Ro Khanna an inspiration for new generation of Indian Americans to join politics: Community leaders

Washington, December 18

Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna has done critical work in strengthening the US-India partnership which is inspiring a new generation of community members to run for political offices, eminent community leaders have said.

Representing California’s 17th Congressional District, which has a major part of Silicon Valley, 47-year-old Khanna is also the Co-Chair of the Congressional India Caucus and is seen as giving a new lease of life to one of the largest country-specific Congressional caucuses.

“Ro (Khanna) represents a new generation of political leaders in this country. I have seen first-hand the critical work that he is doing in strengthening the US-India partnership in the 21st century,” prominent businessman Ashok Bhatt said at a gathering of eminent Indian Americans in the Bay Area on Saturday.

A group of eminent Indian American community leaders hosted Khanna this weekend to recognise him for the work he has done for the community and in building the India-US relationship.

“Khanna is the first Indian American who is chairing India Caucus, I appreciate him for reviving India Caucus and growing it to 140, playing an important role in US-India relations, inviting Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi to address the US Congress, taking a congressional delegation to India and also supporting Indian diaspora on issues like immigration,” said entrepreneur Khanderao Kand.

Khanna is an inspiring leader and has continued to mature during his time in office, said community leader Mahesh Patel.

“He has done much to improve the US-India partnership and is inspiring a new generation of Indian Americans to run for political office. His national profile has risen and he continues to engage with the community to better understand their issues and concerns,” Patel said.

“I was proud to host him at my home with Ashok Bhatt and other community leaders for a robust dialogue on the growing influence of our community and the need to strengthen our political engagement at all levels of government,” Patel said.

Bhatt said he has always believed that it is important to support Indian American candidates and help strengthen the community’s political voice.

“In my 40 years of political advocacy, I have always seen the power of communities to elevate their own. Khanna represents a new generation of political leaders in this country. I have seen first-hand the critical work that he is doing in strengthening the US-India partnership in the 21st century,” he said.

“One example is the US House of Representatives approving Ro Khanna’s amendment on CAATSA waiver to India which in an overwhelming majority, the House voted 330 to 99 in favour of the amendment. Equally important is to continue to engage with diverse members of our community and the event today that I hosted with other co-hosts was to help the community and Ro Khanna have a robust conversation about the issues that are vital for the US and the Indian American community,” he said.

Meanwhile, The New York Times Magazine released a new interview with Khanna on the future of progressivism and his plan in Congress to broaden the coalition with a strong economic message and a focus on Americans who have been left behind across the country.

“I aspire to inspire not just progressives but a majority of this country. My argument is that the central concern people have, including progressives, is that the American dream has slipped away, that people don’t think that their lives or their kids’ lives are going to be as good as the lives of their parents,” he said.

“So how do we capture the economic imagination of the country to believe that their prospects are going to be better? Having a perpetual economic development council at the White House — which we don’t have — is important. Then doing things in communities that have lost steel; say, look, we’re going to put up new steel plants in these communities. That would go a huge way in capturing the imagination and getting the working class that has been left out to say, ‘We’re going to be part of this economy,’” he said.

Khanna also addresses the tensions surrounding progressive capitalism saying, “The core progressive animating idea has largely been redistribution: We’ve got to tax the wealthy. There are challenges that I would pose to that. I’m for taxing the rich more, but there has to be a focus on economic production — on how do we grow the pie?

“Not just redistribution, but giving more people the opportunity to create wealth. That has to be part of the progressive vision, and that has to involve the private sector. You can’t build new steel factories in this country in Ashtabula, Ohio, or Johnstown… if you don’t work with the private sector,” he said.

“So, on challenging the progressive side: Have a focus on production, and be open to a partnership with the private sector. On the capitalist side: You have to care about the place. You can’t just say let’s have all this macroeconomic growth and not focus on every district in America. Make sure that you understand that it is a bad thing for America that my district has USD 10 trillion of company value and other districts are totally in despair,” Khanna told The New York Times.