Fight back anti-India hatred by joining public life: US lawmakers

Washington: US lawmakers Shri Thanedar and Raja Krishnamoorthi vowed to fight-back anti-India hatred in the US and urged members of the diaspora to get involved in civic life by running for public office.

Addressing the 250 anniversary celebrations of US Independence organised by the Indian American Committee, Thanedar, a Democrat, said some people often forget that the US is a country of immigrants.

"The hate that we have seen across America against immigrants must not be tolerated. We must... we must demand that the immigrants and their culture and their contribution to this great country be honoured and respected every day," Thanedar, the Congressman from Michigan, said at the event on Saturday evening.


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"The only way we can change is when many of us come into public service, serve our country with the vigour and the knowledge that we can do. We need to see more Indian Americans in our political arena serving at various levels - local levels, state levels, and national levels," Thanedar said.

Krishnamoorthy, the Congressman from Illinois, also spoke about the anti-India hatred in some parts of the US and vowed to fight back.

"We are here to stay. We are part of the fabric of this country. And on America's 250th birthday, we are going to fight back," Krishnamoorthi said, recalling an incident where he faced calls for his deportation to India.

"We're going to fight back against anti-Indian hatred. We're gonna fight back against anti-Hindu hatred. We're gonna fight back against all forms of prejudice, bigotry, and discrimination toward anybody," said Krishnamoorthy, who lost the Democratic primary for the US Senate from Illinois in March this year.

He said that the Indian-American community has been an integral part of the US.

Krishnamoorthy said Indian-Americans are the best educated, the most prosperous community in the US and constitute 10 per cent of all the doctors in the country and own 60 per cent of all hotels and motels in the US.

He urged Indian-Americans to run for public office in the US at the local level, city council, state House and senate and the US Congress and Senate.

"I don't care if you're a Republican, I don't care if you're independent, I don't care if you're a Democrat. It's time to run. Why? Because the stakes could not be higher. Because we are being tested," Krishnamoorthy said.

The 250th anniversary celebration was organised by the Indian American Committee led by Narasimha Koppula, Ramesh Kapur, Deepak Raj, Shekhar Tiwari, and Harsh Sethi. The US celebrated the 250th anniversary of the declaration of Independence on July 4.