The founder of the Republican Hindu Coalition first attracted attention in the US as the "Punjabi tycoon" who was a huge supporter of Narendra Modi in the US. 'He will be best for India. There is no better ally for the US than India in the region,' Shalabh Kumar tells Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
PM Modi would be the fifth foreign leader Trump would have spoken with over phone after being sworn-in as the US President on January 20.
Indians, cosseted by stories about their success in America, often think they are the golden immigrants, the good ones, guests who can come for dinner. And stay. Perhaps now the blinders will come off, writes Sandip Roy
A church in the Cantonment area in Agra was allegedly vandalised by unknown miscreants in the wee hours of Thursday, triggering outrage among the members of the local Christian community.
'Foreign aid to Pakistan. Forget it, bye bye...' 'F-16s to Pakistan. Forget it.' Shalabh Kumar, the desi who knows Donald Trump best, speaks to Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
United States President Barack Obama celebrated Diwali in the East Room of the White House on October 14 by lighting a 'diya' accompanied by Vedic chants by a Hindu priest.
US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, newly elected co-chair of the influential Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, discusses her vision for US-India ties with Rediff.com's Monali Sarkar.
Sonal Shah, the first Indian-American to be inducted in United States President-elect Barack Obama's transition team, has formally renounced her affiliation with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which has been accused of fomenting violence against Muslims and Christians in India.Shah, former member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, has said if she could have anticipated the outfit's role in the 2002 communal violence in Gujarat, she would have never associated with its US branch.
The resolution may have been adopted a week after the festival of lights was celebrated, but it was nonetheless delightful news to the Indian American community that had lobbied for it, particularly the nascent Hindu American Foundation, comprising young professionals, who had earlier seen their efforts bear fruit in the US House of Representatives.
The Howdy Modi put a dagger into the heart of the 'bipartisan consensus' in the US regarding the relations with (Modi's) India, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Leading international art auction house Christie's has rejected a demand to withdraw from an upcoming auction the works of noted artiste M F Husain who is accused of painting Hindu gods and goddesses in a "derogatory and vulgar" form. In a letter to Christie's, Indian American Intellectual Forum President Narain Kataria had threatened to hold a demonstration unless it stops the scheduled auction of Husain's paintings on March 20.
"This year, I was honoured to kindle the first-ever diya in the Oval Office -- a lamp that symbolises how darkness will always be overcome by light. It is a tradition that I hope future presidents will continue," Obama said on the White House Facebook page, which became viral on social media.
Arsenal star player Theo Walcott, on Thursday, unveiled his latest tattoo on his Twitter account.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee has approved a legislation to recognise the religious and historical significance of Diwali. The legislation was introduced by Congressman Joe Wilson, South Carolina Republican and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, on the urging of the Hindu American Foundation. Now the Rules Committee has to schedule a date for the full House to take up this legislation on the floor and vote to formally recognise Diwali
In a rare honour Dr Ravi Gupta, assistant professor of Religion at Center College in Kentucky, has been selected as one of the five young people representing different religions to meet with the Pope and to hand him a present symbolising Hinduism. Gupta will give the Pope an incense burner in the shape of the sacred Hindu symbol, Om.
Five influential American lawmakers have introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives calling on the US Postal Service to issue a postal stamp to commemorate the festival of Diwali.
Three years after the horrific massacre of Sikh worshippers at the Oak Creek, Wisconsin, gurdwara by a gunman with ties to supremacist organisations, a federal system to help track hate crimes against Sikhs, Hindu, Arab American communities has been formalised.
An influential Hindu organisation in the United States has slammed a group of lawmakers for introducing a resolution in the House of Representatives on record of India's religious freedom arguing that it is grossly inaccurate and aims to provoke.
Donald Trump, the controversial Republican presidential front runner, again blamed India and China among other countries for taking away jobs from Americans.
Top American lawmakers and eminent Indian-Americans have hailed President Barack Obama's decision to nominate Richard Rahul Verma as his next envoy to India, noting that he would make an excellent ambassador.
'What has cemented the renewed bilateral commitment is the maturity of the relationship. This has been reflected at the highest levels, with you and President Obama driving the relationship, and at the citizen-to-citizen level.'
Offended by the depiction of Hindu god Ganesha on a bottle of beer in the US, an Indian-American law student is suing the beer company for 'hurting the sentiments of Hindus worldwide'.
Mainstream American media and yoga experts have mourned the loss of B K S Iyengar, calling him as one of the greatest yoga gurus who was instrumental in bringing the physical and spritual exercise to West.
'On the face of it, it is a WYSIWYG -- What You See Is What You Get -- reality series, but actually it is a show that perpetuates societal biases, stokes typecasts and stays sadly superficial,' notes ad guru Sandeep Goyal.
The two leaders discussed opportunities to strengthen the partnership between the US and India in broad areas such as the economy and defence.
From citizenship rights to hate crimes and police brutality, no wave of persecution in the US has left Indians completely untouched.
'This speech is going to be more of a punishment. I spoke too much this afternoon' A tireless Prime Minister Narendra Modi left over 700 notable luminaries in peals of laughter with his quick wit and sense of humour during a dinner and reception hosted by Indian Ambassador Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at the Taj-owned, The Pierre Hotel. In the presence of the who's who of desi Americans and US lawmakers, Modi once again thanked the Indian-Americans for their contributions and discussed his plans of developing India and the ties he hopes to nurture with America. Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com presents a sneak-peak into the festive, grand dinner.
'Rajapaksa's victory poses a serious foreign policy challenge for the Modi government,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
On Sunday morning Eastern US time, four astronauts will zoom into space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. Commanding the spaceflight is Raja Chari, a United States Air Force colonel.
Around 1,20,000 Indian-Americans reside across Florida.
'India and Indian Americans cannot rely on wishful thinking about the checks and balances in the US system to magically take care of the many dangerous things that Trump could do,' says Chicago-based writer Ram Kelkar.
Many of them carried candles and signs reading, "We don't support politics of hate."
Indian-American yoga guru Bikram Choudhury is not entitled to copyright protection over yoga poses and breathing exercises he uses in hot rooms developed by him, a US appeals court has ruled.
Hindu-American Congresswon Tulsi Gabbard coasts to a rollicking re-election victory in in Hawaii's 2nd District
'I hope the prime minister starts telling those abusers to stop abusing... Because when he remains silent, these people get more muscle,' journalist Rajdeep Sardesai told Chaya Babu/Rediff.com soon after he was heckled and pushed around in New York on Sunday.
Asked to declare a holiday on the Hindu festival, the school board in Millburn Township, New Jersey, instead comes up with a solution that angers many. Rediff.com/India Abroad's George Joseph reports.
The victim, identified as 39-year-old Deep Rai, was working on his vehicle outside his home in Kent, Washington when the unidentified man shot him in the arm.
'For over a decade, the United States has been shaping the contours of Hinduism. It has been doing this from the perspective of upper caste and conservative interests,' Professor Shefali Chandra tells Rediff.com's Arthur J Pais.
'Given the disdain Trump has shown for our community's values and experiences, it is disappointing that a handful of wealthy, conservative donors invited him to address their friends last weekend,' say Mira Patel and Gautam Raghavan.
'There was never really a doubt, but now it can be conclusively stated that the prime minister has unusual mental and physical stamina,' says Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com who is covering Narendra Modi's visit to the United States.
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