The Indian Panorama

Tag: Ami Bera

  • Indian-American Sri Srinivasan, Kamala Harris headed for US apex court

    Indian-American Sri Srinivasan, Kamala Harris headed for US apex court

    WASHINGTON (TIP): The hearing for Sri Srinivasan’s confirmation as federal judge, the first ever Indian- American to serve the post, began Wednesday, April 10. However, he is quipped to move up to the US supreme court too. Kamala Harris, a California based attorneygeneral who recently got recognized by President Obama is also up for the post. The Indian-American community is easily the country’s best-educated, highest earning ethnic group in the US. It is touted that community can boast of a supreme court justice from its distinguished members before the end of President Obama’s second term.

    President Obama nominated Srinivasan for the DC circuit court, considered as the second highest court in the country. It is also deemed to be the stepping stone to the supreme court. If confirmed Srinivasan will be the first Indian American to be appointed to a federal court.

    There is much riding on his lean shoulders. The hearing was attended by Indian American congressman Ami Bera, and the first and only Hindu congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, another Indian American whose rise in the US judicial system is being closely watched: district attorney Preet Bharara.

    Is he likely to go through? The committee was certainly impressed. What objections could anyone have to your appointment, asked senator Charles Schumer, a Democrat. “You have done a fine job today,” said Republican senator Ted Cruz. Saroja Srinivasan, who came to the US with her husband when Srinivasan was four said, “He is very hardworking and humble.” A distinctly proud mother, who had just heard some very tough politicians say extremely good things about her son. In fact, pundits are already forecasting that Srinivasan will make the top grade before President Obama demits office. “Technically, Sri Srinivasan is just a candidate for the United States court of appeals for the DC circuit, but few are misled.

    The stakes in this nomination are clear: if Srinivasan passes this test and wins confirmation, he’ll be on the supreme court before President Obama’s term ends,” legal maven Jeffrey Toobin wrote on Tuesday in a New Yorker blog, ahead of the much-awaited hearing.

  • Indian-American Lawmaker Welcomes Obama Plan

    Indian-American Lawmaker Welcomes Obama Plan

    WASHINGTON (TIP): Ami Bera, the only Indian-American member of the US Congress, has welcomedPresident Barack Obama’s plan “to restore an economythat works for middle class families by investing ininfrastructure, innovation, and education.””America is at its strongest when we have a strongmiddle class, and growing jobs and the economy for themiddle class should be our number one priority inCongress,” said Bera, the third Indian-American, afterDalip Singh Saund and Bobby Jindal, to be ever electedto the US House of Representatives.

  • U.S. Reps. Maloney And Meng, Leaders Of South Asian Communities Rally Support

    U.S. Reps. Maloney And Meng, Leaders Of South Asian Communities Rally Support

    NEW YORK, NY (TIP): CongresswomanCarolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan andQueens) joined Congresswoman GraceMeng (D-Queens) and South Asiancommunity leaders led by Ranju Batra,President of the Association of Indians in America-NY to rally grass-roots supportto press the Citizens Stamp AdvisoryCommission of the U.S. Postal Service toissue a postage stamp to honor Diwali, the”festival of lights” observed by Hindus,Sikhs, Christians, Jains, and Buddhists inIndia, the United States, and around theworld.

    “Diwali is an important spiritual andcultural festival along with other majorreligious holidays for which stamps areissued, such as Christmas, Kwanzaa,Hanukkah, and Eid, and it merits similarrecognition,” said CongresswomanMaloney.”Diwali – which literally translatedmeans ‘row of lights’ – is a festive andimportant Indian holiday that also signalsthe start of the Hindu New Year. As one ofthe world’s oldest religious holidays, itserves not only as a time for celebration,but also as an occasion for communitiesand families to convene in spiritual enlightenment.

