Indian community eyes doubling representation in US Congress

The goal, which might look difficult, was set by the three-term Indian-American Congressman Ami Bera, who is now  the senior-most of the four Indian-Americans members in the US House of Representatives. 

“Today is a historic day,” Bera, 51, told a gathering of eminent Indian-Americans gathered from across the country to celebrate the election of a record number of Indian-Americans to the US Congress. Bera, who was elected for the first time to the US House of Representatives in 2012, said he was joined by three other Indian Americans in the House: Raja Krishnamoorthi from Illinois, Pramila Jayapal from Washington State and Ro Khanna from California.

Kamala Harris was also sworn in as the first Indian-American Senator in the Congress. Four years ago, at a community reception in his honour in Washington DC, Bera had said that he wanted to have five Indian-Americans in the Congress, including a Senator. 

“This is now a reality,” chipped in Congressman Joe Crowley, a former Co-Chair of the Congressional India Caucus, in his address to the Indiaspora gala. “What is remarkable that in one generation our community has done so much,” Bera said as he introduced the newly- elected Indian-Americans in the House to the hundreds of community members. 

“Now we need to set a goal of having 10 Congressmen and our own Indian American president,” Bera said, as his sentiment echoed in speeches throughout the night. “We have come a long way, but we have long ways to go,” said Silicon Valley-based venture capitalist and philanthropist M R Rangaswami, the brain behind the gala.