Bera, Gabbard felicitated by Ambassador Nirupama Rao
Bureau Report
WASHINGTON, DC: India’s Ambassador to the United States Nirupama Rao hosted a welcome reception for newly elected Members of Congress, Congressman Dr. Ami Bera from California and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii, at her residence here. Congressman Mike Honda from California was also among the select gathering.
In her speech, Rao said that the United States Congress has “certainly played a stellar and defining role in enhancing the spirit and substance of the US-India strategic partnership.”
She pointed out that the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans is the largest country caucus in both chambers of Congress.
“That is certainly a compelling measure of the importance of the US-India relationship and the role that the Indian American community numbering over three million plays in furthering the cause of friendship between our two democracies,” said Rao.
In welcoming the two newly-minted House of Representative members, Rao said that both Bera and Gabbard’s lives have been linked to India and influenced by India in a “truly special manner.”
She talked about how Bera’s life, whose parents came from India in the 1950s, is “truly inspiring and epitomizes the American Dream.”
She added: “He is a physician by profession and he has walked every inch of the path of selfless community service in his native state of California, in his career as a doctor and educationist. He has fought an election campaign for a Congressional seat successfully in a vindication of the democratic ideals that this country and indeed we in India, stand for. He comes to Congress five and a half decades after Dr. Dalip Singh Saund, also of California but born in Punjab, India, was elected to the House of Representatives. The second Indian American Congressman was Bobby Jindal who is now Governor of Louisiana.”
She pointed out that President Obama recently referred to Saund as a “trailblazer” with the unshakeable belief that the US, is a place that recognizes the value of hard work and sincere effort, perseverance, creativity and innovation.
“Today, the Indian American community stands on the cutting edge of excellence in American life, leaders in science and medicine, education, in entertainment and the arts, in public service. And pioneers like Dalip Singh Saund made that possible, as I am sure Congressman Bera will agree. We wish Dr. Bera the very best in his tenure in Congress and I hope he will rise to greater and greater heights in the years to come,” said Rao.
Rao, who had visited Hawaii recently, reminisced about the fact that “the waters that lap the shores of Hawaii are the same waters that touch the coast of Pacific Asia. The voices and cadences of speech of the Hawaiians remind me so much of Asian voices. It made me realize how much our destinies are interconnected and how much we live in an interdependent world.”
She praised Gabbard saying: “Congressman Gabbard is a role model for young women not only in this country but also I have no doubt in India, too. She was the youngest woman elected to the Hawaii State Legislature in 2002, she has an exemplary record of national service having been deployed in Iraq and been awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.”
Rao referred to recent remarks by the Congresswoman on her faith, in interview with USA Today: “Gabbard said as a Hindu by faith, she had taken her oath on the Bhagavad Gita because the Gita had taught her about enlightenment, love for God, selfless service and how each one of us can succeed in our struggle on the battlefields of life. She said she had found comfort and shelter in the Gita’s message of the eternality of the soul and God’s unconditional love.”
Rao said that in India, the word Tulsi or Tulasi, “is an important symbol since it is the plant, the holy basil, that the Hindus worship at morn and at dusk. Most of our homes have a Tulsi plant in our courtyard. It is also a plant of considerable medicinal significance. Tulsi therefore has great meaning in our tradition. I believe that now the U.S. Congress is blessed to have Tulsi Gabbard as a member of the House.”
She added: “The presence of Ami Bera and Tulsi Gabbard in the U.S. Congress brings great meaning to our mission and our task of taking U.S.-India relations further forward to greater and greater heights. Throughout their lives, they have been touched by the spirit of India and by the message of great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi who personified the spirit of selfless service in the cause of freedom and democracy.”
Rao hoped that the duo would inspire many more young people, both Indian American and other Americans, to scale great heights of achievement for their country.
“I wish them happiness and great success in the cause of serving their country and building friendship between two great countries – India and the United States,” said Rao.
In his speech, Bera, 47, extolled his Indian American roots.
“I am in the Congress today, because I am an Indian American,” he said. “Because of the values of making sure of giving it back to the community, giving back to the country. Those were values that got us here and those are values that are going to propel us forward.”
Bera added: “We got here, because of the generation that came before us. Now that the door is open, it is our obligation to make sure that we reach back and build that path. Because when I look at the talent in the Indian American community, it is not enough that only two of us get elected. It is now about building the path for next generation,” he said.
Bera said that he would like to come back to the Indian embassy when “we are celebrating a Senate election.”
Gabbard said the bilateral relationship between the two countries are a high point.
“As the world’s two largest democracies, we cannot ever forget that the price of our own freedom also means standing for freedom of others. There is much work that lies ahead. We have to do more to empower women and girls. We have to have honest dialogue about combating violence,” she said.