    The practice of Diwali hassurvived political, economic and socialchanges throughout history, while alwayscarrying the universal symbolism of thevictory of light, goodness, knowledge andtruth.” Congresswoman Maloney said.Ranju Batra said “When I took over aspresident of AIA-NY, I set two goals: Tomake the 25th Silver Diwali celebrationshistory-making, and they were, and tolaser-focus on getting the Diwali Stampissued. I asked my dear friend Rep. CarolynMaloney to take the lead in Congress. I amso delighted to see Congresswoman GraceMeng here in person, and to have thesupport of Steve Israel, Ami Bera and Tulsi Gabbard.

    We need everyone who supportsreligious freedom and mutual respectamongst neighbors to sign on. We nowfinally have a strong core group to make ithappen.”Ravi Batra, attorney and chair ofNational Advisory Council on South AsianAffairs who emceed the meeting, added,”The target audience of the Diwali stampisn’t just 3 million Indian-Americans butover 1 billion in India alone. The sale of aDiwali Stamp would be a much-neededsource of revenue for the US Postal Servicein tough economic times. It may reduceUSPS’ need to raise first class rates for all.”

    “The Postal Service has issued stamps forseveral major religious holidays and nowit’s time for them to do the same forDiwali,” said U.S. Rep. Grace Meng. “Creating a Diwali stamp would be anoutstanding way to recognize and celebratethe vibrancy of the Hindu American andIndian American communities, and salutethe traditions and tremendouscontributions that they’ve made to ournation. Diwali deserves its own stamp, andI’m pleased to join my Congressionalcolleagues in urging the Postal Service tocreate one.”Congressman Steve Israel echoed thesentiments of his fellow New Yorkers,saying “I am proud to cosponsor thisresolution urging the Postal Service toissue a stamp that would recognize thefestival of Diwali, commonly known as the’festival of lights.’

    The holiday embodies theessential lessons of good triumphing overevil and embracing one’s inner light. Today,I join my colleagues to call on the Citizens’Stamp Advisory Committee to give Diwalithe recognition it deserves and issue acommemorative stamp.”India’s Permanent Representative to theUnited Nations, Ambassador HardeepSingh Puri and Ambassador LakshamiPuri, Deputy Secretary General, Women atthe United Nations also spoke.Others who addressed the gatheringincluded Mayor Ernie Davis, KamleshArya, a former President of AIA, NY andNew York City Council Member LetitiaJames.

    Indian-American Congressman AmiBera, in his statement, said “Diwali is oneof the world’s oldest religious holidays. Itcelebrates goodness and truth and isobserved by people from differentbackgrounds all across the United Statesand around the world. We should honor itsplace in our country’s tradition of religiousdiversity with a postage stamp, as we havedone for many other religious holidays. “Co-host of the lunch meeting SudhirVaishnav, President and CE of GlobosatEntertainment proposed a vote of thanks.

    Background:Diwali traditionally marks the lastharvest of the year before winter and overtime has come to also mark the first day of the new financial year in India. This”festival of lights” marks the triumph ofgood over evil, light above darkness, andinsight and knowledge over ignorance anddisregard. Diwali is celebrated byadherents of many faiths across the world.Congresswoman Carolyn Maloneyintroduced House Resolution 47 on January25th of this year to urge the Citizens’ StampAdvisory Committee, an entity of theUnited States Postal Service, to issue acommemorative stamp in honor of thefestival of Diwali.

    The bi-partisan and bicoastalresolution is co-sponsored byIndian-American Congressman Ami Bera(CA-07), Hindu-American Tulsi Gabbard,(HI-02), and by several members of the NewYork Congressional Delegation includingRep. Grace Meng (NY-06), Rep. Joe Crowley(NY-14), Rep. Steve Israel (NY-03) and Rep.Peter King (NY-02).Founded in 1967, the Association ofIndians in America is the oldestorganization of Indians in the country. TheNew York chapter is a microcosm of theextraordinary diversity of the Indiancommunity in the New York area, withmembers of all regions and religions ofIndia represented across the tri-stateregion.

