Raj Razdan
President, NFIA
The National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA) proudly announces the success of its annual Congressional event (Brunch) held on Wednesday, September 11, 2024 in Washington, D.C. The event brought together prominent Indian American leaders, members of Congress, and key influencers from various sectors to discuss pressing issues and strengthen ties between the Indian American community and U.S. policymakers with focus on fostering growing Indo-US relations.
This year’s Congressional Brunch, hosted at the Capitol Hill, Senate room, was marked by a robust attendance of key stakeholders, including bipartisan members of Congress, government officials, business leaders, and community advocates. The event featured a series of insightful speeches and networking opportunities aimed at fostering greater collaboration and engagement on issues affecting the Indian American Diaspora.
After a brief invocation by NFIA Secretary Dr. Sukrit Mukherjee, Welcome by Dr. Hari Singh, NFIA President Raj Razdan delivered opening remarks, recognizing and acknowledging the overwhelming support received by NFIA during its existence since its founding in 1980. She elaborated the recent pioneering endeavor of the launching of NFIA’s national annual scholarship program. She added, “This year over 22 college bound brilliant scholars (with admissions including prestigious Ivy League colleges such as Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and many more) were chosen for their academic excellence. This was possible only because of the partnership, generosity and support of various Foundations/Businesses/Trusts/Individuals to include Heartfulness Institute, Innova Solutions, Bhandari Nirankari Trust, Sheth Family Foundation and ‘Kashmiris in Georgia’. This has been a shining historic moment for NFIA as we hope to see this NFIA program grow to significant endowment in the future with the goal of empowering future leaders and innovators.” Alluding to the history and mission of NFIA, she emphasized the growing importance of Indian Americans in shaping U.S. policy and the need for continued advocacy and policy involvement on behalf of the community.
“This brunch is not just an opportunity to celebrate our community’s achievements, but to have meaningful ongoing dialogue with policymakers and highlight the contributions of Indian Americans to the cultural, economic, and political fabric of the United States,” said President Razdan.
Introducing the Chief Guest Hon. Seth Moulton, US Representative (D-MA) from Massachusetts, NFIA’s Executive Vice President Sunny Gabhawala acknowledged the unflinching help and coordination provided by Congressman Moulton’s staff for this event, adding, Congressman has been a true friend of our Indian American Community as we hope he will soon join the impressive list of India Caucus.
Appreciating the NFIA Award and thankful for the associated honor, Hon. Seth Moulton detailed his and his office’s outreach efforts to, his engaging with and admiration for the Indian American community in his Massachusetts constituency and elsewhere in the country. He talked about the degree to which Indian Americans contribute to the economy, universities, charity, startups, running hotel-motel chains, medicine and engineering, all the while generating millions of jobs directly and indirectly annually! He felt positive about joining the India Caucus at the appropriate time to further enhance India-US relations. He congratulated NFIA for the successful congressional event praising the organizers for a job well done with an impressive list of legislators and speakers. The next speaker, US Representative (D-New Jersey) Josh Gottheimer (facilitated by Eric Kumar of New York) thanked National Federation of Indian American Associations for hosting him for the brunch. He said, “I’m honored to represent the exceptional Indian American community in North Jersey, and I will always fight hard to make sure you feel heard in Washington.”
Guest of Honor, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former Lt. Governor of Maryland and daughter of Senator Robert Kennedy was invited by Pam Kwatra of New Jersey and was briefly introduced by Rahul Bathla to present her remarks. Accepting her recognition plaque, she remarked, “Today’s brunch is celebrating the deep ties between two powerful democracies, the U.S. and India. From people-to-people engagement, to trade, to our democratic values, the relationship has never been stronger. Political engagement and the importance of your vote are true both in the U.S. and India. So, If you love the diversity of this room, of our country, if you love democracy everywhere, you must always exercise your right to VOTE”.
