WASHINGTON,D.C. - The Hindu American Foundation’s first ever Capitol Hill gala dinner here on June 19 was attented by members of Congress, Democrats Tulsi Gabbard, Raja Krishnamoorthi, and Republican Kevin Yoder, from Kansas. Attendeees laughed the evening away with Los Angeles-based comedian Rajiv Satyal. HAF, honored those who have made significant and contributions to the Hindu American community and...
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the wider public over the past year. Vir Sahu was given the NextGen award for his work in 2017 to make Diwali an official school holiday at his school, Council Rock High School, outside of Philadelphia.
Michael Lieberman, Washington Counsel for the Anti-Defamation League was given the Mahatma Gandhi Award for the Advancement of Pluralism. In his acceptance speech, Lieberman emphasized the critical importance of the Hindu and Jewish communities working together to promote religious respect and pluralism.
The award for the Advancement of Dharmic Arts and Humanities was given to film director Mandar Apte.
Apte’s film “From India With Love” documents a journey to India, inspired by the journey Dr. Martin Luther King took to explore the homeland of Mahatma Gandhi, by a group of former gang members, racial justice activists, and other survivors of violence. The group becomes transformed by the experience, by their time together, and by the discussions and meditation experienced on the trip. Apte has since worked to promote the Hindu concept of ahimsa (non-violence) as a way to mediate conflict to major police departments across the country, foremost of these being the Los Angeles Police Department.
Unique to this year’s event was the presentation of two Dharma Seva awards.
The first of these was bestowed upon Shanthi Viswanathan, teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida, who is credited with saving the lives of her 27 students during the mass shooting there earlier this year.
The second Dharma Seva award was presented to Dr. Jeffery Long, a professor at Elizabethtown College (PA), for his tireless work to help the American public understand Hinduism in an accurate way, as a lived tradition, in both academia and our public schools. Friend of the Community Award was given to Representative Kevin Yoder who was lauded for his work championing immigration reform, as well as his leadership in the wake of the Olathe, Kansas hate crime shooting that killed Srinivas Kuchibotla and injured two others. Krishnamoorthi was given Pride of the Community Award, which is bestowed upon an individual who has demonstrated excellence in a field of public interest, elevating the stature of the Hindu American community as a whole.
He commended members of the audience for their work in their respective communities and contributions to the country, but said, “I would ask you step it up, even more. It’s time to do our civic duty.” “I hope that some of you, or your children, or grandchildren may run for city council, or state senate, or the United States Congress,” he concluded.
Policy Conference:
HAF’s third annual policy conference took place here on June 18 and focused on key policy concerns for Hindu Americans, including U.S.-India relations, immigration policy, and gun safety reform.
Keynoting the event was Nisha Desai Biswal. President of the US-India Business Council. She was honored in 2015 by HAF for her previous work in the State Department, spoke to the growing realization in America of the immense opportunity that India represents.
“Businesses are seeing India as a primary focus for investment,” Biswal went on to say. That indeed there would be points of friction between the US and India on trade, “but I would not see them as a point of alarm, but as a point of opportunity,” she concluded.
Biswal’s keynote was followed by a lively and frank panel discussion on the need for immigration policy reforms to the way in which green cards are allotted and the challenges facing spouses of im migrants working under the H-1B visa program. The panel was moderated by HAF Managing Director Samir Kalra, and featured immigration advocate Padma Katapalli of GC Reforms, immigration lawyer Akanksha Kalra, and HAF National Leadership Council member Swami Venkataraman, who spoke about his own experience navigating the US immigration system.
Michael Lieberman, Washington Counsel for the Anti-Defamation League was given the Mahatma Gandhi Award for the Advancement of Pluralism. In his acceptance speech, Lieberman emphasized the critical importance of the Hindu and Jewish communities working together to promote religious respect and pluralism.
The award for the Advancement of Dharmic Arts and Humanities was given to film director Mandar Apte.
Apte’s film “From India With Love” documents a journey to India, inspired by the journey Dr. Martin Luther King took to explore the homeland of Mahatma Gandhi, by a group of former gang members, racial justice activists, and other survivors of violence. The group becomes transformed by the experience, by their time together, and by the discussions and meditation experienced on the trip. Apte has since worked to promote the Hindu concept of ahimsa (non-violence) as a way to mediate conflict to major police departments across the country, foremost of these being the Los Angeles Police Department.
Unique to this year’s event was the presentation of two Dharma Seva awards.
The first of these was bestowed upon Shanthi Viswanathan, teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida, who is credited with saving the lives of her 27 students during the mass shooting there earlier this year.
The second Dharma Seva award was presented to Dr. Jeffery Long, a professor at Elizabethtown College (PA), for his tireless work to help the American public understand Hinduism in an accurate way, as a lived tradition, in both academia and our public schools. Friend of the Community Award was given to Representative Kevin Yoder who was lauded for his work championing immigration reform, as well as his leadership in the wake of the Olathe, Kansas hate crime shooting that killed Srinivas Kuchibotla and injured two others. Krishnamoorthi was given Pride of the Community Award, which is bestowed upon an individual who has demonstrated excellence in a field of public interest, elevating the stature of the Hindu American community as a whole.
He commended members of the audience for their work in their respective communities and contributions to the country, but said, “I would ask you step it up, even more. It’s time to do our civic duty.” “I hope that some of you, or your children, or grandchildren may run for city council, or state senate, or the United States Congress,” he concluded.
Policy Conference:
HAF’s third annual policy conference took place here on June 18 and focused on key policy concerns for Hindu Americans, including U.S.-India relations, immigration policy, and gun safety reform.
Keynoting the event was Nisha Desai Biswal. President of the US-India Business Council. She was honored in 2015 by HAF for her previous work in the State Department, spoke to the growing realization in America of the immense opportunity that India represents.
“Businesses are seeing India as a primary focus for investment,” Biswal went on to say. That indeed there would be points of friction between the US and India on trade, “but I would not see them as a point of alarm, but as a point of opportunity,” she concluded.
Biswal’s keynote was followed by a lively and frank panel discussion on the need for immigration policy reforms to the way in which green cards are allotted and the challenges facing spouses of im migrants working under the H-1B visa program. The panel was moderated by HAF Managing Director Samir Kalra, and featured immigration advocate Padma Katapalli of GC Reforms, immigration lawyer Akanksha Kalra, and HAF National Leadership Council member Swami Venkataraman, who spoke about his own experience navigating the US immigration system.
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