NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT

“In the event you care concerning the relationship along with your motherland, then you definately additionally need to battle for it, converse for it and make extra of an effort to press your political representatives to face up for India,” Congress MP Shashi Tharoor urged the Indian-American diaspora this week. His remarks got here amid steep hikes in H-1B visa charges and 50 p.c tariffs on Indian merchandise, each of which have an effect on the group instantly. For Indian-Individuals, this implies utilizing their affect in Washington to make sure their issues are heard and India’s pursuits are supported.

Tharoor, who chairs Parliament’s Standing Committee on Exterior Affairs, identified that in an interplay with a U.S. Congressional delegation, one lawmaker admitted she had not acquired a single cellphone name from her Indian-American constituents on these points.

“I do need to stress that one of many factors we raised was why the Indian-American diaspora has been so silent about all of this,” he mentioned. “One of many congresswomen mentioned that not one cellphone name has come to her workplace from any Indian-American voter asking for her to help a change of coverage, and that is one thing that’s stunning and that I believe all of us want to achieve out to the Indian-American inhabitants saying, in the event you care concerning the relationship along with your motherland, then you definately additionally need to battle for it, converse for it and make extra of an effort to press your political representatives to face up for India.”

He additionally added in the identical remarks: “However the ones who got here listed below are already associates of India, nicely disposed in direction of India and so they have spoken very warmly and positively of the connection.”

Indian Individuals are among the many most educated and affluent immigrant teams in america. With their numbers, skilled success, and presence in key congressional districts, they’re uniquely positioned to form conversations on Capitol Hill.

What the diaspora can do:

• Name and write to native Senators and Representatives to voice issues about how H-1B visa charges and tariffs influence households, college students, and companies.
• Share private tales to humanize the influence of those insurance policies — whether or not it’s college students dealing with obstacles to review, professionals caught in immigration limbo, or small companies burdened by tariffs.
• Attend city halls and district conferences to boost the problem in individual. Lawmakers take word when constituents converse face-to-face.
• Set up petitions and delegations by way of group associations {and professional} teams to point out collective power.
• Use media platforms — native newspapers, op-eds, and social media — to amplify issues and create broader consciousness.
• Construct alliances with different immigrant teams dealing with related challenges to strengthen advocacy.

By appearing collectively, the diaspora can be certain that the issues of tens of millions of Indians and Indian-Individuals are usually not misplaced in Washington’s coverage debates. Silence solely weakens India’s place at a essential second in its relationship with america.

#WATCH | Delhi: Congress MP Dr Shashi Tharoor says, “We had an excellent go to from a US Congressional delegation which consisted of 5 members of the US Home of Congress who occurred all to be from the Democratic Social gathering and 4 of them have been from California, however they’d… https://t.co/2GlqXUcCq9 pic.twitter.com/wD0id06WzP

— ANI (@ANI) September 23, 2025