GOPIO, AAPI, AIA, NFIA & ASEI jointly host virtual discussion and celebration of the Indian Diaspora
A celebration of the Indian Diaspora and their achievements was held through a virtual discussion on a new book “Kamala Harris and the Rise of Indian Americans.”
Jointly organized by Global Organization People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin (ASEI), Association of Indians in America (AIA), and National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA), the event was attended by People of Indian Origin from around the globe
The virtual event on Nov. 7 offered a glimpse of the growth and the successes of the Indian American community in various domains through the prism of this first-of-its-kind anthology.
Edited by the Delhi-based veteran journalist and foreign policy analyst, Tarun Basu, the evocative collection captures the rise of the Indians in the US across domains by exceptional achievers.
Sixteen eminent journalists, business leaders and scholars have contributed essays to the timely and priceless volume, which charts the community’s growing and influential political engagement.
The book was released by New Delhi-based publisher Wisdom Tree and is available in the US via Amazon.
Read: Book Review: A spotlight on the small but high-achieving Indian-American diaspora (July 12, 2021)
Describing the book as an “eclectic amalgam of perspectives on the emerging Indian-American story,” Tarun Basu said, “This evocative collection—of the kind perhaps not attempted before—captures the rise of Indian-Americans across domains.”
These include “exceptional achievers themselves, like Shashi Tharoor, the ones who have been and continue to be a part of the ‘rise,’ like MR Rangaswami and Deepak Raj, top Indian diplomats like TP Sreenivasan and Arun K Singh, scholars like Pradeep K Khosla and Maina Chawla Singh, and others who were part of, associated with, or keenly followed their stories.”
In his remarks, Shobit Arya, publisher of the book, shared with the audience about the objectives of publishing such an important book that portrays the life story and achievements of the influential Indian American community.
Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman, GOPIO International, who has been instrumental in establishing and leading several Indian American organizations and has seen the rise of the community in the past half a decade, moderated the session.
Sharing with the audience the major highlights, depicting the progress and achievements of the community, he spoke of his “own involvement in the community for the last 47 years as the Founder President of FIA New York, National Federation of Indian American Associations and GOPIO.”
“History of Indian community organizations and the role played by these organizations in community development, mobilization and promoting the diverse interests such as education, political involvement, entrepreneurship, business and service industry are covered in this new book,” Dr. Abraham said.
Acknowledging the success story of Indian American physicians, Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, President of AAPI said, “The success story of Indian American Doctors has been a long and arduous journey of struggles and hard work to be on the top of the pyramid.”
“Indian American Doctors, who have been recognized for their compassion, skills, expertise and skills in caring for their patients, leading research that brings solutions to health issues and at the table making policies that benefit the world, are at the forefront around the world as shining examples of meeting the needs of the hour,” she said.
Dr. Ravi Kolli, President-Elect of AAPI spoke about how the Covid pandemic has impacted all and how the physician community who has borne the brunt of this epidemic is coping with the stress and the negative effects, while providing critical care to people diagnosed with Covid.
Dr. Satheesh Kathula, Treasurer of AAPI and Dr. Sampat Shivangi, President of Indo-American Political Forum and NFIA past presidents Subash Razdan and Sudip Goraksharkar were among others who joined in the discussion.
Former ambassador TK Srinivasan, who had served as the deputy chief of mission to the US and as governor of India at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, shared his own experiences with the Indian Diaspora and how they have contributed to the larger goals of cementing stronger relationship between India and the United States.
NFIA President Ajoy Dube said, “National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA), the largest non-profit umbrella organization of Indian association, established in 1980, aims to unify the diverse Indian American community by coordinating and promoting the activities of its member associations. NFIA has been in the forefront of activities in US-India relations for over four decades.”
Describing the many contributions and objectives of ASEI, Piyush Malik, the current president said, “Since its inception in 1983, ASEI has strived to strengthen the Indo-American relationship, institute a channel of communication between technical organizations within the United States and abroad, lend a helping hand to charitable organizations, provide assistance to engineering students at the Local and National levels, and organize networking events.”
Dr. Urmilesh Arya, President of Association of Indians in America (AIA) spoke about the objectives and activities by AIA for the past several decades.
“AIA is a grass root national organization of Indian immigrants in the United States, fostered on the democratic principles of “one member one vote”, with chapters and membership spread across the USA.”
Journalist Arun Kumar who wrote a chapter on “All the President’s People: Trust in the Corridors of Power” spoke about the increasing number of Indian Americans who have come to occupy critical roles in the US administration, starting with President Ronald Regan and currently having as many as 50 Desis, who occupy important positions in the Biden administration.
Mayank Chaya, another author who wrote on “At the Center of Excellence: Seminal Contributions in the World of Science,” presented how Indian Americans have come to lead research and scientific innovations across the United States.
Read: Indiaspora launching new book on rise of Indian Americans (July 28, 2021)
The importance and high esteem with which physicians of Indian heritage are held by their patients is self-evident, as they occupy critical positions in the healthcare, research and administrative policy positions across America, including Dr. Vivek Murthy as the US Surgeon-General,.
In his presentation, Ajay Ghosh portrayed the rise of the Indian American physicians as a strong and influential force in the United States, chronicling their long journey to the United States and their success story.
He spoke about the four distinct areas, he has covered in a chapter titled, “Physicians of Indian Heritage: America’s Healers”: Indian American Physicians Being recognized as Covid Warriors who work as frontline healthcare workers treating millions of patients; Initial struggles of Indian American Physicians; Their Achievements; and, Contributions to Healthcare in India and the United States.
After the presentation by the authors, a question/answer session followed and was moderated by the co-host and Chair of the GOPIO Academic Council Dr. Neerja Arun Gupta who is currently the Vice Chancellor, Sanchi University for Buddhist and Indic Studies.
Authors who have contributed to the Book include: former Indian ambassadors TP Sreenivasan and Arun K. Singh; Deepak Raj, chairman of Pratham USA; businessman Raj Gupta; hotelier Bijal Patel; Pradeep Khosla, Chancellor of UC San Diego; scholar-professor Maina Chawla Singh; Sujata Warrier, Chief Strategy Officer for the Battered Women’s Justice Project; Shamita Das Dasgupta, co-founder of Manavi; and journalists Arun Kumar, Mayank Chhaya, Suman Guha Mozumder, Ajay Ghosh, Vikrum Mathur, and Laxmi Parthasarathy.
The book is now available at: https://bit.ly/HarrisIA – Amazon India book link, and at https://bit.ly/HarrisIndAm – Amazon USA link.
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