Pan IIT USA’s 2020 Global Summit Features Eminent Speakers
Houston: PanIIT USA, a volunteer run organization, hosted its first ever virtual global summit on December 4-5, 2020 – IIT2020: with the theme “The Future is now”. This mega global summit, had an elite global audience of 17000 over the 2 days. 275+ distinguished speakers; 5 unicorn founders, 40+ Venture Capitalists, 4 CXO’s from billionaire-fortune […]
How Did Asian-American Voters Fail?
As Diwali, the Festival of Light is being celebrated by the Southeast Asian community across the US and the world, this year’s festival is particularly special, with Mrs. Kamala Harris, a daughter of an Asian immigrant, becoming the first woman vice president of America. Many Asian families justifiably feel exhilarated by her success and what […]
All Indian American Congress Representatives Re-elected
Washington DC: Even as the world awaits the results of the US presidential elections, Indian-Americans have some reason to celebrate. The “Samosa Caucus” comprising five Indian-American Democratic lawmakers—Raja Krishnamoorthi from Illinois, Ami Bera and Ro Khanna from California, Pramila Jayapal from Washington, and Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris—have had a promising run in the elections. […]
Republican Red Tide Upsets Sri Preston Kulkarni’s Bid for TX-22
Houston: Sri Preston Kulkarni’s second attempt to win the TX-22 Congressional District was swept away by an unexpected Red Republican tide. Kulkarni lost to former Sherif Troy Nels by a 44.6% to 51.6%. Democrats in the local Indo-American community put their hearts and souls to help Kulkarni through multilingual phone banking, poll canvassing and literature […]
Biden-Harris Declare Victory after Surpassing Electoral College Threshhold
Washington DC (CNN): Joe Biden is US President-elect. winning on a message of unity and a pledge to restore the “soul of the nation” after four years of tumult under President Donald Trump. Biden rebuilt the “blue wall” of Great Lakes states where Trump had won four years earlier. He also delivered Democrats’ strongest performance […]
Who is Sri Preston Kulkarni? An Upclose and Personal Viewpoint
By Padma Srinivasan Sugar Land: One evening in early 2018, people were walking in to hear Beto O’Rourke speak at a Town Hall meeting in Sugar Land. I noticed a lone person standing outside handing out business cards telling people that he was running for Congress in Congressional District 22, Fort Bend County to unseat […]
2020 Presidential Election: Debate on Hindu-American Issues
San Francisco: A coalition of Hindu American organizations joined hands to conduct a first of its kind debate to discuss issues relevant to the Hindu American community in the upcoming presidential election. On Sunday, October 18, 2020, six Hindu Americans, split evenly between the two presidential candidates, met virtually to debate topics as they related […]
Democracy First
By Lakshmy Parameswaran The United States of America – the model of democracy for the world – is at the precipice of becoming an autocratic state. The validity and certainty of the 2020 presidential election hang in the balance. President Trump claims that our ballot system is rigged, that is, if he loses the election. […]
A Year Later, County Honors its Fallen Hero Dhaliwal with Tollway Dedication
By Jawahar Malhotra Houston: A year after Harris County Deputy Constable Sandeep Dhaliwal was senselessly murdered at a gas station during a routine traffic stop on September 27, 2019, the County Commissioners formally unveiled signs on both sides of the 5-mile stretch of the Sam Houston Tollroad Beltway 8 from West Gulf Bank to Fairbanks […]
Houston Chronicle Endorses Sri Kulkarni
Changing demographics and a narrow escape in the 2018 elections helped persuade longtime Republican Congressman Pete Olson not to run for reelection in U.S. House District 22 this year. The six-term incumbent’s departure sets up a showdown that mirrors the presidential race with Sri Preston Kulkarni representing the moderate approach of Democrat Joe Biden and […]
The Indo-American Voter in 2020
By Safiya Ghori-Ahmad and Fatima Salman In her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, Senator Kamala Devi Harris (D-CA) put her Indian roots on full display. She spoke movingly about her Indian mother and gave a shout out to her “chittis” or, aunts in Tamil. Just a few days later at the Republican National […]
One of Our Own’s Covid-19 Journey from Ventilator to Back Home
By Lisa Grey Houston: In early March, Susham “Rita” Singh, then 65, took time off from selling appliances at the Galleria-area Home Depot. Her husband and her daughter — a doctor — yelled at her, warning her against flying to India for her annual visit with her mom. This new coronavirus was wreaking havoc in […]
Community Honors Deputy Dhaliwal One Year after Death
Houston: A year ago, Harris County deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal was killed in the line of duty. The community he served vowed never to forget the beloved officer. Many showed up for a processional near his memorial on Sunday, where they remembered his life and honored his legacy. People from all backgrounds came to pay tribute […]
Houston Symphony Features Indo-American Composer
Houston: The Houston Symphony’s second concert of the season features works entirely by women composers, and in particular, Indian-American composer Reena Esmail, whose music straddles and unites the worlds of Indian and Western classical music. A brass quintet of Houston Symphony musicians are performing Reena Esmail’s “Khirkhiyaan: Three Transformations for Brass Quintet”. Meaning “Windows” in […]
Biden Holds Lead among Indo-Americans
San Francisco: Sixty-six percent of Indian Americans currently favour Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for the 2020 presidential election as compared to 28 per cent who prefer President Donald Trump, according to a survey released Tuesday. Indiaspora, a nonprofit member organisation of global Indian diaspora leaders, and Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Data on Tuesday […]
Sewa Hosts Hate Crimes Webinar with HPD
By Katie Tong Houston: The Hindu humanitarian organization, Sewa International, recently hosted a webinar titled Hate Crimes: What are They and How Can We Respond? The event was moderated by Ranjana Bedi, director of Hindus of Greater Houston, and Anup Bhasin, director of disaster relief for Sewa. HPD Sergeant Alexandra Magnan gave a thoughtful, well-organized […]
Swapnil Agarwal’s Nitya Capital Acquires One Westchase Office Building
Houston: For CEO and founder of Nitya Capital, Swapnil Agarwal, success and achievements never came easy. Coming from humble beginnings as a son of a working class Indian immigrant family in Houston, much of Swapnil’s youth was defined by observing and learning from the success of others. As he worked his first few jobs, Swapnil […]
Houstonian Rajveer “Raj” Kindra is No. 1 Debater
Houston: Rajveer, who is now a Senior in high school, has won numerous state, national, and international tournaments in Debate & Oratory leading up to this achievement. Rajveer has always had a passion for helping others find their voices, encouraging others to build confidence, and speak on topics meaningful to them. In 2016 Rajveer took […]
Person of Interest in Custody in Brutal Death of Indo-American Jogger in Plano
Plano, Texas: The murder of a Plano mother of two children brought an outpouring of support for her family. Sarmistha Sen, 43, was attacked while she was running Saturday morning. Police say the murder investigation includes a person of interest from a nearby burglary. The go-getter spirit is what defined Sarmistha’s life, according to her […]
City Engineer Jay Patel Wins Public Works Award
Houston: Jay Patel, P.E., Supervising Engineer for City of Houston Public Works Department, was recently awarded Professional Manager of the Year in the Facilities and Grounds Category by the Texas Chapter of the American Public Works Association. This award recognizes outstanding achievement in the area of administration within the Houston Public Works Department and inspires […]
