Indian-Americans throng US Democratic Convention

An unprecedented number of Indian-Americans from across the US are attending the Democratic National Convention -- which kicks off Monday and will go through August 28 -- as elected delegates, alternates, appointed at-large delegates for their political activism on behalf of the party and the nominee Senator Barack Obama -- all intent to be part of history as the first African-American is formally nominated to be next president of the United States.

As someone who has covered Democratic and Republican conventions for the past two decades, the unprecedented number of Indian-Americans who have converged on this Mountain west city surrounded by snow-capped mountains has been as exponential as the phenomenal growth of the Obama movement.

In the 1980s, there were only a couple of Indian-Americans like New Jersey Democratic veteran Kanak Dutta and her protégé, now state legislator Upendra Chivukula in tow and the likes of another Democratic activist Rajen Anand who were the only Indian faces to be seen.

In the 1990s, it had grown to not more than a handful and even in 2004, the number of Indian-American delegates were less than two dozen.

But to this convention, the number of elected, alternate, and at-large delegates are in excess of 50 and counting the number of supporters and volunteers, the Indian-American presence has swelled to over a 100.

The Indian-American delegates, besides the high-profile ones from New York, Illinois, California, and Ohio like Preeta Bansal, a senior adviser on the Obama campaign, Hrishi Karthikeyan, co-founder of South Asians for Obama, Ann Kalayil, a longtime supporter and close friend of Obama, Anand, and Subodh Chandra, and Kansas state legislator Rajiv Goyle and Congressional hopeful from Minnesota Ashwin Madia, also include Indian-American delegates from Idaho to Missouri and Nevada to Colorado itself.

Anand, who is attending his sixth convention as an elected delegate or alternate, told rediff.com, "I am so proud. I am so proud the way the community has evolved. It is such a matter of pride."

"In the 1980s, it was very lonesome -- no Indian-Americans around and hardly anybody from our community attending. And, you had to tell the people around you where you were from and that 'I am of Indian origin' delegate," Anand added.

"But now there's absolutely no problem as far as identity is concerned," Anand said. "And, this time there are so many young Indian-Americans," and he noted, "the Obama delegates are under 40 or less, but the Hillary Clinton delegates (Anand was elected as a Clinton delegate as was Chivukula, but like all of the Clinton delegates are expected to turn over as delegates for Obama) are over 40."

"The increase in numbers has been  really dramatic and incredible and this shows that our community has come of age politically," Anand said.

He acknowledged that a good part of it could be because of the Obama phenomenon "and he has really attracted a lot of young people from our community," but he said, "this can't take away from the fact that we have grown politically as well and gotten involved and now is the process of trying to empower ourselves."

However, Anand said, "We are here not as Indian-Americans, but as part of the larger South Asian group and also part of the broader pan-Asian American movement. Of the 4,440 delegates and alternates credentialed for the convention, 44 per cent represent minority communities -- African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans -- and almost 5 per cent of the delegates are from the Asian-American community.

I am so happy because now we are working with Pakistani-Americans, Bangladeshi-Americans, and with several other community groups and coalitions, unlike the old days where we tended to be so clannish and parochial."

"The number of South Asian-American political and community activists who have converged in Denver is unprecedented, and in addition to working to nominate Senator Obama as the Democratic candidate for president, we will also be mobilising our community to get involved with the campaign, with the Democratic party and with public service in general," Karthikeyan said.

"The convention in many ways represents the culmination of SAFO's efforts, and the efforts of the organisers and leaders across the country, to change our political system. As Senator Obama himself recently acknowledged, SAFO leaders and volunteers have played a critical role in building this historic movement for change," he said.

"Our objective for the convention is not to just display our support for Senator Obama, but to leave with a renewed sense of purpose, energy and determination to turn out the South Asian-American vote in November and help win the White House," Karthikeyan added.