‘We are here to stay’: US Congressmen push Indian-Americans to enter politics | World News
US Congressmen Shri Thanedar and Raja Krishnamoorthi. (Photo: X/@ShriThanedar/@CongressmanRaja)
US Congressmen Shri Thanedar and Raja Krishnamoorthi have called on Indian-Americans to step into public office and take a stronger role in civic life, speaking at a Washington event marking 250 years of US independence.
Both lawmakers said the Indian-American community deserves stronger representation in government and urged the diaspora to contest elections at every level.
What did Thanedar say?
Thanedar, a Democrat from Michigan, told the gathering that the US is a nation built immigrants, and that hatred toward immigrant communities cannot be allowed to continue. He said immigrants and their contributions to the country deserve to be honoured and respected.
He added that change would only come when more people step into public service, saying the country needs more Indian-Americans serving at the local, state and national levels.
What did Krishnamoorthi say?
Krishnamoorthi, the Congressman from Illinois, spoke about facing calls for his own deportation in the past, and said the community was not going anywhere, according to India Today. “We are here to stay. We are part of the fabric of this country,” he said.Story continues below this ad
He added that Indian-Americans would push back against anti-India and anti-Hindu hostility, along with all forms of bigotry and discrimination. Krishnamoorthi pointed to the community’s standing in the country, noting Indian-Americans make up a large share of US doctors and own a majority of the country’s hotels and motels, and urged people across party lines to consider running for office, saying the stakes are too high to sit out.
Why does this push for representation matter?
The Washington event builds on a broader conversation about Indian-American political representation that has been building for years. In a 2024 interview with ABC News, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, along with Krishnamoorthi and Thanedar, discussed the slow pace of Indian-American representation in Congress despite the community’s rapid growth from around 12,000 Indian immigrants in the US in 1960 to roughly 5 million today, with Indian-Americans now the largest Asian-alone group in the country, according to census data cited ABC News.
Despite this growth, only five of the 535 members of Congress were Indian-American at the time. Jayapal told ABC News that stronger representation could change how people see their own opportunities and encourage greater participation in democracy, saying, “we’ve got a real opportunity to increase our numbers for Indian-Americans.”
The event was organised the Indian American Committee, led Narasimha Koppula, Ramesh Kapur, Deepak Raj, Shekhar Tiwari and Harsh Sethi.Story continues below this ad
It was held to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, with speakers using the occasion to call for greater political participation and a united response to hatred and discrimination.
