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WASHINGTON: It was a Diwali without sparkle for many Indians who attended a White House event on Wednesday to mark the festival. President Bush was a no-show, First Lady Laura Bush did not turn-up, and there was little representation from the top echelons of the administration or the Republican Party - not even in the form of Karl Rove, Bush's chief political strategist who attended last year's festivities. This year's principal was Robert Blackwill, former US ambassador to India and White House pointman on Iraq, who resigned from the administration over the weekend and whose last day it was at...

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 05, 2004 12:37:33 AM ] WASHINGTON: After the electoral fireworks, the light. Indian-Americans will have their first dibs in the Bush II White House at a Diwali celebration to be hosted by the President next week. A tradition begun by the Bush I White House last year will be continued this year on November 10, when community elite will troop into 1600, Pennsylvania Avenue for the festival of lights. Bush was not present last year - he was in Hawaii on his way back from a trip to East Asia - but community leaders hope...

Bobby's win a coming of age for Indian Americans ISHANI DUTTAGUPTA TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 03, 2004 11:59:29 PM] NEW DELHI: Bobby Jindal has not just made history, he has done it from a very unlikely geography — Louisiana’s conservative first district. His landslide win with 78% of the vote, makes him the second Indian American to make it to the US House of Representatives, after Dilip Singh Saund way back in 1956. But while Mr Saund, a prominent community worker who suffered a stroke while in office and had to give up his seat, was elected from the...

Senators Tom Daschle and John Kerry, Governor Jim McGreevey, and many others in the Democratic Party have created hysteria on the issue of outsourcing. Most legislation to ban or restrict outsourcing in state legislatures or Congress have been introduced by Democrats. Yet, many Indian Americans know the outsourcing issue is one that has been created by Democrats for political gain at their expense. The economy has added 1.9 million jobs in 13 consecutive months, 49 states have added jobs in 2004, the unemployment rate has dropped in 45 states and nearly 140 million Americans are working, an all-time high. Our...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. New York, Sep 27 (UNI) Members of the Indian-American community who attended a public meeting addressed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh welcomed his speech and expressed confidence that India would soon be a developed economy. ''He spoke well. He appreciated Indian-Americans. I've high hopes,'' Munawar Haq, a business consultant in New York, told UNI. ''He did a phenomenally good job when he was a Finance Minister. Now he himself is the Prime Minister. I have no doubts that the country will make rapid strides. His name spells confidence among the international...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. WASHINGTON: Several leading Indian Americans are part of a special committee announced by the Bush-Cheney campaign to re-elect President George Bush in the forthcoming November 2 presidential polls. The newly constituted 75-member Asian Pacific American National Steering Committee (APANSC) is headed by Labour Secretary Elaine Chao. The Indian Americans include the Republican Party's Zach Zachariah, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a cardiologist and a leading fundraiser; Raghavendra Vijayanagar, also a heart surgeon in Tampa, Florida, and founder and chairman of the Indian American Republican Council; Joseph Melookaran, a chartered accountant and businessman...

Punctuality is not a particularly Indian virtue. Thus, at 7.30pm Sunday August 29, leading lights of the Republican faction of the Indian American community were still straggling in for their own pre-convention bash, when a quietly dressed, soft-spoken gent strolled in and began shaking every hand that was stretched out to him, and then some. Congressman Joe Wilson (South Carolina, Republican) - accompanied by wife Roxanne, sons Hunter and Julian, and legislative aide Dino Teppara - was among the earliest arrivals at the Indian American Republican Committee bash at Shaan Restaurant in New York (48th Street, between 5th and 6th...

For the first time, as many as 10 Indian American delegates have been invited to attend the Republican convention that opened in New York on Monday. They are mostly well-heeled physicians and long-time Republican supporters in a country where Indian Americans traditionally support the Democrats. The growing community support for the Republicans in recent years prompted this highly-motivated group to form the Indian American Republican Council (IARC) some time ago. Dr Zach Zachariah and Dr Raghavendra Vijayanagar, both from Florida, lead the Indian pack at the convention. The group is making out the case that another term for President George...

NASA has dedicated its new Altix supercomputer 'KC' to the memory of India-born astronaut Kalpana Chawla, one of the seven crew members aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia which disintegrated midair in February last year. Naming the new supercomputer 'Kalpana' follows a long tradition at NASA's Ames Research Centre of calling its new supercomputers after pioneers in the supercomputer industry or individuals who have significantly contributed to research at the aircraft research laboratory. "It is indeed an honour to name NASA's new SGI Altix 3000 supercomputer after Kalpana Chawla," said Ames Centre Director G Scott Hubbard. "She was not only a...

