An “Indian” American Congressman: Dalip Singh Saund’s Indian Heritage and His 1956 Journey to Congress

Bhadrajee S. Hewage

doi:10.4148/2373-0978.1093

Abstract

Indian Americans have managed to become one of the most successful minority communities in the United States. With the rise of politicians such as Kamala Harris, Nikki Haley, and Bobby Jindal, Indian Americans have also reached the upper echelons of U.S. political life. Yet half a century ago, a very different picture emerges. Coming to the U.S. just three years after the 1917 Immigration Act which effectively barred Asian immigration, Dalip Singh Saund progressed from student to citizen to the U.S.’s first Asian Congressman over a period of thirty-six years. With his meteoric rise coming at a time when attitudes toward Indians were predominantly negative, this manuscript explores the role of Saund’s Indian heritage in his journey to Congress and explains that Saund’s good works and commitment to U.S. values rather than his Indian background was responsible for his journey to Congress.

Highlights

On September 27, 2014, an estimated crowd of 19,000 Indian Americans filled Madison Square Garden in New York City.1 The crowd that assembled were not necessarily NBA fans of the New York Knicks or NHL afficionados of the New York Rangers
Indian Americans constitute less than one percent of the U.S population, yet the median annual income of Indian-headed households is more than twice that of the U.S median
Given Californian Democrat Kamala Harris’s status as the U.S Vice-President-Elect and the not so distant Bobby Jindal and Haley governorships of two of the nation’s most conservative Southern states, Indian Americans have emerged onto the U.S political scene as a powerful transnational force

Summary

Introduction

On September 27, 2014, an estimated crowd of 19,000 Indian Americans filled Madison Square Garden in New York City.1 The crowd that assembled were not necessarily NBA fans of the New York Knicks or NHL afficionados of the New York Rangers.

Results

Conclusion