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Young Indo-Americans and our political
future
By Neeta Sane
Missouri City, TX
As we celebrate India's 60th Independence day
in the United States of America, I am so thrilled
to see that Indo-Americans are not only focusing
on India, but are starting to move ahead to gain
a foothold in the political future of this country;
the land that has provided us with opportunities
to establish ourselves as the economically strongest
community.
Over the past four decades, Indian immigrants
and their children have become very successful
in diverse fields including medicine, engineering
and business. We undoubtedly have reached the
highest level of excellence with our intelligence,
hard work and perseverance to make sure our children
prosper and succeed as well. We, Indo-Americans,
have become one of the wealthiest and best-educated
ethnic groups in the United States! However, this
prosperity has not yet led to high levels of participation
in the American electoral process as the Indian
immigrants focused on gaining economic stability.
Now, isn't it time to motivate our young Indo-Americans
even more to participate in the political processes
of this country which now has become our adopted
home? Do we not want our children to influence
the political actions which ultimately determine
the stability and prosperity of our new home,
the United States of America?
As I build my campaign for Fort Bend County Treasurer
for my election in November 2006, I am blessed
to have some of our Indo-American children who
are helping me with the campaign as they gain
a valuable perspective about the current political
clout. As an Indo-American political candidate,
it is satisfying to be able to encourage the young
Indo-Americans in my vicinity to run for public
offices to serve and influence the political outcomes
not only at the national level but also at the
local level. Our children excel in Social and
political Sciences in schools and colleges but
then it makes me wonder why such young talent
does not strive to undertake the leadership roles
as political leaders in this country.
I am excited to see that my son, who is a freshman
in UT-Austin studying Chemical Engineering, now
acknowledges the value of participating in our
political systems more than ever as I continue
to campaign as the Democratic candidate to bring
integrity, efficiency and transparency to the
office of Fort Bend County Treasurer.
We have started making our presence felt in the
political arena by becoming American citizens
and giving political contributions. However, as
Indian American Leadership Initiative President
Varun Nikore said, "Indian Americans´
substantial campaign contributions did not translate
to increased political clout. We can give money
until we are blue in the face, but in the end,
all that matters is having one of your own at
the table. If we really want to be part of the
political process, we need to get more people
elected."
As an Indo-American political candidate, I am
looking forward to leaving a legacy for our children
to expand their horizons and explore the American
political territories to make a history that embraces
Indian heritage and American values with new Indo-American
vision for our future generations!
In my opinion, we need to start by having a stronger
voice in the local government where the local
issues that dominate our daily lives can be taken
care of. I am glad that the Indo-American Political
Action committee of Greater Houston is taking
a lead with the mission to create opportunities
for Indo-Americans to work as political interns
and get elected to local, state and federal public
offices.
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