Almost one and a half years after the tragic disaster of the Nasa space shuttle Columbia, one of its crew, the late Indian-American astronaut Kalpana Chawla has been honoured by the New York City administration. 74th Street in the Jackson Heights area of the city has now been renamed, 74 Street Kalpana Chawla Way. Kalpana Chawla was one of the seven astronauts killed when the Colombia shuttle disintegrated in mid-air on 1 February, 2003. The Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, officially unveiled the Kalpana Chawla Way on Sunday at a simple but well attended ceremony including hundreds of...

New York: It may be a sign of the maturing politicisation of Indian Americans in this country when they begin to broadly reflect the mainstream split in America in this presidential race. Democrats are largely pleased with presidential candidate John Kerry's choice of a running mate in Senator John Edwards, but Republicans are even happier that they now have the ideal punching bag for convincing any uncertain voters that changing the administration would be a bad idea come November 2. Edwards has been outspoken against outsourcing of jobs and, to top it all, is a trial lawyer, a bad word...

Chief, council honor Cherokee citizen killed in Iraq By Will Chavez Staff Writer TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - Fern Holland, a Cherokee citizen who was killed in Iraq on March 9, was honored by the Tribal Council during its meeting March 15. A resolution honoring her was approved by the council and read by Principal Chief Chad Smith. "Fern Leona Holland understood that she was at great risk because of her work, but expressed to her family that she loved the work she was doing and that many Iraqi women were depending upon her. "(She) was assassinated in Iraq because of her...

Indian Americans, who have usually been very visible in Democratic presidential campaigns seem to be keeping a low profile this time round. This obviously has something to do with the presidential candidate Senator John Kerry’s criticism of outsourcing jobs to India. “The community has prepared a white paper for presentation to John Kerry at a private meeting today (in San Francisco). Their are many issues that will be covered, and outsourcing is just one of them. So far, the Democratic Party and John Kerry are talking against outsourcing, but we feel that this issue is being debated intensely, with input...

NEW DELHI: Just when you thought you had heard enough about outsourcing backlash against India, a new angle has sprung up which has been under wraps till now. And it is as shocking as it can get. One of the most potent groups emerging in the US lobbying for a punctuation mark to outsourcing software related work – as against call centres – are none other than Indians themselves. Most of these are low- and mid-level techies who had migrated with heavy pay cheques during the 1990s and are now finding their own brethren back home snatching their jobs. They...

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Two defendants admitted their roles Wednesday in a plot to sell Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to the Taliban and al-Qaida, authorities said. Ilyas Ali, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in India, and Muhamed Abid Afridi of Pakistan pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists and conspiracy to distribute heroin and hashish, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. The case against a third defendant, Syed Mustajab Shah of Pakistan, is pending. In a plea bargain, Ali and Afridi admitted they planned to sell 5 tons of hashish and a half-ton of Pakistani heroin in exchange for cash...

WASHINGTON : US President George W Bush has greeted India on the occasion of its Republic Day, pledging to build a "lasting partnership" between Washington and New Delhi . "We are grateful for India 's support in the global coalition against terrorism, and together we can continue to advance peace, freedom and opportunity for all people," he said in a message to the Indian American Associations of National Capital Area, which organised the 55th Indian R-Day celebrations in Beltsville , Maryland , near here. Bush said for many years the US and India "have been committed to transforming relationships between...

Serving in the Army, emigrant is first Indian to die in Iraq war NEW DELHI (AP) — An Indian who emigrated to the United States and joined the U.S. Army has become the first Indian killed in the Iraq conflict, according to family members in the United States and in northern India. The death of Spc. Uday Singh, 21, on Dec. 1, reported by The Associated Press in Illinois on Wednesday, was bannered on the front pages of Indian newspapers Thursday. Singh was born in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh, emigrated to the United States at 18 and joined...

Indian American Bobby Jindal appears to be calling the shots once again. The hardcore Republican, who is locked in a grim battle for governorship of Louisiana, has stolen a march over Democratic rival Kathleen Blanco in some of the latest opinion polls. “Race far from over, but Jindal has five-point lead over Democrat Blanco,” headlined ‘The Town Talk’ after a poll commissioned by Louisiana Gannett newspapers over the past week. Its finding: 48 per cent for Jindal, 43 per cent for Blanco and 9 per cent undecided. Pollster Brad Coker, in a qualified comment, said: “It looks like it is...

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...

NEW ORLEANS The election-night blowout at the Astor Crowne Plaza in the French Quarter last weekend was something rare in Republican politics: a truly biracial event. But even though 33 percent of Louisiana — and 67 percent of New Orleans — is black, there was scarcely a black reveler there. The mix of people celebrating Bobby Jindal's first-round win in this year's governor's race was an unusual one: whites and Indian-Americans. California's new governor has been grabbing all the headlines, but Mr. Jindal's odyssey has been nearly as remarkable. At the age of 32, he has an almost freakishly impressive...