ByArun Kumar
–WASHINGTON
A
key supporter of Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi has roped
in former
Republican
House Speaker
Newt Gingrich
to back a new
effort to bring
Indian-
Americans, a
traditional
Democratic
political base,
into the
Republican Party.
He will be the honorary chair-
man of the “Republican Hindu
Coalition” funded with an initial
$2 million from Chicago busi-
nessman Shalabh “Shalli” Kumar,
of AVG Advanced Technologies,
an electronics
firm, according to
a media report.
Fashioned after
the influential
Republican Jewish
Coalition, Kumar’s
outfit could give
the Republican
Party a new inroad
to first-generation
immigrants that
traditionally vote
Democratic,
Gingrich told the
Washington
Examiner.
“What Shalli is doing is really
making us move towards bring-
ing together people from all over
the country, giving them a
chance to get involved in politics,
and in the process really begin-
ning to give us an opportunity to
have a much different
Republican Party that’s much
broader based,” Gingrich was
quoted as saying.
Kumar said he was prompted
to form the political group by
concerns that President Barack
Obama and Democratic leaders
are undermining the economic
recovery with regulations, and
dropping the ball overseas.
The RHC, which will officially
start this autumn, will back can-
didates that will focus on cutting
U.S. debt, supporting a strong
national security policy against
terrorist groups such as the
Islamic State
It also advocates reducing aid
to India’s foes like Pakistan, and
expanding trade with India.
For example, Kumar said he
wants to convince U.S. compa-
nies to shift manufacturing oper-
ations from China to India.
Kumar and Gingrich have a
plan to attract 400 founding
members to the Republican
Hindu Coalition to raise money
for Republican candidates and
groups, while also convincing
Indian-Americans to switch to
the Republican Party.
Gingrich said Kumar’s group
should help activate Indian-
Americans not involved in poli-
tics. “A lot of first generation folks
feel more comfortable and feel
more engaged and more
involved if they network with fel-
low people from their back-
ground,” he told the Examiner.
– IANS
5
News India Times October 9, 2015
– that’s all you need to know
U.S. Affairs
FromNews Dispatches
outh Carolina Governor Nikki
Haley was honored Oct. 1, by
the Harvard Foundation for
Intercultural and Race
Relations for her leadership in
removing the Confederate flag from
the South Carolina state capitol build-
ing grounds this summer.
The award was given at a dinner
ceremony by Harvard Foundation
Director S. Allen Counter atWinthrop
House in Harvard College, Cambridge,
Mass.
In her speech, Haley talked of a
“New South” that was tackling histori-
cal problems of racial and economic
inequality, the Harvard Crimson
reported in its online edition. Haley
also indicated the Republican Party
was committed to solving the prob-
lems of the poor and people of color in
her state. “I would not have won the
Republican primary if this were a
racially intolerant party,” she is quoted
saying in the Crimson.
Haley is considered a “Rising Star”
in the party, and her national image
rose dramatically following her deci-
sion to remove the Confederate flag
from statehouse grounds after the
massacre of 9 black members of the
African Methodist Episcopal Church in
Charleston, S.C. by white supremacist
Dylann Roof.
Haley spoke about the difference
between how South Carolinians
responded to the massacre compared
to the violence that ensued in
Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore,
Maryland, after killings of unarmed
blacks at the hands of police there. The
uprisings, she said, hurt black people
already facing police violence whereas
in South Carolina people came togeth-
er to mourn the loss of life.
S
Gov. Haley Honored With Harvard Foundation’s Racial Justice Award
Newt Gingrich Made Honorary Chair of Hindu Republican Group
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, center, shakes hands with Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, right,
and Japan’s Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, left, during a trilateral meeting between the U.S., India and Japan
at the Lotte New York Palace hotel in Manhattan, New York Sept. 29.
Man Attacked By Violent Fans
Sues San Francisco 49ers
- WASHINGTON
A
n Indian-American has
sued professional
American football team
San Francisco 49ers and the
companies that run
California’s Levi’s stadium, a
media report said.
Kiran Patel, 32, has held
them responsible for an attack
by violent fans that left
him with a severe
brain injury last
year.
Patel was
attacked by two
brothers just
before the kick-
off of the October
5, 2014, game against
the Kansas City Chiefs at
the stadium, sfgate.com cited
Patel’s lawyerWilliam Smith as
saying Sept. 29.
“The environment of the
49ers attracts a bad crowd,”
Smith said, adding that people
“get drunk in the parking lot
and come into the stadium
acting aggressively. You
shouldn’t go to the bathroom
and come back with a brain
injury”.
Patel and his cousin, Amish
Patel, have sought unspecified
damages against the compa-
nies that operate the stadium,
saying the security was inade-
quate to protect them from
drunk and violent fans. The
restroom attack on the Patels
was captured on video and
posted on YouTube
but was later
removed.
Kiran Patel
was hospi-
talized for
several
weeks after
the attack. He
suffered bleeding
on the brain and
underwent surgery to remove
part of his skull to relieve
swelling.
Amador Rebollero was sen-
tenced to five years in state
prison on two felony assault
charges, while his brother
Dario was given 30 days in
county jail and three years of
probation.
– IANS
Gov. Nikki R. Haley of South Carolina is presented with a Harvard “letter sweater” by Harvard Foundation for
Intercultural and Race Relations’ intern Nuha Saho at the conclusion of the dinner event where she was invited to
make remarks Oct. 1. The foundation recognized her for her leadership in removing the Confederate flag from
South Carolina state capitol grounds this summer.
Sidni M.Frederick
India, U.S., Japan Maritime Security
