Posted on 09/25/2003 7:56:42 AM PDT by JohnnyZ
In the United States, any Tom, Dick or Chirinjeev can run for public office, but Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria knows his name may be a challenge for some voters.
Kathuria hopes to become the first native of India elected to the U.S. Senate. Although he was born in India, Kathuria has lived in Illinois since he was 8 months old. Although the president must be born in the United States, the Constitution does not require a person to be a U.S. native in order to run for Congress.
He has attended the Sikh Religious Society Temple in Palatine since he was a boy.
"We were there when they first started building it," Kathuria said. "My dad was involved in the early days in building it."
Mohinderjit Singh Saini of Palatine said he and other members of the local Sikh temple are excited Kathuria is running for the seat now held by Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, an Inverness Republican, who is not seeking re-election.
"I've been volunteering my time to work on his campaign," Saini said. "I've worked on other campaigns, but since (Kathuria) is part of our community, I've been devoting a little more time to his campaign."
As a member of the Palatine Zoning Board of Appeals, Saini has experience in public office. He also is active in regional organizations that include the Asian American Coalition of Chicago and the Punjabi Cultural Society, which he formerly served as president. Saini is using his many connections to spread the news about Kathuria's candidacy.
"We're promoting at events and doing mass e-mails," Saini said. "I'm designing literature, and we get to introduce him at a majority of events."
Kathuria, an Oak Brook resident, is running as a Republican candidate in the March primary.
"Traditionally, south Asian-Americans have voted about 70 percent Democratic," Kathuria said. "It's important for the Republican Party to hold this seat. They need to expand their base and reach out to more ethnic voters and more moderate voters.
"I might get the independent votes some of the other candidates might not get. Some Republicans said I might be their best shot to hold the seat."
Kathuria's candidacy has received national as well as international media attention.
"Most immigrants came here like my parents with only a few dollars in their pocket. In America, there is tolerance and an abundance of opportunities," Kathuria said. "I'm trying to show that the American dream works. And it's my turn to give something back."
Kathuria holds advanced degrees in medicine and business and has a long list of accomplishments -- including providing medical relief in Kosovo, helping to send the first tourist into space, and developing businesses in the communications and medical fields worth more than $1 billion.
Saini said Kathuria is not only the right man for the job because of his business experience, his candidacy gives much needed exposure to the Indian-American and Sikh communities.
"After 9/11, it's become more important. There have been cases of mistaken identities between the Sikh turban and other turbans from, for example, Afghanistan," he said. "Some people look at it as 'a turban is a turban,' but we live in America, and we want to serve our country."
Kathuria said a Sikh was the first doctor on the scene at the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"People in the gurdwara (temple) in Palatine are thankful. This is a way to educate people, not only in Illinois but in the rest of America, and take away that hatred," Kathuria said.
Kathuria said the first reaction many people had when he announced his candidacy during the Iraq war was shock. Although his appearance at first seemed to be a problem, he said, it is now getting him plenty of publicity and has turned into an advantage.
His campaign Web site explains that Sikh men wear a turban as a sign of purity and devotion to their faith.
"It's only in America that someone wearing a beard and turban after 9/11 could run for U.S. Senate and have a serious shot at winning," he said. "That's an amazing statement that shows what this country is all about and why people come to America."
Plus the freedom to run for office and hold office while willing to uphold the very Constitutional Liberties and freedoms that have been established for all people, by the people of a faith that is recently become maligned and persecuted.
Kathuria is an excellent example of someone who understands 'melting pot' and the wisdom to stand on the precepts that founded us, instead of revising them. I wish him well.
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