IndiaPost.com - Community: We made it happen

India Post News Service

NEW YORK: It was a collective and passionate effort that was as historic as it was unique. For the Indian American community, it was an unprecedented cause that put their sense of pride and patriotism for their country of origin to test. But the way they chose to demonstrate their unswerving love for India was perhaps the most American of ways in which community activism is played out in this, their adopted country.

Three years of tireless and selfless work of a dedicated few and the support of scores of others to bring the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement to its stage of implementation has finally borne fruit. Both the US House of Representatives and the US Senate have overwhelmingly voted last week to clear the bill to be finally signed and sealed by the administrations of both India and the US.

That the United States Congress should have taken up the bill in the midst of the financial crisis the country is reeling under that too at the fag end of its current session, as also coming just weeks before the elections, speaks volumes of the significance of the deal for both countries as well as for the political clout and influence of the Indian American community.

There were many in the community who opened up their calendars and wallets to work behind the scenes to convince lawmakers who were decisively against the deal as well as those that were not very sure of where they stood on the issue. Notable among them are two key players - Swadesh Chatterjee of North Carolina and Dr. Piyush C. Agrawal of Florida -- whose work on this front remains unparalleled. Here's their first person account on how they did it:

Swadesh Chatterjee - Businessman & Entrepreneur:

"As of last week that was my 69th trip to Washington from North Carolina in the last two-and-half years only to lobby for the US-India civil nuclear deal. In the history of this community -- the 30 years that I have been in this country - this is the first time I have seen the community united for one common cause, it has never happened before. I remember December 2005, in NY there was a Democratic Leadership Conference with Nancy Pelosi (then minority leader of the party). At that meeting I felt that if we can get India out of the nuclear apartheid and get the free flow of technology and knowledge between the two countries, it would lead to miracles. That was when I started on this movement. People joined me.

I had my doubts at the beginning but gradually I felt we could do it. As you know the Indian American community is fragmented. We have got 2.5 million Indian Americans with 10 million egos. So in this particular cause the Indian Americans kept their egos in the deep freeze and came forward to do something that will be remembered for years to come. After India's independence movement, this is the next historic movement where Indians came forward with such unity. We are delighted to have played a role in this.

We may have left India but never left her behind. I feel strongly that before we go we have to leave something good behind and this is that. I am delighted and excited. We never thought in 2005 that this day would be possible. When the bill came to Congress first, it was dead on arrival; there was absolutely no chance to get it passed. Even in India, the Left parties never thought it would become a reality. But we made it happen.

The Indian American community worked with US businesses and also with the Government of India. That tells something that though we are only 2.5 million of us in this country -- for the 486 members of the House and 100 in the Senate -- we really have tremendous clout and influence on Congressmen and Senators. Our voice is heard. We fought to have the two-step approval process in the United States Congress. We called our members of Congress and Senators to ensure that the deal was initially approved in a lame duck session in 2006. Now, we have fought to ensure that the deal was approved in an election year.

Let there be no doubt: this deal would never have made it out of the United States Congress were it not for the passion and dedication each of us has shown in reaching out to members of Congress, Senators and to the leadership. Together, we made history. I remember 10 years ago when we used to knock on their doors, they wouldn't have even five minutes for us. But look at the situation now; despite the financial bailout bill preoccupying them, it is unbelievable that they took up the nuclear bill and passed it. It tells something about the community and our influence; though a minority, we played a major role.

I was an eternal optimist -- all I said was let's do all we can and let's not worry about the result. Last Tuesday, we had a day of activism on the (Capitol) Hill. We were in Washington DC, we had a full page ad in Roll Call, we went door to door only so that the lawmakers don't forget (about the nuke bill) and the result is here today. And I really must credit the community for coming forward with their wallets whenever I asked. We all raised funds, put newspaper ads, held rallies.

This is unbelievable what community activism can do. I have never been prouder of being an Indian American than today. I know what we have achieved will leave a positive legacy for all our children. They will be able to proudly be Indian American and achieve their dreams.

Dr. Piyush C. Agrawal - Physician & Businessman:

A few months after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Bush signed the nuclear agreement at the White House in July 2005, about 7-8 people including myself met in a restaurant in Washington, DC to plan a strategy to work with the Congress for the passage of the US-India Civic Nuclear Agreement. Later this group expanded to about 15 core people and named itself US-India Friendship Council.

To make it a real effort on behalf of the 2.5 million people of Indian origin in this country, we extended our hands to other national organizations such as The Association of Indians in America (AIA), Indian American Forum for Political Education (IAFPE), National Federation of Indian Associations (NFIA), the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), and Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) and they joined the efforts at various stages. Initial major hurdles included unfavorable attitude towards the deal from the two very important persons in the Congress; namely, Congresswoman Ileana Ross-Lehtinen and Senator Hillary Clinton.

At that time, Ross-Lehtinen was Co-Chair of the India Caucus in the House and a senior member of House International Committee and Sen. Clinton was Co-Chair of the Senate Caucus for India. Without the support of these two personalities, the task of the nuclear deal seemed unfathomable.

The original group of 7-8 assigned the task of convincing Congresswomen Ross-Lehtinen to me. This was a great personal experience for me to work on such an important assignment for the benefit of the community. I am honored to say that Congresswoman Ross-Lehtinen turned out to be the best friend the Indian Community would ever have and she did the most in her position every time there was a need for her to get this deal through.

Likewise, both Senators from Florida, namely Senators Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez were on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. I reached out to both of them in a meaningful way. They finally supported the Agreement despite their initial objections. Through another Congressman Alcee Hastings, I had a 15-minute one-on-one meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to bring to her attention that the deal was in US interest.

To this dialog, she finally responded very positively. It may be interesting to note that Florida was the only major state that voted 100% (Members of the House and the Senate) in favor of the Hyde Act. There were many more such efforts. But, nobody should ever claim the full credit in such a task.