IndiaPost.com - Hillary favorite of South Asians, says Kevin Kaul

India Post News Service

ARTESIA, CA: The Indian Diaspora seems to be coming of age in the US. In the last couple of years we are seeing a trickle effect of Indians settled here establish connections at the White House. India Post spoke to one such man who is known for having established connections between the Indian corporates and government and the Indian investor here in USA.

He is the founder of the USABF (United States Asia Business Forum) which led a delegation to India earlier this year and set up a platform with FICCI (Federation of Indo Chamber of Commerce of India) to further opportunities in bilateral relations between India and USA. Excerpts from the interview:

IP: Tell us about your support to Senator Hillary Clinton?

KK: My association with the Clintons goes way back to the nineties when Bill Clinton initiated US relations with India and led a delegation there along with Hillary and Chelsea Clinton. Their family has played a vital role in the bonding of the Indo-US business communities. As a result, the Clintons earned a lot of appreciation and support from the South Asian Community. Then, a year and half ago, we had a South Asian American event and we decided to bring Senator Hillary Clinton back to the community and she graced the occasion and spent a good six hours with us and she was extremely receptive and responsive to the audience and their questions about different world economies. So, all this led us to believe that she would make a good Presidential candidate and hence we are supporting her. I

P: What is the nature of your support to her?

KK: The Indo South Asian Community is about four million in USA, which is not even one percent of the total population. However, the total personal net worth of this population is around seventy two billion dollars. Although we are very active and enterprising within our own community, we are not politically active at the national level. For us to be able to make inroads there, we will need to start by supporting the existing group of political leaders who we think will support our community in endeavors that will require policy changes at the senate level. Support of this nature will have to start by financially backing candidates through fund raisers for the forthcoming elections. Hence, my support is with Senator Clinton and I have committed to getting the Indian community support for her candidature and raise one million dollars in the next one year. Just to give you some examples of the presence or absence of the Indian community in mainstream America: There are six federal judges of Asian ethnicity and all are Orientals and no South Asians. We are currently working with different Congressmen to publish a separate census for the South Asian Community viz-a viz the Asian communities.

IP: Explain what you mean by South Asians and how will the issues between South Asian countries back in India affect this conglomeration here in USA?

KK: By South Asians I mean all the ten countries: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Burma, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives etc. The political issues that arise outside of USA concerning these nations do not affect the relationship within the communities here in the United States. As mature individuals and as being of origin of these countries, we do discuss the matters of concern in our various countries and take it up with the authority of that nation. Beyond this, we do not let the issues back home interfere with our relationships here. FOSAAC ( Friends of South Asian American Communities ) takes up these issues and communicates it to President Bush's office; Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's office in case of an Indo US issue and likewise with other heads of state.

IP: What are the steps that you are taking to show support to Senator Clinton? What has been the response of the South Asian community?

KK: The idea is to put together various events to be able to make people aware of the goal of supporting Senator Clinton. Our first event will be in the month of May. The next one will be in August 2007 which will portray the true spirit of unity. By this I mean that we plan to jointly celebrate the Independence Day of India, the fourth of July for the United States and One Hundred Years of Mahatma Gandhi. Our events are exclusive and represent the true potential of the South Asian community. Hence, we will unfold the year eventually and have ten events during the year 2007 and take the front seat for the South Asians via fundraising for the most deserved candidate. The response has been positive from some prestigious names in the community and I am hoping that more people will join hands. Senator Clinton has healthcare as one of her major goals to achieve at the White House. As a South Asian, I think this issue directly affects a lot of our community folks and it would be great to see her succeed in this endeavor and help us out of the current increasing healthcare costs and uninsured healthcare.

IP: Have you ever considered running for office yourself?

KK: Thanks but no thanks. I would like to be a great support to a candidate that relates to the issues of the South Asian community. I do not belong to a particular party and I am a bipartisan and candidate based person. I would rather support my son in his aspirations of becoming an attorney and a possible political career in future. I am happy that my work speaks for itself. On the flip side, India Post decided to talk to Sangeeta Kaul, the beautiful and vivacious wife of this active community figure. Sangeeta was a student of mass communications at the prestigious Sophia Polytechnic College in Mumbai and worked as an intern with Ravi Shastri on the popular show "That's Cricket". In SoCal, Sangeeta is a happy homemaker and a part time teacher at the local school and loves the flexibility of time that comes with the job. She is in the true sense an Ambassador of Indian culture with the politically inclined husband Kevin Kaul.

IP: Sangeeta, tell us about Kevin Kaul, the family man? How do you adjust with a public figure who is so passionate about his work?

SK: Initially it was difficult adapting to this new country and the loneliness that comes with it being a foreign migrant. To add to that, Kishore was a man who always wanted to do something for the Indian community. As a result, he would work long hours and hence not be there at home. As time went by, I realized that the Indian community representation here in the United States was really dismal. I saw that Kishore had a point and that he was right in his opinion of the community and its lack of presence in mainstream politics of the USA. He was most definitely missed at home as he wasn't like the normal husbands and fathers who would come home after a nine to five job. However, when I saw things from his perspective and correlated it to my experiences of the community leadership, I reconciled with the fact that if Kishore could make a difference in this area, then I had to be by his side. So, with a positive mindset, I decided to take charge as a homemaker and a part time teacher. I started accompanying him to various events and learnt a lot through people and places that we visited.

IP: What are the times that you miss having him around most? How does he make it up?

SK: I miss him at all times. However, we do have a great family life too. Whatever Kishore does, he gives his hundred percent. So, we do go on short family holidays, movies and Kishore is great fun to be with. He is a great father and has recently started taking active interest in our kids (we have two boys, Rishi aged thirteen and Dhruv aged sixteen) who will now need a father as a role model.

IP: What is your contribution to his work? Have you thought of working with him?

SK: My greatest contribution is my support to him at all times. I have noticed that whenever we go out and meet people of different cultural backgrounds, while Kishore is talking of community related issues, a lot of curiosity is shown about the Indian culture. I see myself very comfortably addressing and correcting all those notions of India and actually have fun bursting the myth about India being much more than a land of elephants and snake charmers! So, I see Kishore and myself being a couple that complement each other in more than one way.