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Modi also offered prayers to Ram Lalla at Ram Janmbhoomi in Ayodhya. This is Modi’s first visit to Ayodhya after a “bhoomi pujan” for the construction of a Ram temple on August 5, 2020.
Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya set a new Guinness World Record for lighting the maximum number of earthen lamps – over 15 lakh- on the banks of the Saryu as Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the historic Deepotsav celebrations on Sunday, on the eve of the festival of Diwali.
Modi and chief minister Adityanath displayed the Guinness Record certificate on the occasion.
Beginning his speech with ‘Jai Shri Ram’, Modi addressed a gathering on the occasion of Deepotsav. “From the holy birthplace of Lord Ram, I pass on Diwali wishes to my countrymen,” Modi said.
Modi also said people have to learn as much as they can from Lord Ram. “Lord Ram doesn’t leave anyone behind, doesn’t turn away from anyone,” Modi said.
Earlier, Modi offered prayers to Ram Lalla at Ram Janmbhoomi in Ayodhya. This is Modi’s first visit to Ayodhya after a “bhoomi pujan” for the construction of a Ram temple on August 5, 2020.
“I got the opportunity of Lord Ram’s darshan due to his blessings; happy that people across the world watching Deepotsav celebrations in Ayodhya,” Modi said.
Immediately after reaching Ayodhya for the Deepotsav celebrations, the PM went to the makeshift Ram temple and offered prayers to Ram Lalla. He lit an earthen lamp there and performed an “aarti”. Temple chief priest Acharya Satyendra Das applied vermillion on his forehead.
Modi was also briefed by officials on the construction going on for a grand Ram temple at the site. Modi also performed the Rajyabhishek of the symbolic Bhagwan Ram in Ayodhya.
“Shri Ram Lalla’s ‘Darshan’ and then ‘Rajyabhishek’ of King Ram, this good fortune is obtained only by the grace of Lord Ram. This Deepawali has come at a time when we have completed 75 years of independence. ‘Sankalp Shakti’ of Lord Ram will take India to new heights,” the PM added.
Earlier, Modi was welcomed by governor Anandiben Patel and chief minister Yogi Adityanath. He attended the Deepotsav celebrations.
Ayodhya divisional commissioner Navdeep Rinwa had earlier said more than 15 lakh earthen lamps will be lit as part of the Deepotsav celebrations by over 22,000 volunteers at Ram ki Paidi near the Saryu bank. The rest will be placed at important intersections and spots in the town.
Five animated tableaux and 11 Ramlila tableaux showcasing dance forms from different states will also be presented during the Deepotsav.
“Deepotsav of Ayodhya started 6 years ago with the guidance and inspiration of PM Narendra Modi. This festival of UP became a festival of the country. Today, it is touching new heights of success,” Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on the occasion.
India has increased its impact of humanitarian assistance globally by providing aid to countries that need it, said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “From India’s donations of medicines, medical equipment and vaccines at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, to humanitarian assistance and development finance to Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, India has been increasing its impact on the international stage. India is today a partner of choice of the UN,’’ said Guterres while addressing students while giving an address in Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mumbai.
complimented India for stepping up its efforts to supply vaccines to many countries during the peak of Covid 19. Meanwhile, Guterres complimented India as being the biggest contributor in UN Peacekeeping.
“India is also the biggest provider of military and police personnel to UN missions, including the first all-women UN police contingent to a peacekeeping mission. Over 200,000 Indian men and women have served in 49 peacekeeping missions since 1948, a remarkable contribution to peace in the world,’’ he added.
He also said that as a member of the UNSC for two years, India’s contributed significantly to promoting multilateral solutions and addressing crises. “India was a founding member of the United Nations. The drafters of the UN Charter took great inspiration from Gandhiji’s message of peace, non-violence, and tolerance,’’ he added.
Earlier, UN Chief paid tributes to the victims of the 26/11 terror attacks at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai. “Terror is absolute evil. There are no reasons, no pretext, no causes, and no grievances that can justify terrorism. terrorism is absolute evil. It has no room in today’s world,” Guterres added.
