iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
On August 16, the day after the 74th Indian Independence Day, IMPACT, the leading political organization devoted to boosting the number of Indian Americans in public office, co-hosted an Independence Day event with Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden and Vice-Presidential nominee Kamala Harris. The hour-long event was shared with the IMPACT community supporters, discussed the commitment to democracy in both the U.S. and India, and explored the future of US-India relations.
“We share a special bond I’ve seen deepen over many years,” Biden said. “As U.S. Senator and Vice President, I’ve watched it deepen [and] I’ve said if the U.S and India became closer friends and partners, then the world will be a safer place.”
“If elected President, I’ll continue to believe that and continue what I’ve long called for, including standing with India and confronting the threats it faces in its own region and along its borders; expanding greater two-way trade that opens markets and grows the middle class in both our countries; taking on big global challenges together like climate change and global health security; and strengthening our democracies where diversity is our mutual strength and where we have an honest conversation about all issues, as close friends do.”
Biden talked about how in the current global conditions relationship between the two countries can be strengthened like never before in real-time with real consequences.
He was also proud to introduce his vice-president Kamala Harris and how her rise to the top is of significance to each and every Indian Americans and Indians who share similar struggles and stories.
He noted how Indian Americans have become “the pillars of the community and the country”. He also did not fail to mention the contribution of Indian Americans in the frontline of the pandemic and in fighting against systematic racism.
He specifically highlighted how even after all these struggles, the community is faced with “sudden and harmful actions on H1-B visa, which for decades have made America stronger and brought the nations closer.”
“To the people of India and Indian Americans all across the U.S., I want to wish you a happy Indian Independence Day,” Harris said. “On August 15, 1947, men and women all over India rejoiced in the Declaration of the Independence of the country of India. Today on August 15, 2020, I stand before you as the first candidate for Vice President of the United States of South Asian descent.”
“Our community is bound together by so much more than our shared history and culture,” Harris added. “The reason there is a kinship between everyone who was a product of the South Asian diaspora…is because we also share a set of values, values forged by overcoming colonial pasts not only in one nation, but in two. Values like tolerance, pluralism, and diversity.”
“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris embody the values we fight for – a commitment to equality, justice, and progress,” Deepak Raj and Raj Goyle, co-founders of IMPACT, said. “Kamala Harris has been a longstanding and committed ally of the IMPACT organization, and we are delighted to see two leaders Indian Americans need to build the America we dream of, the land opportunity which drew so many of us here, and the hope for the future we want for our children and grandchildren.”
“I couldn’t be prouder of this moment and what it means for my daughters and for all of the children of immigrants across this country who ask themselves, where can they go?” said Nisha Desai Biswal, who served as the first Indian-American Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia in Barack Obama’s second term as president.
Nisha Desai Biswal, who is currently president of the US India Business Council (USIBC), made the comments when she was participating in a virtual event over the weekend on the Importance of US-India Relations and the Indian-American Community on the occasion of India’s 74th Independence Day.
At the event, Seema Sadanandan, who has twenty years of experience as a civil rights advocate before joining the Joe Biden for President campaign, laid out the Democratic Party’s economic plan and the stakes in this election.
“We just have to decide as a community, what is it worth to us? What is it worth to us to have schools for our children, to have preventative care, not just to get sick, but to be healthy, to have the systems in place to take care of our elders, to have clean air and water, to have freedom and democracy. What is it worth to us to build that future for our children? This is what we do to set the pathway for 10, 20, 30, 40 years. It’s all happening right now. And it’s a movement that we must win” Sadanandan said, during the event.
“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris embody the values we fight for — a commitment to equality, justice, and progress,” said Deepak Raj and Raj Goyle, co-founders of IMPACT.