    AIA prides itself on its tradition ofopenness and respect for persons of allreligious faiths, with members, as well as awide range of professions, backgroundsand occupations. AIA’s New York chapterperforms countless acts of public serviceand philanthropy, reflecting its motto,”Indian Heritage and Americancommitment.” Indeed, AIA-NY celebratedits history-making 25th Silver Diwali with adinner at the Pierre and the festival at theSouth Street Seaport, the largest suchcelebration in North America.

  • Indian-Americans’ Interest In Lobbying For Indo-Us Ties On The Wane

    Indian-Americans’ Interest In Lobbying For Indo-Us Ties On The Wane

    NEW YORK (TIP): A sharp drop inmembership to the Congressional Caucuson India is sadly indicative of the waninginterest of the Indian-Americancommunity to lobby for closer bilateralties between India and the US.The Congressional Caucus on India andIndian-Americans, which was establishedin 1994 when the ties between the twocountries were still in a nascent phase,had grown to a record 186 members of theUS House of Representatives.For more than a decade theCongressional Caucus was considered tobe a driver of India-US bilateralrelationship, and played a key role in thepassage of the historic civilian nucleardeal.

    However, latest figures reveal thisnumber has dropped to about 110Congressmen, which is mainly becausethere has been no fresh drive from theIndian-American community asking theirrepresentatives to join the CongressionalCaucus on India and Indian-Americans.In the last 112th Congress there were 135members. The numbers have mainlydropped either of retirement or defeat ofprevious members.”It is not lack of interest on part oflawmakers. It is the lack of interest on thepart of the Indian-Americans.

    Lawmakersneed to be reminded. If asked most of thelawmakers are always willing to obligetheir active constituents,” Ashok Mago, aDallas-based prominent community leader,said.Sampat Shivangi, president of the bipartisanIndian- American Forum forPolitical Education (IAFPE) agreed withthe view as well.”India centric issue like civil US-Indianuclear treaty galvanized the Indian-American community, government ofIndia and Indian Embassy which shot upthe India Congressional Caucus numberaround 185 with united efforts of all thesegroups,” Shivangi said.

    “Now there is no burning issue and theenthusiasm has weaned in this process,”he said.In November IAFPE had held aCongressional reception at the Capitol Hillduring which at least three Congressmenannounced their decision to join thecaucus.But in the absence of follow-up fromlocal Indian- American leaders, they areyet to formally join the India Caucus.Shivangi said that there is a need to findother galvanizing issues so that Indian-Americans are motivated to work for thebilateral relationship.

    India’s permanent membership to theUN Security Council could be one, henoted.”This just cause if taken seriouslywould galvanize above said groups to uniteand move forward,” he said.The office of Congressman Joe Crowley,one of the founding members of thecaucus and its current co-chair from theDemocratic Party said that he wasworking on increasing the membership ofthe caucus.”There has been a lot of turnover in thepast few years in Congress (such asretirements), and since there are asignificant number of new members in the113th Congress, Congressman Crowleybelieves this is the perfect time to shareinformation about the caucus with hiscolleagues and encourage them to learnmore about the US-India relationship,”Courtney Gidner, Congressman Crowley’sspokesperson said.

    “He is definitely focused working atgetting a lot more members to join, and isexcited to make it happen,” Gidner said.In the new Congress, Dr Ami Bera, theonly Indian- American lawmaker in thecurrent Congress, and Tulsi Gabbard, theonly Hindu ever elected to the US Congresshave announced their decision to join theCongressional Caucus for India andIndian-Americans.A fresh drive for new membership isexpected to be launched in March, butMago argued it cannot be successful unlessIndian-Americans from across the nationcome out and support it and ask theirrepresentatives to join the caucus.