Introduced by NFIA’s former President Sudip Gorakshakar, Congressman Shri Thanedar (US Rep, D-Michigan) thanked NFIA for his “exceptional service award”. His spellbinding narration of growing up in poverty in India, reaching USA on a student visa, which was rejected four times before finally approved by the Mumbai Consulate, was well appreciated by the audience. In his speech Congressman Thanedar said “We are a nation of Immigrants and yet we have a highly dysfunctional immigration system, which causes hardship to the highly talented engineers and scientists to get their visa status updated and get a green card so they can be employed by the tech industry in the USA”. Rep Thanedar called for a more streamline immigration process, substantial increase in H1B visas, elimination of country quotas and faster processing of green cards so that United States can maintain its edge on innovation and discovery and continue to create high-paying jobs for Americans.
Christopher S. Hyland of New York, a great friend of the Indian American community, was introduced to speak by NFIA Vice President Aparna Hande. Mr. Hyland, a recipient of national honors and six honorary doctorates was the Deputy National Political Director of the successful 1992 “Clinton for President” campaign in charge of Ethnic constituencies. In his enlightening remarks, Mr Hyland stated that the Modi government achieves goal after goal ensuring India’s global preeminence, while being well represented in the USA by the Indian Embassy, Washington DC who well recognizes the historic foundational, and on going, important role organizations such as the National Federation of Indian American Associations, and leaders such as Subash & Raj Razdan and many others, have played in fostering ever better India-USA relations. He expressed gratitude for receiving a NFIA Award and for having been invited to participate in the NFIA events at the Indian Embassy and the Brunch that Congressman Seth Moulton supported at the US Capitol today.
Introducing US Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX), NFIA V.P Ashok Patnaik, highlighted superlative credentials of the Congressman from 33rd TX district especially Dallas-Fort Worth. Praising the Congressman’s popularity and acceptability, Patnaik said in almost every election, our friend Hon. Veasey has always won with a margin of 4:1. Hon. Veasey responding, “As Vice Chair of the India Caucus, I know the importance of a strong relationship between our two countries. From defense to healthcare and technology to agriculture, our countries are intrinsically connected. I was proud to join the NFIA today to talk about ways that we can continue to grow and collaborate together.”
The next speaker, introduced by NFIA officer Dr. Lalita Kaul, was S Paul Dev (SPD), an alumnus of IIT Delhi who holds 8 patents and has a few more in the pipeline. The defense expert, fondly known as SPD, talked about the need for cooperation of India and US in high advanced tech. He displayed how border regions of India suffer from poor roads, resulting economic handicap and vulnerability to invasions. This infrastructure handicap can and should be overcome by a joint Indo-US development of new aircraft that combine the safety, fuel economy and low costs of airliners and the vertical take-off and landing ability of helicopters.
In her message to the NFIA gathering, Congresswoman from Virginia wrote, “I want to impart my appreciation for the United States’ national security partnership with India: two great democracies that are committed to the principles of freedom and liberty, information and cultural exchange, and mutual prosperity and growth. The contributions of the Indian American community in Virginia and across the United States reinforce the importance of this alliance in keeping our countries safe and strong. This work not only deepens the bond between America and India, but it makes sure that together, we can build a more secure and prosperous future for our children.”
“Special guests including notable attendees, members of Congress, business leaders and dignitaries/diplomats from the Embassy of India, who shared their perspectives on relevant issues, e.g., immigration reform, economic opportunities, U.S.- India relations, all, underscored the importance of maintaining strong ties between the Indian American community and the halls of the governments here in the USA as well in India”, remarked Dr. Subash Razdan, former NFIA President and the Master of the ceremony for this meaningful and successful Congressional Brunch. He added, “the Brunch also served as a platform to honor several legislators and community leaders for their exceptional contributions in fields ranging from business to public service. The awards, presented by NFIA, reflect the organization’s commitment to recognizing the diverse talents and achievements within the Indian American community.
