Judge Ravi Sandill Reminds ISCA Seniors to Vote

Ravi-sandill-in-1

Judge Ravi K. Sandill, second from left, with members of the Indian Senior Citizens Association at their monthly meeting at which he sponsored the lunch and reminded them of the importance of voting.

By Jawahar Malhotra

HOUSTON: The local community has a special spot in their heart for the Indian Seniors Citizen Association, the ranks of which are swelling every month. And every month, the ISCA meets at their usual spot, the Bayland Park Community Center in Sharpstown, unless there is a special occasion when they hold their meetings at the India House on West Bellfort.

And given the love and respect in the community for the elders, they are often treated to musical interludes by different groups or individuals, followed by a simple vegetarian lunch that is sponsored by them. Several well-known local performers have treated them to music from yesteryear and the seniors often join in clapping or occasionally humming along.

Late this summer, in early September, the seniors were treated to a lunch by Judge Ravi Sandill, the only South Asian on the Bar in Harris County. Ravi “R. K.” Sandill is a state district judge presiding over a civil docket in the 127th District Court in Harris County, having first been elected in 2008 and is running for re-election this coming November 8 for his third term.

Judge Sandill urged those who were not registered to vote to do so and emphasized the importance of voting in this election so that the people’s voices were heard ”to ensure our community stood up for tolerance, respect and shunned hatred and bigotry.” He reminded them that it was their duty to ensure that family members voted. “We all still learn from our elders,” he said “who set a positive example as they have done for generations and remind them of the sacrifice that has allowed South Asians to prosper in Houston.’

Sandill’s parents immigrated from India and his father Brij retired as a Lt. Col. from the US Army and the US Air Force after serving 28 years. Ravi spent most of his childhood in Texas and received his bachelor’s in government from the University of Texas in Austin and has been a member of the State Bar of Texas since 2001. He later attended the University of Houston Law Center to receive his Jurisprudence degree. He fought Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a cancer of the blood, in 2002, and has been in remission since 2003. He is married to a fellow lawyer, Kelly, and the two have a son, Asher.

Apart from his professional activities, Sandill has been involved with Indian community organizations like the India Culture Center, the Indo American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston and The Indian American Cancer Awareness Network.