The Indian Panorama

Tag: VA

  • Virginia State Senate commends Indian origin journalist for his “dedication to journalism and foreign policy.”

    Virginia State Senate commends Indian origin journalist for his “dedication to journalism and foreign policy.”

    RICHMOND, VA (TIP): On March 8, 2024, the Virginia State Senate approved a formal resolution with a voice vote commending Washington Bureau Chief of News India Times, T. Vishnudatta Jayaraman, for his “dedication to journalism and foreign policy.” The resolution was introduced by Indian-American Virginia State Senator, Suhas Subramanyam, who is also a Democratic candidate for US Congress from Virginia’s 10th Congressional district. Introducing Jayaraman in the Senate gallery, on March 4th, Senator Subramanyam referred to him “as the recipient of the prestigious Ashoka Award for social change,” while commending his dedication to journalism and foreign policy.

    He further said, on January 27th, Jayaraman “received a Distinguished Service Award ‘for advancing media coverage for the Indian diaspora and fostering US-India relations’ from the Indian Ambassador to United States Taranjit Sandhu and of course, you Madam President,” referring to Lieutenant Governor of Virginia and President of the Senate, Winsome Sears.

    The National Council of Asian Indian Associations hosted the event to commemorate India’s 75th Republic Day Celebrations on January 27th in McLean, Virginia.

    Accepting a request from Senator Subramanyam “to give him [Jayaraman] a warm Senate welcome and recognition of all that he’s accomplished in the field,” Lieutenant Governor Sears expressed, “Part of a democracy and I think probably the very first part is that the media be free. And we are so glad that you are there to help remind us of that. Hence, all the accolades that you’ve received, we can congratulate you. And thank you for coming. Senators, let us give him the warm welcome of our Senate.”

    On February 28th, Kannan Srinivasan, the first Indian-American immigrant elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, also presented a commendation to Jayaraman on the House Floor for having received the Distinguished Service Award.

    The Ashoka Award was presented to Jayaraman by the former Governor of Arunachal Pradesh and 22nd Chief of Army Staff of Indian Army, General J. J. Singh, and former India’s Minister of Home Affairs and Tourism, Subodh Kant Sahay in New Delhi on December 17, 2023. The event was organized by The Charles Walters Council/Society for Innovation & Research, India. Born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Jayaraman, also known as J. T. Vishnu, previously worked with Hindustan Times, The Tribune, and The Sunday Observer in New Delhi. He also worked at the Department of Public Information at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, and contributed to publications including UN Yearbook and UN Chronicle.

    Jayaraman has an undergraduate degree from Loyola College, Chennai. He has a Master’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, and a PhD in International Administration and the United Nations from the University of Madras. He also has a Master’s degree in Diplomacy and International Relations from Seton Hall University, New Jersey.

  • Indian American Virginia couple convicted of forced labor of relative 

    Indian American Virginia couple convicted of forced labor of relative 

    NORTH CHESTERFIELD, VA (TIP) : An Indian American couple has been convicted of forcing an immigrant relative to provide labor and services at their store, and gas station including working as the cashier, preparing food, cleaning and managing store records.
    Harmanpreet Singh, 30, and Kulbir Kaur, 43, were convicted by a federal jury last Friday in connection with their operation of a gas station and convenience store in North Chesterfield, Virginia, according to a press release from the US Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia.
    A sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 8. Singh and Kaur face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, up to five years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000, and mandatory restitution for the forced labor charge.
    The evidence presented at trial demonstrated that, between March 2018 and May 2021, the couple forced Singh’s cousin to provide labor and services at Singh’s store, including working as the cashier, preparing food, cleaning, and managing store records.
    Singh and Kaur used various coercive means, including confiscating the victim’s immigration documents and subjecting the victim to physical abuse, threats of force and other serious harm and, at times, degrading living conditions, to compel him to work extensive hours for minimal pay.
    In 2018, the defendants enticed the victim, then a minor, to travel to the United States with false promises of helping enroll him in school, the release stated.
    After arriving in the United States, the defendants took his immigration documents and immediately put him to work. They also left the victim at the store to sleep in a back office for days at a time on multiple occasions.
    They limited his access to food, refused to provide medical care or education, used surveillance equipment to monitor the victim both at the store and in their home, refused his requests to return to India, and made him overstay his visa.
    The evidence further showed that Singh pulled the victim’s hair, slapped and kicked him when he requested his immigration documents back and tried to leave, and on three different occasions threatened the victim with a revolver for trying to take a day off and for trying to leave.
    “These defendants engaged in an egregious bait-and-switch, luring the victim with false promises of an education in the United States and instead subjecting him to grueling hours, degrading living conditions, and a litany of mental and physical abuse,” said US.
    Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia.
    “The defendants exploited the victim’s trust and his desire to attend school in the United States, and then inflicted physical and mental abuse against him, all so they could keep him working for their profit,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
    “Human trafficking is a disgraceful and unacceptable crime, and this verdict should send the very clear message that the Justice Department will investigate and vigorously prosecute these cases to hold human traffickers accountable and bring justice to their victims.”

