English - Overseas Indian

COVER STORY
(Above) An NRI family at the India Day Parade at
Hartford, USA; (right) young Indian Americans at
the I-Day Parade in New York.
It wasn’t until the passage of a law in
1946 that Indians could become U.S. citizens.
A large number of highly educated
professionals emigrated from India after
the 1965 Immigration Act opened the
doors to immigrants from more diverse
backgrounds.
Today, over 3.2 million people of Indian
origin have made America, the land of opportunity,
their home to emerge as the
As in the past, this year too various
Indian community organisations
held conventions bringing alive
the culture of their native states
around the American Independence Day,
lending an Indian touch to July 4 festivities
with functions, fairs and fireworks from New
York to California.
In Los Angeles, the India Association of
Los Angeles (IALA) and the Global Organization
of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO)
joined hands to celebrate it as the American
Independence Day and Indian American Heritage
Day by paying tribute to the pioneers
third-largest group among Asian Americans
after the Chinese and the Filipinos.
“Indians are making a name for themselves
in realms that I didn’t think,” said
India-born Dhingra, noting how they have
come to occupy the pride of place in
American society in virtually every
and patriots of the two nations. IALA president
Gursharan Nat said the association,
which has been celebrating the Indian Independence
and Republic Days every year, will
from now on also mark July 4 in celebration
of America’s independence and as a tribute to
Indian American pioneers.
In Chicago, dozens of Indian community
members, including students from the
Chicago- based Kalapadma Bharatanatyam
Dance Academy, joined the July 4 parade in
Niles Township. Onlookers cheered the
marchers and danced to the tune of Bollywood
music as Indian floats passed by.
sphere — from academics to politics to
science and technology.
Scheduled to open in September 2013,
the Smithsonian exhibit, besides featuring
Indian-Americans’ well-known contributions
in medicine, software engineering
and small business, will also put a focus
COAST TO COAST CELEBRATIONS
In New Jersey, over 15,000 South Asian
Americans gathered in Edison Municipal Park
to celebrate the day with a cultural programme
by Indian, Chinese, Jewish and
American performers and a spectacular firework
display organised by the South Asian
Community Outreach (SACO).
“This celebration is very significant,” said
guest of honour State Senator Samuel D.
Thompson calling it “a loud expression by
the South Asian community, whose members
have contributed a great deal in sustaining
the economy of New Jersey”.
In Long Island, New York, a large number
on lesser-known fields where they’re making
their mark — like music, literature,
film, cuisine and politics.
According to a recent Pew Research
Centre report Indian Americans are the
best-educated people with seven-in-10
above 25 having at least a Bachelor’s
of South Asian Americans celebrated the day
under the banner of American Community
Empowerment with ethnic food flavours, Bollywood
music and Punjabi folk songs.
Conventions
In Atlanta, Georgia, Over 8,000 people attended
the American Telugu Association’s
12th conference and youth convention at the
Georgia World Congress Centre July 6 to 8.
Movie star Ileana D’Cruz was a major draw,
as was former Indian cricket captain and
member of Indian Parliament Mohammad
Azaruddin, at the event, which opened with
the lighting of the traditional lamp and
singing of Indian and American national anthems.
A vocal performance by Swagatha
Geetham and an inaugural theme dance in
degree compared with the national share
of 28 percent. They also earn much more
than all others with a median household
annual income of $88,000 compared with
$49,800 for all U.S. households.
In the political field, starting with Dalip
Singh Saund, who became the first Indian
praise of Telugu heritage were among the
highlights. The North American Telugu Association
(NATA) turned the George R. Brown
Convention Centre in Houston, Texas, into a
mini Andhra Pradesh city for its convention
from June 29 to July 1.
A gate with Lord Venkateswara’s portrait
greeted the visitors and shops selling clothes
and gold did brisk business as alumni associations
of several universities held informative
seminars. Speakers included U.S. House of
Representative member Sheila Jackson Lee
and Harish Jajoo, City of Sugarland council
member.
The Federation of Kerala Associations in
North America (FOKANA) too held its fourday
convention at the Crown Plaza Hotel in
Houston. Inaugurated by Uthradom Thirunal
Indian community has
integrated well with the
American society because
we do not live in exclusive,
secluded Indian neighbourhoods.
Our kids
make friends with the
neighbourhood children.
American and Sikh member of the United
States Congress in 1957, two others,
Bobby Jindal, and Hansen Clarke, the son
of an African-American mother and Indian
father, have been elected to the
House of Representatives. At least 12 of
them are in the fray for the November
2012 polls, beating the record of 2010,
when eight contested. Jindal, son of Indian
immigrants from Punjab, who became
governor of Louisiana in 2007, is in
contention for Republican presidential
nominee Mitt Romney’s vice presidential
pick along with Nikki Haley, the first
Indian-American and first woman
Marthanda Varma, the current head of the
former royal family of Travancore, the convention
venue was named Ananthapuri after
the capital of the erstwhile Kingdom of
Thiruvananthapuram.
Speaking at the convention’s concluding
banquet, India’s Ambassador to the U.S.
Nirupama Rao said India needs the community’s
support to further India-U.S. relations
which are based on pragmatism.
The Association of Indian Americans in
North America (AIANA) plans to hold its third
‘Chaalo Gujarat World Gujarati Conference’
from August 31 to September 2 at the Raritan
Expo Centre in New Jersey. Highlights of
the three-day event include celebrity performances,
spiritual discourses, cultural
shows and a trade show.
14 Pravasi Bharatiya | June 2012 June 2012 | Pravasi Bharatiya 15