted in two government cars, she offered Bhopal's victims small aluminum medals of St. Mary. "This could have been an accident," she told the survivors, "it's like a fire (that) could break out anywhere. That is why it is important to forgive. Forgiveness offers us a clean heart and people will be a hundred times better after it." John Paul II joined Mother Teresa with his analysis that Bhopal was a "sad event" which resulted from "man's efforts to make progress."

In the same article he also commented on Mother Teresa's alleged links with Charles Keating and Michele Duvalier (wife of Baby Doc Duvalier). Denouncing the 'cruel rule of capital' he also offered the view that the communists of Calcutta were the 'real nameless MotherTeresas who conduct the necessary work towards socialism, for the elimination of poverty forever'.

Religion

Prashad, along with his FOIL compatriot Biju Mathew, is also an outspoken critic of the resurgence of Hindu cultural nationalism, known as 'Hindutva'. He has also critiqued what he described as the 'epidermic determinism' of V.T. Rajshekar, an advocate for Dalit rights, and others, and suggested that a 'polycultural' approach is needed instead. He also identifies himself as an anti-Zionist and has advocated for the end of US aid to Israel.