“I feel deeply moved to be here where barbaric terrorist acts took place where that led to the loss of 166 lives. I want to pay tribute to the victims they are heroes of all world and I want to express my deepest condolences to their families, to their friends, to the people of India, and to all those that are coming from other parts of the world that have lost their lives in Mumbai,” he said. He also said that “fighting terrorism must be a global priority for every country on earth and fighting terrorism is a central priority for the UN”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday launched Mission LiFE, a global plan of action aimed at saving the planet from the disastrous consequences of climate change.
The launch comes ahead of next month’s mega UN climate meet in Egypt.
The action plan – a list of ideas on lifestyle changes that can be taken up as climate-friendly behaviour – along with the logo and tagline for Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) were jointly launched by Modi and Guterres.
Modi said Mission LiFE will strengthen the concept of a pro-people planet, adding it aims at following a three-pronged strategy for changing people’s collective approach towards sustainability.
This includes nudging individuals to practice simple yet effective environment-friendly actions in their daily lives (demand), enabling industries and markets to respond swiftly to the changing demand (supply), and to influence government and industrial policy to support both sustainable consumption and production (policy).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday Inaugurated the the newly-christened Kartavya Path — a stretch from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate, and unveiled a 28-ft-tall statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate. The PM also took a walk around the Kartavya Path.
According to the government, it symbolises a shift from erstwhile Rajpath being an icon of power to Kartavya Path being an example of public ownership and empowerment.
These steps are in line with the prime minister’s second ‘Panch Pran’ for New India in Amrit Kaal: ‘remove any trace of colonial mindset’, it said
The statue is part of the Centre’s ₹13,450-crore Central Vista project, which will have a new Parliament building, new office and residences for the Prime Minister and Vice-President and new ministry buildings. The North and South Blocks, the secretariat buildings flanking Rashtrapati Bhavan, will be converted into museums.
The black granite statue has been carved from a monolithic block of granite weighing 280 metric tonne. The block of granite picked for the statue was transported to Delhi from Telangana and the statue was carved out of it in over two months.
The traffic police made arrangements to ensure smooth vehicular movement in central Delhi where restrictions were imposed for the event. General traffic movement has been diverted from specific roads from 6 pm to 9 pm, officials said.
Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Limited has executed the redevelopment of the entire stretch from Vijay Chowk to India Gate. The project was tendered at ₹477 crore.
The CPWD has set up five vending zones where 40 vendors each will be allowed and two blocks near the India Gate with eight shops each. Some states have shown their interest to set up their food stalls.
The entire stretch has been revamped under the Modi government’s ambitious Central Vista redevelopment project.
In a statement, the prime minister’s office said over the years, Rajpath and adjoining areas of the Central Vista Avenue had been witnessing pressure of increasing traffic of visitors, putting stress on its infrastructure.
It lacked basic amenities like public toilets, drinking water, street furniture and adequate parking space. Further, there was inadequate signage, poor maintenance of water features and haphazard parking.
Also, a need was felt to organise the Republic Day parade and other national events in a less disruptive manner with minimal restrictions on public movement.
“The redevelopment has been done bearing these concerns in mind while also ensuring the integrity and continuity of architectural character,” the statement said.
The 42-year-old barrister was among the first contenders to throw her hat in the ring to replace Boris Johnson.
Suella Braverman, nee Fernandes, the Conservative Party member of Parliament for Fareham in south-east England, on Tuesday appointed as the UK’s new Home Secretary, succeeding fellow Indian-origin colleague Priti Patel.
The 42-year-old barrister, who until now served as the Attorney General in the Boris Johnson led government, was among the first contenders to throw her hat in the ring to replace Johnson as Tory leader and Prime Minister.
Braverman was named as the Home Secretary by newly-appointed Prime Minister Liz Truss.
“I want to embed the opportunities of Brexit and tidy up the outstanding issues and cut taxes, said Braverman, a prominent member of the pro-Brexit wing of the Conservatives who wants a clear break from Europe, including taking the UK out of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
She referenced her personal migrant story as the London-born daughter of Hindu Tamil mother Uma and Goan-origin father Christie Fernandes, who migrated to the UK from Mauritius and Kenya respectively in the 1960s.
They loved Britain. It gave them hope. It gave them security. This country gave them opportunity. I think my background’s really informed by approach to politics, said Braverman in her leadership campaign launch video in July.
