Politics, Culture and Education

The first Asian elected to the US House of Representatives was Indian born Dilip Singh Saund in 1955. Later, Kamala Harris was elected State Attorney General, US Senator and finally Vice President. Today the wife of Vice President JD Vance is Usha Vance, born in San Diego to Indian parents.

Today, the U.S House of Representatives boasts two Indian Americans. Ro (Rohit) Khanna of Fremont, California who is also the Chair of the House India Caucus. Also in the House is Ami Bera elected from the Sacramento area.

The first prominent Yogi to come to America was Paramhansa Yogananda (born in Gorakhpur in 1893). He settled in Los Angeles for 25 years and made a name for himself while introducing Yoga to the West. His “Autobiography of a Yogi” became a bestseller and many years later everyone who attended the funeral of Apple founder Steve Jobs was given a copy of this book. Jobs also advised Meta CEO to take a spiritual trip to India at a time when Facebook was in trouble.

Many deans of schools are Indian American. Even the Chancellor of UC San Diego is an Indian American.