    Refraining from giving reasons for thissharp drop in the caucus membership,Indian Ambassador to the US NirupamaRao listed out the immense contributionthat India caucus has made instrengthening India US bilateralrelationship.”Over the years, the India Caucuses inboth Houses of Congress have beenincreasingly engaged in pushing forward asubstantive agenda of India-USpartnership, taking up specific issues ofcooperation and common interest fromtime to time, and providing strength andsubstance to the relationship between ourtwo countries,” Rao said.

  • Reps. Maloney, Meng & South Asian Leaders Hold Press Conference Announcing Reintroduced Diwali Stamp Resolution

    Reps. Maloney, Meng & South Asian Leaders Hold Press Conference Announcing Reintroduced Diwali Stamp Resolution

    NEW YORK, NY (TIP): U.S.Congresswomen Carolyn Maloneyand Grace Meng will be joined byRanju Batra, President of theAssociation of Indians in America-NY February 2 at a press conferenceannouncing the introduction of aHouse Resolution calling for theissue of a United States PostalService stamp to commemorate thefestival of Diwali. The pressconference will rally grass-rootssupport to press the Citizens StampAdvisory Commission of the U.S.Postal Service to issue a postagestamp to honor Diwali, the “festivalof lights” observed by Hindus, Sikhs,Christians, Jains, and Buddhists inIndia, the United States, and aroundthe world.

    Congresswoman Carolyn Maloneyintroduced HR 47 on January 25th ofthis year to urge the Citizens’ StampAdvisory Committee, an entity ofthe United States Postal Service, toissue a commemorative stamp inhonor of the holiday of Diwali. Theresolution is co-sponsored by Indian-American Congressman Ami Bera(CA-07), and by CongresswomanGrace Meng of New York’s 6thdistrict who, like Rep. Maloney,represents a substantial South Asianpopulation. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) has also co-sponsored the HouseResolution.

  • 2 Indian-Americans Sworn in as Members of US House of Representatives

    2 Indian-Americans Sworn in as Members of US House of Representatives

    WASHINGTON (TIP): Indian- Americans Ami Bera and Tulsi Gabbard were sworn in as members of the US House of Representatives January 4, much to the delight of the small but powerful community in the country.

    Born of immigrant parents from Punjab, California-based physician Bera is only the fourth Indian American to be a member of the US House of Representatives, while Iraq war veteran Tulsi Gabbard is the first Hindu ever to win Congressional election.

    The 113th Congress commenced on January 3, 2013 with the swearing-in ceremony for newly elected Members of Congress. The new Congress in session till January 3, 2015 has 43 African American members (all but one in the House of Representatives), a record high number of 100 female, seven LGBT members, and one member of the Kennedy family returning to elective federal office after a brief pause from public service from the family.

    Bera, 47, from seventh Congressional District from California and Gabbard, 31, from Hawaii’s second Congressional District, are reflective of the diversity of the new Congress. Both are from the Democratic Party of President Barack Obama. Hindus represent less than one per cent of the current US population.

  • Guru Nanak Birth Anniversary Celebrated In White House

    Guru Nanak Birth Anniversary Celebrated In White House

    WASHINGTON (TIP) : Members of the American Sikh community from across the country turned up in large numbers as the White House celebrated the 544th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the first Guru of Sikhs. This was the third consecutive year that the White House celebrated the occasion. Conveying his best wishes on the occasion, President Obama remembered victims of the Wisconsin gurdwara shooting in his message. “I can’t think of a better way to honor their memory, and to join our Sikh friends as they mark this sacred time, than to recommit ourselves to the spirit of pluralism, equality and compassion that define both the Sikh community and our nation,” he said.

    Although unable to attend the event on December 7, Indian American Congressman from California Ami Bera thanked the US President Barack Obama for hosting a special event commemorating Guru Nanak’s life. “On the anniversary of his birth and every day, we should honor the values Guru Nanak taught — tolerance, respect, hard work and service — to those most in need. We must also remember the innocent lives lost earlier this year in the tragic Oak Creek gurdwara shooting and the tragedies that followed, and commit to preventing future incidence of violence,” Bera said. The United Sikhs, a voluntary organization, in a statement said the White House’s Eisenhower executive office building was filled with Sikh Jaikaras.

