Indians on the Hill

The Washington Post just published an article on the growing influence of Indian-American groups in Washington. Using the example of the landmark US-India nuclear deal, the article points out that even politicians who use nuclear nonproliferation as a staple of their strategy came around in bipartisan form to overwhelmingly accept the deal. Why was this? Many attribute it to the powerful presence of Indian lobbyist groups on the Hill.

Sanjay Puri, Chairman and Founder of USINPAC, is interviewed on why he founded the group and the position USINPAC and other Indian-American groups will have in the future. USINPAC 2008 Web Director Varun Mehta was also quoted in the article using the example of Obama’s swift reaction to the memo his campaign sent out attacking Hillary Clinton’s ties to wealthy Indian-Americans and alleged support of outsourcing.

Throughout the article it is mentioned that many of these new Indian-American groups are trying model themselves after Jewish-American and Israeli lobbyist groups that have had success in representing a small minority of the country on the Hill. What are you thoughts? Is this the right path for Indian-Americans? Where would you like to see the community in the future? Tell us what you think of the article!

Anay Shah
Blog Editor

2008 Presidential Portal by Varun Mehta

With primary dates moving forward every week, the 2008 Presidential Primary is getting closer than ever. The upcoming election is going to be one of the most important this country has faced in recent years. With no clear front runners and more than 16 candidates, this election is being closely followed by members of every community across the US.

Day in and day out I have been speaking to members of the Indian American community across the spectrum and I can tell you they are more excited than ever! Whether it be grassroots volunteering, hosting house parties or helping to raise funds; Indian Americans are involved with almost every event of this upcoming election and the numbers are growing every day.

As Portal Director I am hoping to connect the community with all things relating to this election and provide various forms content, multimedia and technology for visitors to utilize and to make informed decisions. One of the most important and exciting elements of this portal is this blog which will truly push and encourage our community to talk about the issues that are important to us. I am hoping that our community can move forward from looking for pictures with candidates to put on the mantel to truly asking the candidates questions on the issues and discuss whats important to Indian Americans.

We encourage all of you to go through the site and enjoy the features and we need you to keep coming back and become engaged in all of this! Comment on the blog posts, vote in the poll, add content and videos or even become an avid USINPAC 2008 volunteer! We need YOUR HELP, so if your interested feel free to email me at varun@usinpac2008.com!

I challenge you all to get more involved to show the Candidates and America that the Indian American community is mobilized and an important voice in the political realm.

Thanks,

Varun Mehta
Portal Director
www.usinpac2008.com