About Us

Valley India Times has been an integral part of informing and uniting the Indo-American community of Arizona. It originated under a different name in 1999 as AZ India. In the early summer of 2000, ownership changed along with the name of the newspaper to Valley India Times. We have progressed forward throughout the last decade and look forward to new changes as we jump into the next decade. As we begin a new decade, we are proud to have a website up and accessible for our readers and a new venue for our advertisers to utilize. We look forward to providing our readers with a valuable, convenient resource on the web.

The Newspaper

The newspaper is an artifact of the Indo-American society’s presence within Arizona. VIT has consistently documented the culture, traditions, milestones and thoughts of the Indo-American community in Arizona since 1999. From inception, this newspaper has been thought of as an important resource in linking businesses, religious establishments, and social events with the Arizona Indo-American community. VIT has been the only local Indo-American newspaper that has the most updated and current list of local events, businesses, and religious establishments.The newspaper is published on a monthly basis, and mailed complimentary to households throughout Arizona and to those who reside out of state yet wish to stay connected to our community. An additional 1500 newspapers are distributed to local businesses, restaurants, and holy establishments. We provide consistent, reliable, and responsive service. Our staff is committed to serving our clients, contributors, and readers.

The Website

This newly designed website is geared toward attracting our readers and allowing them to find what they are looking for within seconds. It will be updated with an Events Calendar, Business Directory, and a variety of advertisements. In addition, our monthly columns and press releases will be available for those looking to read snippets regardless of where they are located. Most exciting is our Current Deals section, exclusive to our website. We will have current deals from our local businesses for our readers to utilize. Also, to highlight Indo-American artistic talents, we will be showcasing pictures of artwork in our picture gallery. All in all, we are creating a new way for our community to connect and be connected.

The VIT Family

The newspaper has been managed and operated by the Dholakia family members since ownership switched in June of 2000. Although there have been many members of the VIT family throughout the years, two members have been completely dedicated.

Jayant M. Dholakia, Publisher.
He is the person who makes it all happen; he makes the personal connections, and makes sure VIT is reliably consistent. He has always had a knack for running small businesses whether it is in wholesale textiles, retail Indian clothing, or gold jewelry. Since childhood he has had a drive to be a businessman and connect with those in his community. When the business opportunity arose to take over and manage Arizona’s only Indo-American newspaper, he dove right in, despite his lack of expertise in publishing. He has always felt a need to give back to the community he resides within, and Valley India Times has been the perfect venture for him and his family. The newspaper has changed the way he leads his life; just like he changed the way businesses, families, and corporations rely on connecting with each other through Valley India Times.

Jesal Dholakia Gandhi, Editor.
She manages the production and editorial component of the newspaper; as well as her own monthly contributions. Following in her father’s footsteps has always been something she strove to do, from early childhood and into adulthood. Jesal has been working with her father, Jayant, since Valley India Times’ inception. She fell into rhythm working on the layout since she had experience working on yearbooks throughout high school and eventually grew into her editorial role. Although her background is not in publishing or journalism she has continued her co-managing with her father and being involved in the Indo-American community in Arizona. In her own way she brings her creative spunk to managing and maintaining VIT.

Essentially, Jesal is the manager in the background while Jayant is the manager on the foreground who interacts with readers, advertisers, and community members. Of course this is all possible with the valuable talents of the staff members who work behind the scenes with Jayant and Jesal. Valley India Times truly has a staff that works behind the scenes and fuses together like a second family, without which the newspaper and website could not continue to serve the community.