Author: Khalid Hasan
Publication: Daily Times (Pakistani
Newspaper)
Date: December 22, 2003
URL: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_21-12-2003_pg7_49
The Indian-American community, unlike
its Pakistani counterpart, is no longer "sitting on the political sidelines,"
but is organising, lobbying Capitol Hill, collecting campaign funds and
receiving attention from US politicians.
According to a report in the Washington
Times Saturday, Sanjay Puri, executive director of the Virginia-based US
India Political Action Committee (USINPAC), claims that "Howard Dean was
the first to send us a position paper" and that "we sent Dean's comments
out to our members. It was written up in the Indian press. He was very
good on Kashmir and immigration. I'm told (that) after we sent it out to
our members, his Web site got a lot of hits and donations from Indian Americans."
The Pakistani-American community
has done little in the past year to match or emulate the Indian effort.
During the time here of former ambassador, a sustained effort was in evidence
to encourage the community to come forward and to press it into the service
of Pakistan's causes. A number of "hits," including the successful passage
of the Brownback amendment, resulted from this close collaboration that
existed between the two. However, since the arrival of the new team at
the Pakistan embassy in August last, this effort has flagged. Community
leaders complain that they are seldom, if ever, taken into confidence by
embassy officials or galvanised into using their influence to promote the
national cause. The attitude of the official is "cold and bureaucratic."
The Indian-Americans, on the other
hand, have been most active and have established excellent relationships
with various influential American lobbying groups, especially the pro-Israeli
lobby. Puri told the Washington Times that while Indian-American doctors,
professionals and business owners have been asked for money by politicians
for years, they rarely asked a candidate's position on issues of interest
to the Indian community while making the donation.
Set up 14 months ago, USINPAC has
27,000 members among the estimated two million Indian Americans living
in the United States, an affluent and educated population that is growing
by 10 percent a year.
Puri said 40,000 Indian physicians
are practising medicine in the United States and some 60 percent of the
small hotels in the United States are owned by Indians. In addition, Indian
information technology (IT) specialists, who have created more than 1,000
IT businesses and hundreds of thousands of IT jobs in the United States,
are "everywhere" in the US computer industry. "The Indian population will
double by the next census," he said. "And we are slowly taking over - in
a good way - the hospitality industry. Indians are hard-working people,
fulfilling the American dream."
Puri, speaking of his model, said,
"The Jewish lobbying groups work hard. They participate. They show up.
They are a successful model. We'll do the same. Our community is on the
move, so far untapped, but we are working our way toward recognition."
The report said
"USINPAC has become a force to reckon
with." The Indian caucus in the House of Representatives has more than
175 members. USINPAC held a very successful Capitol Hill reception on 19
July, with several Jewish lobbying organisations, to raise awareness of
international terrorism. "We have a consensus on terrorism, whether it
is at the World Trade Centre, the Parliament in Delhi, or on the streets
of Jerusalem. Terrorism has to be addressed and stopped," Puri said.
Sen Orrin G. Hatch, Utah Republican
and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, met USINPAC last year and
asked the organisation to identify Indian Americans qualified for federal
judgeships. Indian Americans should "continue to get involved in the process,
continue to break down barriers and reach out to political leaders in both
political parties," he told the group at a meeting on Capitol Hill. USINPAC
also takes credit on its web site for helping defeat the candidacy of Rep.
Dan Burton, an Indiana Republican, who in January sought the chairmanship
of the House International Relations Committee subcommittee on South Asia.
"Burton has long tried to damage US-India relations," the Web site contends.
Asked by the newspaper if the organisation
has the breakdown of Hindu and Muslim membership and how that might affect
the issues USINPAC tackles, Puri is said to have "bristled," saying, "We
are a political organisation, not a religious organisation. Our members
are Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Christian, Jain."
An Indian embassy official told
the Washington Times that while the embassy sometimes helps educate USINPAC
about issues by providing information that is not always readily available
or public, USINPAC should not be seen as an arm of the government or embassy.
"They are independent. We do not jointly coordinate activities," he said.
Puri said the community was moving towards the Republican party.
