Virginia State Senator Suhas Subramanyam joins the Samosa Caucus in the Congress that currently comprises five Indian Americans — Ami Bera, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal and Shri Thanedar.
| Photo Credit: AP
Suhas Subramanyam created history by becoming the first Indian American to be elected from Virginia and the entire East Coast.
Running for the U.S. House of Representatives from the 10th Congressional District of Virginia, a Democratic stronghold, Mr. Subramanyam defeated Mike Clancy of the Republican Party.
He is currently a Virginia State Senator.
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“I am honoured and humbled that the people of Virginia’s 10th District put their trust in me to take on the toughest fights and deliver results in Congress. This district is my home. I got married here, my wife Miranda and I are raising our daughters here, and the issues our community faces are personal to our family. It is an honour to continue serving this district in Washington,” Mr. Subramanyam said.
He joins the Samosa Caucus in the Congress that currently comprises five Indian Americans — Ami Bera, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal and Shri Thanedar.
Shri Thanedar was re-elected for the second consecutive term. He has represented the thirteenth Congressional District of Michigan since 2023. Raja Krishnamoorthi, representing the seventh Congressional District of Illinois since 2017, was reelected.
Mr. Subramanyam’s parents arrived in the U.S. — through Dulles Airport — in the late 1970s.
“Dulles Airport was like their Ellis Island and when they came here, they wanted a better life and we never imagined that someone like me named Suhas Subramanyam could be in the U.S. Congress. But we want to make that a reality, and it starts with people coming out and voting in Virginia in November,” he told PTI in an earlier interview.
“My mom is from Bangalore, and my dad’s from Chennai. He spent a lot of time in Secunderabad as well, because his father was in the military, so there was a military base there. They decided to come here to build a good life. My mother in particular really liked the idea of becoming a physician in America,” he said.
“She and my father met in medical school in Bangalore and then came out here in the late 70s. They just taught me a couple of values. One, service is very important, giving back, making a good life. Education is also important. One of the things they also wanted me to do was make sure I stay in touch with my Indian roots as well,” he said. “So I would go back to India in the summers all the time. I still have family there. It’s very important to me to continue that heritage and really not run just because I’m an Indian American, but I have a lot of ideas I want to do, but run being proud of my background, my heritage,” he had said.
Responding to a question, Mr. Subramanian advocated for a strong India-U.S. relationship.
“The U.S.-India relationship is so important because India is one of the most important democracies on earth. And so we want to make sure we have a good relationship with other democracies in the global sphere,” he said.
“The U.S. and India have a naturally strong relationship. A lot of Indian Americans live here. We have a large Indian diaspora. A lot of Indian students come here to study. And a lot of U.S. companies have offices in India. We have a strong economic partnership. I think now we can start to look at what a defence partnership could mean and how we can work together on technology transfer, on just having common strategic defence goals. I think that will be a very important relationship for both countries long-term. And it’s, I think, something that even setting aside the fact that I’m an American is something that I think will be really good for our country moving forward,” he said.
Published – November 06, 2024 11:34 am IST