Los Angeles, December 18, 2004
By Gurmukh Singh
Hindustan Times

A petition campaign to persuade the US authorities to issue a postal stamp in honour of Dalip Singh Saund, who in 1956 became the first Asian -American to be elected to the Congress, has failed.

Bobby Jindal, who was elected last month, is the second Indian American after Saund to become Congressman in US history.

The petition campaign was mounted by the American Federation of People of Indian Origin (AFPIO) to urge the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to honour the late Saund who represented California thrice in Congress from 1956 to 1962.

The Stamp Committee is the final authority for recommending stamps to the US Postalmaster General.

The stamp petition was part of the proposed celebrations of the golden jubilee of Saund's inauguration as a Congressman in 1956.

Informing the AFPIO of its decision, the US Postal Service says the Stamp Advisory Committee ``did review this nomination'' but couldn't accommodate the Indian leader.

"A limited number of stamp subjects are chosen for each yearly program. Unfortunately, a vast majority of suggestions submitted, including many meritorious and meaningful subjects, cannot result a stamp,'' the US Postal Service said.

Many US current and former Congressmen, including Jeb Hensarling, Martin Frost, Pete Sessions, Joe Wilson, and other lawmakers had joined the Indian diaspora in petitioning the Stamp Advisory Committee.

"But we are not giving up. On January 22, 2005, at India Night function in Dallas, which attracts about 2,000 people, we will restart the petition drive. We plan a banquet in March at which Saund's souvenir will be unveiled. The President, the Prime Minister, the External Affairs Minister of India, Indian American Congressman Bobby Jindal, and American Congressmen/women are being invited for the March function,'' AFPIO president Ramesh Gupta said in a press release.

In July, Indian Caucus-chairman Joe Wilson had introduced a Bill for installing the portrait of Saund in the Congress building.

"Dalip Singh Saund is still recognized as a role model for the over 10 million Americans of Asian descent. Today, Asian-Americans who seek public office often make reference to Saund and his accomplishments,'' the AFPIO said.

Born on September 20, 1899, in Amritsar, Saund came to the US in 1920 for higher education, eventually earning masters and doctorate degrees from the University of California, Berkley. After this, Saund started his life as a lettuce farmer and chemical fertilizer distributor. As Indians were not allowed to become US citizens, Saund became a champion of changing this law. These efforts culminated in 1946 Bill that gave Indians and other Asians the right to citizenship. Less than a year after he gained citizenship, Saund was elected to the Imperial County Democratic Central Committee. On November 6, 1956, he was elected Congressman to represent the 29th Congressional District of California and went on to serve three terms.

Curiously, America was the first country after India to issue two stamps on Mahatma Gandhi on January 26, 1961.

And these two stamps till today hold the world record for being the largest quantities of stamps ever issued. There were 120,000,000 stamps in the denomination of 4 cent and 40,000,000 stamps in the denomination of 8 cents!