However, she was knocked out in the second round of the initial ballot of Tory MPs and threw her support behind Truss, who as Prime Minister has rewarded her with one of the highest offices in the UK government.
Suella Braverman, nee Fernandes, the Conservative Party member of Parliament for Fareham in south-east England, on Tuesday appointed as the UK’s new Home Secretary, succeeding fellow Indian-origin colleague Priti Patel.
The 42-year-old barrister, who until now served as the Attorney General in the Boris Johnson led government, was among the first contenders to throw her hat in the ring to replace Johnson as Tory leader and Prime Minister.
Braverman was named as the Home Secretary by newly-appointed Prime Minister Liz Truss.
“I want to embed the opportunities of Brexit and tidy up the outstanding issues and cut taxes, said Braverman, a prominent member of the pro-Brexit wing of the Conservatives who wants a clear break from Europe, including taking the UK out of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
She referenced her personal migrant story as the London-born daughter of Hindu Tamil mother Uma and Goan-origin father Christie Fernandes, who migrated to the UK from Mauritius and Kenya respectively in the 1960s.
They loved Britain. It gave them hope. It gave them security. This country gave them opportunity. I think my background’s really informed by approach to politics, said Braverman in her leadership campaign launch video in July.
However, she was knocked out in the second round of the initial ballot of Tory MPs and threw her support behind Truss, who as Prime Minister has rewarded her with one of the highest offices in the UK government.
Liz is ready now to be PM. She won’t need to learn on the job. And the job is hard and needs to be done properly. The party has had a difficult six years and stability is urgently and swiftly needed, Braverman said of her future boss at Downing Street.
The Cambridge University law graduate married Rael Braverman in 2018 and her maternity leave famously brought about an overdue legal change last year to allow her to remain a Cabinet minister while away to give birth to their second child.
Braverman is a Buddhist who attends the London Buddhist Centre regularly and took her oath of office in Parliament on the Dhammapada’ scripture of Lord Buddha’s sayings.
There’s nothing surprising about Indians in positions of prominence in global politics. It was always going to happen.
The flap of a seagull’s wings can alter the course of weather forever. And that a UK PM candidate of Indian origin would one day worship a Hereford or Holstein bovine in London to gain political mileage, however hysterical, was going to happen from the moment the first lascars were herded onto British steamships docked in Indian ports way back in the 18th century.
That two centuries later, there would be a Priyanca Radhakrishnan of Kerala connect as minister in Jacinda Arden’s cabinet in New Zealand; that a Pravind Jugnauth with roots in Ballia/UP would be Prime Minister of Mauritius; and that Vivian Balakrishnan and K. Shanmugam would be ministers in Singapore’s Lee Hsien Loong government is anything but chance.
Everything was leading up to each of these milestones, for years now. Like when in the early 19th century, waves of Indian indentured labourers sailed out from famine-ravaged geographies to Mauritius, Reunion, Guyana, Trinidad, Jamaica, Surinam, Fiji, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa… Slavery had been abolished in the British and European colonies and these not-slaves were to fill the need gap. Still later that century, south Indians migrated to Southeast Asia — Ceylon, Burma, Malaya.
What a great centrifugal force imperialism was! How the subcontinent churned and what a great scattering resulted!
Many of the abandoned lascars stayed on in London, Liverpool, Cardiff and Glasgow. Rishi Sunak may not have any friends from the working class, but in Kenya, where his family settled down after they left Punjab, Indians worked hard to build the Kenya-Uganda railway line. A good many of them died during this time, mostly of heat and disease, while nearly a hundred wound up in the stomachs of man-eating lions. Of those who stayed on and their progeny, most upped and left for the UK in the 1960s after Kenya became a Republic.
The great-grandparents of the current President of Guyana, Mohamed Irfaan Ali, had left India for the sugar plantations of British Guiana, a British colony in South America. The paternal grandfather of Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa is from Goa. Then there is President Prithvirajsing Roopun of Mauritius — you might have seen photographs of him offering puja at the Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya — and President of the Republic of Suriname Chandrikapersad Santoshi, who is in news right now because of Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla’s visit to Paramaribo last week.