    Members of the Sikh community from around the country were invited to celebrate the occasion with traditional hymns by a group of Sikh Kirtanias (Chanters) from India, it said. Thomas Edward Perez, the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the US Department of Justice, said the Obama Administration is supportive of all communities, and called the Wisconsin incident a hate crime. “Obama has once again demonstrated that he has admiration for the high principles of equality and interfaith collaborative spirit started by Guru Nanak, and we are thankful to him and his team” said Bakshish Singh, advisor to United Sikhs.

  • Dr Ami Bera Comes to Washington; Third Indian-American Elected to Congress

    Dr Ami Bera Comes to Washington; Third Indian-American Elected to Congress

    WASHINGTON (TIP): An Indian- American physician from California has become only the third person of Indianorigin to be elected to the US House of Representatives, attesting to the incremental progress the thriving community is making in politics and public life in America. The Sacramento County Registrar of Voters announced on Friday that Ami Bera had increased his lead to 2.2 per cent against sitting Congressman Dan Lungren in last week’s election, surging ahead by 5,696 votes after the latest round of counting, a margin Bera and his supporters think is insurmountable.

    The regular counting without absentee ballots and provisional votes had seen the two rivals less than 200 votes apart. “Today’s update shows that we’ve processed another 38,510 ballots since Tuesday’s update. This leaves an estimated 7,782 vbm (vote by mail) and of course the 31,000 provisional ballots left to process,” the County Registrar said. Next update is scheduled for Monday. But Associated Press and the local media, not to speak of Bera himself, called the race for the Indian-American Democrat, for whom this was a second shot at the seat. “It’s increasingly clear that the voters of Sacramento County want new leadership that puts the people first. Our lead continues to widen and we are confident that this election will be resolved in our favor,” Bera said in a statement.

    Lungren is yet to concede the race, but Bera is already in Washington DC for an orientation course for new lawmakers, which incidentally is being led by a committee headed by Lungren. Earlier this week, Bera, who describes himself as a Unitarian, attended the White House Diwali celebration along with Tulsi Gabbard, another newly elected lawmaker from Hawaii who is a self-described Hindu- American. Bera is only the third Indian elected to the US Congress after Dalip Singh Saund, who was a mathematician with farming interests, and Bobby Jindal, who is a health policy expert and currently governor of Louisiana. Saund in fact was the first person of non-Abrahamic faith elected to the U.S Congress and the only Indian- American so far to clock three terms.

    Like his Indian-American predecessors, Bera too has an impressive academic record in keeping with the community’s cachet. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University of California at Irvine, and went on to get an MD in 1991. He served as Associate Dean for Admissions at the UC Davis School of Medicine and later as the Chief Medical Officer for the County of Sacramento. His wife Janine is also a physician and they have a 14-year young daughter, Sydra. “As a first generation American, born and raised in California, the promise of America has been the story of my life,” Bera told voters in his election pitch, promising to work for a “more compassionate, sensible, and sustainable America.”

  • Indian-Americans Elected To House Of Representatives

    Indian-Americans Elected To House Of Representatives

    WASHINGTON (TIP): Dr Ami Bera becomes the third Indian-American ever to be elected to the US House of Representatives, after Dalip Singh Saund, elected in 1950’s and Governor of Louisiana Bobby Jindal who was a House member from 2005 to 2008. Bera, 45, had a lead of just 184 votes against his Republican rival and incumbent Dan Lungren, when all the votes were counted for the Seventh Congressional District in California. But the Secretary of State, California put the results in the category of “Close Contest”, in which there is less than a two per cent difference between the first and second place for candidates or between yes and no votes for ballot measures.