The event concluded with congratulatory messages for NFIA from the diplomats (from the Embassy of India) Jigar Raval and Karthik Aiyyer after their introduction by NFIA officer Hina Trivedi from Chicago. The diplomats reiterated the ongoing support and cooperation from the Embassy of India and its Consulates across the USA.
The diplomats then joined the NFIA Board and the Chicago Indo-US lions Club Lion Hina Trivedi for the surprise presentation of the “Outstanding Leadership Award” to NFIA President Mrs. Raj Razdan for her unwavering mentorship and national leadership.
In his Vote of thanks, NFIA Vice President Ashok Patnaik acknowledged all those who made this NFIA endeavor a grand success, especially the sponsors. He thanked the elaborate support and guidance from Ms. Caroline Ehlich from the office of US Senator Ossoff (D-GA). He renewed the call for action and advocacy by NFIA, reiterating NFIA’s mission to represent the interests of the Indian American community at the highest levels of government.
Reception by Embassy of India, Washington, DC
A warm reception with briefings and interaction on various Indian American community related issues was held at the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C. for the visiting delegates of NFIA. Diplomats Jigar Raval and Karthik Aiyyer addressed the event, with refreshments at the Indian Embassy.
NFIA President Raj Razdan highlighted NFIA and its accomplishments, introduced NFIA’s delegates and enumerated various issues concerning the People of Indian origin. She hinted of a more direct communication between the Embassy and the officers of NFIA. On her part, she assured the Embassy officials to continue to expect unwavering support from the NFIA and its officers in enhancing strong bonds between the Indian and the US Governments. Hon. Jigar Raval reciprocated, emphasizing the Embassy officials also strive to provide unflinching services to the Diaspora despite so many logistical challenges. He talked about difficulties encountered by Embassy staff in matters where there are ugly divorces of its PIOs, transport of bodies and ashes on death, liaising with US Immigration officials to help procure Visas for family members coming from India due to death of the family in USA, issues of Senior Citizens and a plethora of other issues of relevance.
NFIA V.P. Satish Parikh suggested that in order to further the cause of better communication, NFIA would happy to host the ” Meet with Embassy” seminar in cooperation with local FIA at major cities in USA”. Hon. Raval agreed adding Embassy could support this endeavor either with Embassy staff or
Consulate office of that region. NFIA life Member Minhaj Akhtar from Chicago mentioned arbitrary nature of student deportations, especially Minority students. Embassy folks clarified that it has hard to discuss such cases without proper facts. The US officials on many occasions have complained to Embassy about students not going to schools and instead working without work permit. On some occasions students were found to be carrying fraudulent documents. Regardless, if anyone finds out about such a case, do not hesitate to alert us (Community affairs, Embassy).
In her closing statement, President Razdan emphasized that NFIA is the largest non-profit socio-welfare Indian American umbrella organization of Indian associations, established in 1980 with the mission to unify the diverse Indian American community by coordinating and promoting the activities of its member associations. Many of the board members came from various parts of the United States, representing different US States. She added, NFIA is there for all, and we should work together with the Embassy and its Consulates to make a difference.
“I personally, participated in both the NFIA events in DC and found them to be well organized, orderly, and extremely meaningful. The remarks and inputs from the speakers were greatly lauded by the allied discussion and made room for possible improvements for service of the Diaspora, including stronger strategic India-US cooperation”, exclaimed Christopher Hyland.
In nutshell, there was active worthwhile dialog between the Embassy of India officials and the NFIA delegation on aforesaid issues. An award to appreciate Embassy of India’s community outreach was presented to the Embassy officials by the NFIA delegates present.
About NFIA: The National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan tax-exempt organization established to unite Indian American communities across the U.S. and to advocate for and promote their interests at the federal, state, and local levels. NFIA works to empower Indian Americans through civic engagement, leadership development, and community service with the ultimate goal of fostering strong Indo-US relations.
For more details: Website: www.nfiaweb.org
Photo Credits: Dr. Sukrit Mukherjee, Secretary, NFIA; Hina Trivedi, RVP, NFIA
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