Early 20th century saw the “other kind of migration”. Traders, students and single men moved from India to Canada, Australia and South Africa. And you could say that history started to leaven time for Kamala Harris and the Samosa Caucus way back in the 1900s, when the first Punjabis arrived in California and the Pacific Northwest.
In “Colour and Citizenship”, a report on British race relations from 1969, Joseph Rose quotes a Sikh immigrant in London as saying: “We had started feeling British but then there were so few Indians but now there are so many of us, that we have started feeling Indian again.” Today, with 32 million people of Indian origin all over the world, it should be a matter of little surprise that not just Sunak-in-waiting, but worldwide there are five Indian origin heads of government, three deputy heads of government, 56 cabinet ministers, and four additional ministers, according to the 2021 Indiaspora Government Leaders’ List.
After Dalip Singh Saund graduated from Panjab University, he left for the US to study food canning. That was 1920. His plan was to return and set up business, but that never happened. Saund lobbied for Congress to pass a bill that would allow Indian immigrants to become naturalised citizens. In 1949, he became an American citizen and in 1957, he became the “first Asian, first Indian American, first Sikh and first follower of a non-Abrahamic faith” to be elected to the Congress.
Around when Saund was setting foot in the Congress building in Washington D.C., in British Guiana, Cheddi Jagan of the People’s Progressive Party was already a big name. In 1953, he had won elections to become chief minister and though Winston Churchill with ample help from John F. Kennedy branded him a Communist and tripped his government, his political run continued. In a speech in the US, he said: “I am, I believe, generally dismissed in this country as a Communist. That word has a variety of meanings according to the personal views of the man who makes the charge… I wish to see my country prosperous and developing, its people happy, wellfed, well-housed, and with jobs to do… in this I am a socialist.” Jagan became the president of independent Guyana in 1992.
Around the early 1900s, the Indians in Kenya, who had been there for some years, started to demand elective representation. The European settlers opposed this. These circumstances saw many Indians take to politics. A.M. Jeevanjee, a Muslim businessman along with some others went on to form the East African Indian National Congress in 1914. Other Indians in Kenyan politics from the time were Manilal Desai, Pio Gama Pinto founded the political party called Kenya African National Union in 1960, and there was Fitz de Souza who campaigned for the independence of Kenya.
In 1994, when Nelson Mandela formed the government in South Africa, there were seven cabinet ministers of Indian origin. And in Canada, long before Harjit Singh Sajjan became minister in the Justin Trudeau government, there was Herb Dhaliwal (Harbance), the first Indian Canadian to become a federal minister in 1997. Ujjal Dev Dosanj became the 33rd premier of British Columbia in 2000.
As times changed and context, their core politics and -isms changed. Not all of it was determined by their brownness.
Basdeo Bissoondoyal had been involved with the Arya Samaj and inspired by Gandhi. He launched the Jan Andolan Movement to educate the Indo-Fijians. After the 1982 polls, when he was offered the post of the first president of the Republic of Mauritius, he refused. Anerood Jugnauth, however, was prime minister for four consecutive terms and President from 2003 to 2012. When he did step down, it was to hand over the reins to his son.
Mahendra Chaudhry was the fourth PM of Fiji. When he was overthrown in a coup, Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala asked the Indian government to intervene. Chaudhry’s grandfather had been from Rohtak after all. Chaudhry never got the support of ethnic Fijians, and neither Dhaliwal nor Dosanjh supported the cause of the indigenous people of Canada.
So there is brown and there is brown. And, brown for many of these politicians today is just a shade to powder over their actual convictions come election time. Remember Kamala Harris on the Mindy Kaling show bonding over masala dosa just before the US presidential elections? Sunak’s temple visits are of the same genre.
On September 5, the ruling Conservative party of Britain will have a new leader; the name of the next incumbent of 10 Downing Street is unlikely to be Rishi Sunak. But no matter what the outcome, history is flapping its wings and nothing will be quite as before.
source/content: telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph Online/ Home> Culture / by Upala Sen / September 04th, 2022
PM Modi said there were 54 rivers that pass through the Indo-Bangladesh border, and have been linked to the livelihood of the people of the two countries for centuries
India and Bangladesh on September 6 signed an interim water sharing agreement for Kushiyara river, the first such pact since the signing of the Ganga water treaty in 1996.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina noted that India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers and sought early conclusion of the Teesta water sharing agreement, which has been hanging fire for more than a decade due to opposition from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
India and Bangladesh signed a memorandum of understanding on sharing of waters of Kushiyara river, a pact that will benefit people residing in southern Assam and the Sylhet division of Bangladesh.