    According to the Office of the Secretary of State, California, Bera had received 50.1 per cent of the total votes counted, while Lungren had received 49.9 per cent of the votes. Bera received 88,406 votes, while Lungren got 88,222 votes. Bera whose parents migrated to the US some 50 years ago was endorsed by charismatic Bill Clinton, the former US president, last month who campaigned for him. Bera had outraised his opponent in fund raising.

    Born and raised in Southern California, Dr. Bera served Sacramento County as Chief Medical Officer before becoming a Clinical Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean for Admissions and Outreach at UC Davis. Ami and his wife Janine live in Elk Grove with their daughter, Sydra. Tulsi Gabbard is the first Indian American woman and the first Hindu woman to win an election to House of Representatives. 31-year-old Gabbard defeated K. Crowley of the Republican Party with a handsome margin in Hawaii’s second Congressional district. Her victory has been cheered by the Hindu-American community across the country. The heavily Democratic district also elected one of two Buddhists to have ever served in the Congress, Mazie Hirono, who won her seat in 2006 but is now running for the US Senate.

    Born in American Samoa to a Catholic father and a Hindu mother, Gabbard moved to Hawaii when she was two

    In 2002, at age 21, she was elected to the Hawaii state legislature. The next year, she joined the Hawaii National Guard, and in 2004 was deployed to Baghdad as a medical operations specialist. After completing officers’ training, she was deployed to Kuwait in 2008 to train the country’s counterterrorism units. “Although there are not very many Hindus in Hawaii, I never felt discriminated against.

    I never really gave it a second thought growing up that any other reality existed, or that it was not the same everywhere,” Gabbard said in a statement soon after she took an unbeatable lead over her Republican challenger. “On my last trip to the mainland, I met a man who told me that his teenage daughter felt embarrassed about her faith, but after meeting me, she’s no longer feeling that way,” Gabbard said.

    “He was so happy that my being elected to Congress would give hope to hundreds and thousands of young Hindus in America, that they can be open about their faith, and even run for office, without fear of being discriminated against or attacked because of their religion,” Gabbard said. At 21, Gabbard became the youngest person elected to the Hawaii legislature.

    At 23, she was the state’s first elected official to voluntarily resign to go to war. At 28, she was the first woman to be presented with an award by the Kuwait Army National Guard. She is a deeply committed Vaishnava Hindu who is a strict vegetarian and is very knowledgeable about the Bhagavad Gita. She has also served with distinction as an officer of the US Army – twice, in Iraq and Kuwait.

  • With Clinton’s backing, PIO tipped to win Congress seat

    With Clinton’s backing, PIO tipped to win Congress seat

    WASHINGTON (TIP): Having bagged the endorsement of former United States president Bill Clinton, Indian American Democratic Congressional candidate from California, Ami Bera appears to have moved closer to victory.

    The independent Center for Politics at the University of Virginia moved his seat (California 7th Congressional District) from a “tossup” to a “Lean Democratic” which means that Bera has now greater chances of winning the seat by defeating the incumbent Dan Lungren of Republican Party.

    “If there is one state where Republican House chances appear to be slipping, it’s in heavily Democratic California, which is why we’ve added Representatives Dan Lungren (R, CA-7 ) and Jeff Denham (R, CA-10 ) to Representative Brian Bilbray (R, CA-52 ) in the ‘leans Democratic’ column, meaning we believe all three incumbents are underdogs in their battles to return to Congress,” the Center for Politics said on Thursday.

    This new ranking comes as a further boost to Bera’s campaign , which early this month was endorsed by Clinton and the popular daily newspaper Sacramento Bee from California. In the third quarter ending September 30, Bera added more than $731,000 to his campaign funds, and outraising his opponent Dan Lungren by more than $223,000.

    Bera, whose parents migrated to the US from India over 50 years ago, has now successfully outraised Lungren for 12 out of the last 13 quarters and netted almost $2.7 million this cycle. Along with Bera, a record number of six Indian American candidates are in fray for the House of Representatives, the upper house of the US legislature.