Rep. Ro Khanna will be the next chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, he told NBC News in an exclusive interview last week. Khanna, a Democrat who has been representing California’s 17th Congressional District since 2017, is the first Indian American to helm the bipartisan caucus.
“When I started on this journey, in my 20s, there was a huge novelty to having someone of Indian origin even enter politics,” he said. “The Indian American diaspora can play such an important role in helping strengthen the U.S.-India partnership. … I think this is a historic moment for our community. I think we’re really emerging and coming into our own as a strong voice.”
The caucus was established in 1993 with an intent to strengthen relations between the U.S. and India and was previously chaired by Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., and former Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio.
But as the first person of Indian descent to lead it, Khanna hopes to take the caucus beyond its original goal. The Indian diaspora in the U.S. has its own unique needs, he said, and the position could be an opportunity to bring them to the forefront.
“I’m going to try to make it about not just us India, but also the Indian American community and highlighting the contributions of that community,” he said. “I think being Indian America and being part of the community, knowing so many of the community leaders, knowing the passions and interests of young people, I’ll be able to do that.”
Having spent much of his career in Northern California’s Silicon Valley, Khanna said he’s been immersed in Indian American issues for years. The rising tide of Hindu nationalism is something on the forefront of the diaspora’s collective consciousness; from professional spheres to college campuses, reports of Islamophobia and casteism abound in South Asian spaces.
Khanna hasn’t shied away from those conversations, and his vocalness has in the past sparked outrage from right-wing Indian Americans. In 2019, 230 Hindu and Indian American entities wrote a letter to Khanna, criticizing him for denouncing Hindu nationalism (also known as Hindutva) and for advocating religious equality on the subcontinent.
“It’s the duty of every American politician of Hindu faith to stand for pluralism, reject Hindutva, and speak for equal rights for Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhist & Christians,” Khanna tweeted.
They also criticized Khanna for joining the Congressional Pakistan Caucus and for speaking out against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoking the state of Kashmir’s autonomy.
“Of course, we have to fulfill the strategic partnership and we have to respect the democratically elected leadership in India,” Khanna told NBC News. “I will work to strengthen that while also upholding these human rights values.”
As pandemic aftereffects continue to impact communities in the U.S. and India, backlogs for green cards and tourist visas have grown to span years. Khanna hopes with the caucus, he can help alleviate that.
“We’re trying to figure out, how do we allocate the resources to address this issue?” he said. “But this is a top priority for us.”
Indian children who came to the U.S. with work visa-holding parents are beginning to face immigration issues of their own. As they grow up and age out of coverage under their parents visas, many are left with no clear path to citizenship. Indian American-run organizations like Improve the Dream have spent the last few years lobbying the federal government to pass legislation correcting that.
“These kids of H1B are like the Dreamers,” Khanna said. “You have kids who came here when they were 2 or 3. They don’t have citizenship. … Even though they have grown up their whole life here, they’re in a vulnerable position.”
With both Republican and Democratic representatives serving on the India Caucus, including Khanna’s co-chair Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., Khanna is aiming to mobilize bipartisan support for safeguarding young adults who find themselves in this position.
Khanna held a town hall on Saturday, bringing awareness to Asian American and Pacific Islanders’ mental health in the wake of the deadly shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay, California. Though the shooters in both cases were Asian men, Khanna said they amplified a mounting fear of simply existing in community spaces once considered safe.
With numerous high-profile acts of violence against Asians in the last few years, community members are feeling more “distant” from America than ever, he said.
“We had so much outreach to our office from constituents…people afraid, concerned, anxious about being Asian American in the United States,” he said. “These shootings, even though the perpetrator was Asian American, I think they triggered for so many in our community a sense of vulnerability.”
Khanna says taking on this greater role in the India Caucus feels like the culmination of generations of work in the public sphere. His grandfather Amarnath Vidyalankar spent his life fighting for India’s independence from British rule, even spending a few years in jail for the cause. Vidyalankar became a member of India’s first Parliament after independence in 1947.
Growing up with this knowledge has shaped Khanna’s strong beliefs in equality and religious freedom, he said, something he hopes to bring with him while chairing the caucus.
“Because of my grandfather, I was influenced by Gandhi’s thinking, by Nehru’s beautiful speeches about liberal democracy, about pluralism,” he said. “Those are the values I champion. … I’ve spoken out where I think those values are being challenged.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