“Today, we have signed an important agreement on sharing water of the Kushiyara river. This will benefit southern Assam in India and Sylhet region in Bangladesh,” Mr. Modi told reporters after the talks with Ms. Hasina.
He said there were 54 rivers that pass through the Indo-Bangladesh border, and have been linked to the livelihood of the people of the two countries for centuries.
“These rivers, folk tales about them, folk songs, have also been witness to our shared cultural heritage,” Mr. Modi said.
Ms. Hasina shared the sentiments expressed by Mr. Modi and also stressed the need to have water-sharing agreements for other rivers as well.
“I recall that the two countries have resolved many issues in the spirit of friendship and cooperation. We hope that all outstanding issues, including Teesta water sharing agreement, will be concluded as an early date,” Ms. Hasina said at a joint media interaction at the Hyderabad House.
“There are 54 rivers. As long as Prime Minister Modi is here, India and Bangladesh will resolve all these issues,” she said.
Mr. Modi also said he and Ms. Hasina had a fruitful conversation on enhancing cooperation in relation to flood mitigation.
“India has been sharing flood-related data with Bangladesh on a real-time basis and we have also extended the period of data sharing,” Mr. Modi said.
Earlier, Ms. Hasina was accorded a ceremonial reception at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhawan where Mr. Modi extended a warm welcome to her.
She said the two nations were also working to develop stronger economic ties to fulfill the basic needs of the people of the two countries.
“Our main aim is to develop the economy and fulfill the basic needs of our people. With friendship you can solve any problem. So we always do that,” Ms. Hasina said.
After the bilateral talks, Mr. Modi hosted a one-on-one lunch for the visiting dignitary at the Hyderabad House.
India and Bangladesh had signed the Ganga water treaty in 1996 for sharing waters of the mighty river for a period of 30 years. The treaty was signed by the then prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda and Ms. Hasina.
Meeting comes ahead of PM Modi’s visit to SCO summit with Russia, China
New Delhi will host an official-level meeting of the Quad grouping with the U.S., Japan and Australia next week, the first such “Senior Officers Meeting” (SOM) to be held since tensions with China over Taiwan have risen. The Quad SOM meeting slated for September 5-6, is one of a number of meetings to be held between India and its Indo-Pacific partners in the week, seen as part of the government’s “balancing” moves ahead of the SCO summit in Uzbekistan in mid-September. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the SCO summit along with leaders of Russia, China, Pakistan, Central Asia and Iran, the first such in-person summit since the COVID pandemic and beginning of the Ukraine war.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials will follow the Quad meeting with an India-U.S. 2+2 “inter-sessional” meeting, with U.S. Assistant Secretary of States for South and Central Asia Donald Lu leading the American delegation to discuss bilateral issues. Senior counterparts from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Deputy Secretary Justin Hayhurst, and the Director General of the Foreign Policy Bureau in Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Keiichi Ichikawa will attend the meetings on Monday and Tuesday, which will review progress in a number of Quad initiatives that were discussed during the Quad summit in Tokyo in May this year.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will also travel to Tokyo later in the week for an India-Japan “2+2” ministerial meeting. In addition, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal will travel to the U.S. for bilateral trade talks, September 5-10, as well as to attend the third Indo-Pacific Economic Forum ministerial meeting (IPEF) in Los Angeles, which is being held in person for the first time since its launch by U.S. President Joseph Biden in May. The meetings will take place amidst a particularly busy diplomatic calendar, as Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also begins her state visit to India on Monday.
“I think this is a reflection of the close coordination and collaboration that we have with our partners — you know, the Quad partners, but also bilateral partners,” said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, when asked about the flurry of meetings, during a weekly media briefing on Thursday, but declined to confirm the dates.
“Japan is one of those few countries with whom we do a 2+2. And the U.S. is obviously the other one, which is the first one we started and I think we would look forward to the 2+2 inter-sessional with the U.S. here,” he added referring to the “2+2” ministerial mechanisms that India shares with only the Quad partners, and with Russia.
