The Indian-American lawmakers of the informally named 'Samosa Caucus' in the US House of Representatives have welcomed Shri Thanedar's addition to their group of Democratic leaders.
Entrepreneur-turned-politician and Democrat, Thanedar became the fifth Indian-American to be elected to the US House of Representatives in November last year. His victory had come after all four current Indian-American Democratic lawmakers – Dr Ami Bera, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna and Raja Krishnamoorthi – were re-elected to the US House of Representatives.
The 'Samosa Caucus' is an informal grouping of Indian-American lawmakers who are either part of the House of Representatives or the Senate. The term was coined by Congressman Krishnamoorthi to give credence to the growing number of 'desi' lawmakers in the US Congress.
"When I first took office in 2013, I was the only Indian American Member of Congress and the third ever in history. Since that day, I have been committed to ensuring we grow our representation in Congress," said Congressman Bera.
"In the past decade, I am proud to be joined by incredible Indian-American colleagues from around the country – Representatives Jayapal, Khanna, and Krishnamoorthi. With the swearing-in of the 118th Congress, our coalition has grown to a record number with the election of Representative Thanedar," he said.
The Indian-American community has emerged as a force to reckon with in the US presidential elections. In the last election, both the Democrat and the Republican campaigns initiated several measures to woo the approximately 1.8 million members of the community who have emerged as a critical voting bloc in the battleground states of Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
Indian-Americans have made countless contributions to American society, including in tech, science, medicine, and the military.
Indian-Americans currently serve as the CEOs of major companies including Microsoft (Satya Nadella), Google (Sundar Pichai), IMB (Arvind Krishna), and MasterCard (Ajay Banga).
According to the 2010 census, 70 per cent of Indian-Americans over the age of 25 had college degrees, 2.5 times higher than the national average.
The first Asian-American and Indian-American Member of Congress was Dalip Singh Saund, who served in the US House of Representatives from 1957 to 1963.
In the past decade, the number of Indian-American voices in government has grown rapidly, with signs that the next decade will see the representation grow even further, it said.