  • Indian American technocrat Suhas Subramanyam vows to keep defending reproductive rights

    Indian American technocrat Suhas Subramanyam vows to keep defending reproductive rights

    ASHBURN, VA (TIP) : Suhas Subramanyam, an Indian American technocrat, has vowed to continue defending reproductive rights despite Loudoun County Republican party’s calls to ban him from houses of worship in Northern Virginia over his pro-choice record.
    “Millions of Virginians of every political and religious background support a woman’s right to choose, and I’m proud to have championed reproductive rights for years in the General Assembly,” said the son of Indian Americans who is running for the US Congress in Virginia’s 10th District.
    “To suggest that I or any other pro-choice Virginian should be banned from practicing our faith is outrageous and contrary to the values of our commonwealth and our country,” he stated in response to Loudon Republican party committee’s call.
    “I will continue to proudly practice my faith and celebrate the diverse religious traditions in Virginia’s 10th District, and I will not back down from my commitment to defending every woman’s reproductive right from the right-wing extremists who are relentlessly pursuing a nationwide abortion ban.”
    The Loudoun County Republican Committee called for Subramanyam – the first Indian American, South Asian, and Hindu ever elected to the General Assembly – to be “denied access” to houses of worship in a statement posted on Facebook.
    The statement was in response to Subramanyam’s call for mifepristone —  a drug that blocks a hormone called progesterone that is needed for a pregnancy to continue —  access to be protected as right-wing MAGA activists once again take their push to ban abortion nationwide to the Supreme Court.
    Subramanyam, who served as a technology policy advisor to President Barack Obama, says his family’s story in America began in Virginia’s 10th District when his mother immigrated to the United States through Dulles Airport in 1979.
    His mother, a native of Bengaluru, India, immigrated to the United States to unite with his father, live her American dream, and pursue a career in medicine.
    Subramanyam’s parents raised him to value service to the community above all else. Whether as a Capitol Hill aide, advisor to the Obama White House, an elected official in Richmond, or as a volunteer EMT, he has taken that lesson to heart throughout his life, Subramanyam says.
    “Every step of the way, he has taken on the toughest fights to deliver real results for our community,” he stated.
    After leaving the White House, Subramanyam started his own small business in Loudoun County and served the community as a volunteer medic, EMT, and firefighter.
    Subramanyam resides in Ashburn, Virginia, with his wife, Miranda, and their two daughters.

  • Punjab-origin doctor from Faridkot gets key administrative post in US

    Punjab-origin doctor from Faridkot gets key administrative post in US

    RICHMOND, VA (TIP): Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has appointed Indian-American gastroenterologist Dr Bimaljit Singh Sandhu to a key administration position in the health sector.

    Dr Sandhu on Tuesday, July 18, was sworn in as a Board member of the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System Authority, a position in which the Indian-American will play a key role in the state’s health education system. The role of the board of directors is to oversee the entire operations of the health system, the med school, nursing school and pharmacy school.

    “It’s a lot of responsibility. We provide direction as far as the fundraising, giving strategic direction to the different medical schools and hospitals so that we are at the cutting edge and provide the best care to the Virginians,” Dr Sandhu said after the swearing-in ceremony in Richmond.

    Hailing from Faridkot in Punjab, Dr Sandhu migrated to the US in 2004 as a faculty member of Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Centre as a gastroenterologist.
    (Source: PTI)

  • Two Indian American candidates win Democratic primaries in Virginia

    Two Indian American candidates win Democratic primaries in Virginia

    LOUDON, VA (TIP): Two Indian American candidates Suhas Subramanyam and Kannan Srinivasan have won the Democratic primaries for the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates, respectively.
    Subramanyam, of Ashburn, a two-term delegate who currently represents the 87th House district, defeated former state delegate and dentist Ibraheem Samirah by a narrow margin in the June 20 primaries, according to preliminary results from the Virginia Department of Elections.
    “Thank you to every single volunteer, team member, and voter for the victory. We truly could not have done this work, or delivered this win, without each and every one of you,” Subramanyam tweeted.
    If elected, he will succeed state Senator John Bell, who has announced his retirement from the Senate.
    A resident of Loudoun County, Subramanyam became the first Indian American and South Asian to be ever elected to the Virginia General Assembly in 2019.
    A technology and regulatory attorney, Subramanyam served as a White House advisor to former President Barack Obama in 2015, where he led a task force on technology policy that addressed job creation, IT modernization, and regulating emerging technology.
    Prior to that, he earned his law degree with honors from Northwestern University School of Law, volunteering at the Center for Wrongful Convictions, where he was part of the legal team that freed a man who had spent 21 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. For his professional accomplishments and work in the community, he was named to the Loudoun Times-Mirror’s ‘40 Under 40.’ Meanwhile, Srinivasan of Potomac Falls, defeated fellow Indian American Sirisha Kompalli to grab the 26th District of the Virginia House of Delegates, which includes several Loudoun communities, including Brambleton, Stone Ridge and South Riding.
    The newly configured district lies west and south of Dulles Airport and stretches from the Dulles Greenway to the southeastern corner of Loudoun County.
    “Thank you to our amazing team and volunteers and everyone who gave your time and talents. Your work made this possible. And thank you to the voters of District 26 for putting your faith in me. It’s an honor to be your Democratic nominee,” Srinivasan tweeted after his victory.
    A Loudoun resident for almost 25 years, Srinivasan immigrated from India in 1993. He serves as vice chair of the Virginia State Medicaid Board, and on the Loudoun Economic Development Advisory Commission.
    “My experience in both the public and private sectors will serve the residents of Loudoun and Virginians across the Commonwealth well. I will fight for our public schools, stand up for gun safety, and protect abortion rights,” he had stated while announcing his run.
    He most recently worked as a director of finance at device warranty and insurance company Asurion and vice president for finance at celebrity chef José Andrés’s restaurant business, the José Andrés Group, according to Loudoun Now.
    Srinivasan said his values come from experience, including being hit by a truck as a young man and being denied Medicaid.
    In 2019, Srinivasan ran unsuccessfully against Republican Loudoun County Treasurer Roger Zurn.