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met Tanzanian Minister of Defence and National Service Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax to discuss a range of issues in New Delhi
India and Tanzania agreed on the formation of a task force to prepare a five-year ‘future road map’ for enhancing defence cooperation between both the countries and to hold the next Joint Defence Cooperation meeting in Tanzania at an early date. This was agreed at the bilateral meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the Tanzanian Minister of Defence and National Service Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax on Friday.
“A wide range of issues concerning bilateral, regional and defence industrial cooperation were discussed during the meeting. The two Ministers reviewed the existing military-to-military activities and discussed ways to enhance cooperation in all domains with a focus on defence industry cooperation,” a Ministry statement said.
Mr. Singh also invited his Tanzanian counterpart to the ‘India-Africa Defence Dialogue’ and DefExpo which is scheduled to be held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat between October 18 to 22.
Earlier in the day, Ms. Tax visited the National War Memorial and paid homage to the fallen soldiers and later, she was accorded a ceremonial guard of honour.
Dr. Tax would be visiting the Wargaming Development Centre and Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region before departing for Hyderabad for interaction with Indian defence industries, the statement added.
U.S. President Biden shattered the record of his predecessor Donald Trump, who had appointed more than 80 Indian-Americans
U.S. President Joe Biden has appointed more than 130 Indian-Americans to key positions in his administration so far, the best representation from the community that makes up around one per cent of the American population.
In doing so he has not only fulfilled his promise to the community that he had made as a presidential candidate in 2020, but also shattered the record of his predecessor Donald Trump, who had appointed more than 80 Indian-Americans and his previous boss Barack Obama, who had appointed over 60 Indian-Americans to key positions during his eight years of presidency.
More than 40 Indian-Americans has been elected at various state and federal levels including four in the U.S. House of Representatives. Not to miss the more than 20 Indian-Americans leading top U.S. companies.
While the first-ever presidential appointment was done during the time of Ronald Regan, this time Mr. Biden has appointed Indian-Americans to almost all departments and agencies of his administration.
“Indian-Americans have been imbued with the sense of seva (service) and this is reflected in their enthusiasm to pursue positions in public service instead of the private sector,” Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur, philanthropist and venture capitalist M. R. Rangaswami told PTI.
“The Biden administration has now appointed or nominated the largest group to date and needless to say we are proud of our people and their accomplishments for the United States,” Mr. Rangaswami said. Mr. Rangaswami is founder and head of Indiaspora, a U.S.-based global organization for Indian-origin leaders. Indiaspora keeps a track of Indian-origin leaders.
Mr. Biden, who has maintained a close relationship with the community since his Senator days, often jokes around about his Indian relationship. He made history in 2020 by selecting Indian-origin Kamala Harris as his running mate.
The list of Indian-Americans in the White House as compiled by Indiaspora reflects that there would be only a few meetings inside the White House or in Mr. Biden’s Oval Office that would not have an Indian-American presence.
His speech writer is Vinay Reddy, while his main advisor on COVID-19 is Dr. Ashish Jha, his advisor on climate policy is Sonia Aggarwal, special assistant on criminal justice is Chiraag Bains, Kiran Ahuja heads the Office of Personnel Management, Neera Tanden is his senior advisor, and Rahul Gupta is his drug czar.
Last week when India’s Ambassador to the U.S., Taranjit Singh Sandhu, hosted a reception at India House on the occasion of Independence Day, Indian-Americans from his administration were representing almost all major branches of the U.S. government.
Young Vedant Patel is now the Deputy Spokesperson at the Department of State, while Garima Verma is the Digital Director in the Office of the First Lady. Mr. Biden has also nominated several Indian-Americans to key ambassadorial positions.
According to the list prepared by Indiaspora, more than 40 Indian-Americans have been elected to various offices across the country. Four are in the House of Representatives — Dr. Ami Bera, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Pramila Jayapal. This includes four Mayors.
Led by Indian-Americans Sunder Pichai of Google and Satya Nadella of Microsoft, there are over two dozen Indian-Americans heading U.S. companies. Among others include Shantanu Narayen of Adobe, Vivek Lall of General Atomics, Punit Renjen of Deloitte, Raj Subramaniam of FedEx.
