Wednesday, December 17, 2025
ADVT 
International

Indian-Americans Get 1% Representation In US Congress: Forbes

Darpan News Desk IANS, 17 Jan, 2017 12:48 PM
    Indian Americans, who comprise around one per cent of the US population, now for the first-time ever also make up one per cent of the US Congress.
     
    The community is experiencing unprecedented political success with all of its five elected members being nominated to key Congressional panels, reported Forbes.
     
    During last year's elections, four Indian Americans - Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Kamala Harris - were elected to the US Congress, while a fifth, Representative Ami Bera, won re-election to a third term. 
     
     
    This represents the largest number of Indian Americans to ever serve in Congressional history, said the report on Monday. 
     
    M.R. Rangaswami, the founder of San Francisco-based non-profit Indiaspora, told Forbes, "This doesn't count the scores of Indian Americans senior staffers serving on Capitol Hill working for dozens of members on both sides of the aisle."
     
    Judge Dilip Singh Saund became the first Asian American to be elected to Congress in 1956. Nearly four decades later, Bobby Jindal was elected to the House of Representatives from Louisiana before launching a successful gubernatorial bid in the state.
     
    Beyond the legislative branch, Donald Trump's election to the White House is also proving a boon to some members of the community, according to the report.
     
     
    South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has been tapped to become the first-ever Indian American US Ambassador to the United Nations while Indiana native Seema Verma has been nominated by the President-elect to run the Centre for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 
     
    Several other Indian Americans are poised to receive presidential appointments in the new administration as well. The recent slate of elections and appointments is a part of a relatively new, larger trend: the growing success of Indian Americans in the public service arena, reported Forbes. 
     
    Since American immigration laws were liberalised in 1965, Indians travelled to the US in record numbers and the Indian American community has become the wealthiest, most educated diaspora in the country. 
     
    The Forbes report said that before outgoing President Barack Obama took office for the first time, not a single Indian American had ever served as an American ambassador. Now there are two, Atul Keshap in Sri Lanka, and Rich Verma in India, who have earned consistent praise for their diplomatic work.
     
     
    Nisha Desai Biswal serves as Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs while her deputy, Manpreet Anand, is also Indian American. 
     
    Many other qualified Indian Americans have also served in varying levels across the Executive Branch.
     
    The Indian American community has also made its mark on the judiciary, said the report. 
     
    In addition to numerous local and state judges like Sanjay Tailor in Chicago's Cook County, several Indian Americans are serving as so-called "Article III" judges, judges who are nominated by the President and confirmed by the US Senate. 
     
    In 2013, Sri Srinivasan became the first Indian American appellate court judge after being unanimously confirmed by the Senate to the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals. 
     
     
    Kentucky District Court Judge Amul Tharpar's name has been floated as a possible contender for the vacancy under Donald Trump.
     
    "As Indian Americans have continued to succeed and prosper in the United States, their sense of commitment to the United States, desire to give back, and simultaneously strengthen and be a part of the fabric of the country has also grown as well," Sanjeev Joshipura, director at Indiaspora, told Forbes.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Family Of Montreal Woman Killed By Dog Suing Canine's Owner

    Family Of Montreal Woman Killed By Dog Suing Canine's Owner
    MONTREAL — The family of a woman who died after being attacked by a dog says it plans to sue the canine's owner.

    Family Of Montreal Woman Killed By Dog Suing Canine's Owner

    'AAP Won't Be Allowed To Win In Punjab - At Any Cost'

    'AAP Won't Be Allowed To Win In Punjab - At Any Cost'
    A Punjab win will add to the AAP's stature as a growing party, one capable of expanding its wings against great odds, evident by the way it has been boxed in by the central government in Delhi.

    'AAP Won't Be Allowed To Win In Punjab - At Any Cost'

    In Historic Breakthrough, 5 Indian-Americans Sworn-in As Members Of Congress

    In Historic Breakthrough, 5 Indian-Americans Sworn-in As Members Of Congress
    Sealing a historic breakthrough for Indian-Americans, five were sworn-in on Tuesday as members of the US Congress -- one of them, Kamala Harris, becoming the first to become a Senator.

    In Historic Breakthrough, 5 Indian-Americans Sworn-in As Members Of Congress

    Washington D.C. Restaurant Mama Ayesha's Yet To Add Trump To Its Presidential Mural

    Washington D.C. Restaurant Mama Ayesha's Yet To Add Trump To Its Presidential Mural
    Mama Ayesha's, a popular restaurant in Washington D.C. known for its Presidential Mural featuring every US President from Eisenhower to Obama, will not add President-elect Donald Trump to the mural until the restaurant can afford to make the update.

    Washington D.C. Restaurant Mama Ayesha's Yet To Add Trump To Its Presidential Mural

    Suspect In Istanbul Club Attack Who Killed 39 Still At Large

    Suspect In Istanbul Club Attack Who Killed 39 Still At Large
    A manhunt stretched on in Turkey Sunday for an assailant who unleashed a salvo of bullets in front of and inside a crowded Istanbul nightclub during New Year's celebrations, killing at least 39 people before fleeing.

    Suspect In Istanbul Club Attack Who Killed 39 Still At Large

    Muslim Taxi Driver Beaten By Drunk Woman, Accomplice In UK

    Muslim Taxi Driver Beaten By Drunk Woman, Accomplice In UK
    A Muslim taxi driver in the UK was thrashed and punched by a drunk woman and her accomplice with a passerby filming the "horrific incident" and uploading it on social media, media reports said.

    Muslim Taxi Driver Beaten By Drunk Woman, Accomplice In UK