A snapshot from the Bengali conference in Baltimore
July
; South Carolina Governor
Nikki Haley drew flak for signing
a law that civil rights groups said
is an overly punitive piece of anti-
immigration legislation.
; Srinagar-born Dr Ghulam
Nabi Fai, one of the most influen-
tial Kashmiri Americans in the
country, is arrested and charged
with spying for Pakistan. He later
confessed to doing so.
; Preeta Bansal, a senior White
House official, resigned, joining
the likes of Vivek Kundra and
Neal Katyal who quit the admin-
istration. Ro Khanna, Sonal Shah
followed later.
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTES Y: NABC
service at a jail, for driving under
the influence.
; California’s Shiva-Vishnu tem-
ple completed 25 years.
; Shree Bose and Naomi Shah
emerged among winners at the
Google Science Fair.
; About 2,000 people partici-
pated in Sevathon, an India
Community Center walkathon for
nonprofits, in the San Francisco
Bay area.
; Entrepreneur Navin Manglani
and his partner Dr Navin Dargani
tied the knot, becoming the first
known Indian-American gay cou-
ple to marry.
August
; Former maid dropped sexual harassment charge
against India’s consul general in New York.
; Over 200 Hindu Americans and inter-faith
community leaders attended the second annual
Hindu American Seva Charities conference July 29-
31.
; Across the US, Indian Americans celebrated
India’s Independence Day with gusto, express soli-
darity with activist K B Hazare’s call for agitation
against corruption in India.
Natwar Gandhi,
center, chief
financial officer,
the District of
Columbia, who
played Mahatma
Gandhi, impressed
the audience,
including DC Mayor
Vincent Gray, right
COUR TES Y: MANOJ SINGH
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh alights from Air India-One at
New York's John F Kennedy Airport, September 22. Also seen are Indian
Ambassador Nirupama Rao and Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s permanent
representative to the United Nations
JAY MANDAL/ON ASSIGNMEN T
September
; New Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao took charge.
; A host of Indian leaders, including Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee,
Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and Renewable Energy
Minister Farooq Abdullah, visited US and made a pitch for
India.
; Nine Indian-American youngsters — Caleb Kumar, Cheenar
Banerjee, Arjun Aggarwal, Siddhartha Jena, Sunil Pai, Jayanth
Krishnan, Anirudh Prabhu, Shalini Ramanan, and Raja
Selvakumar — among the 18 winners of the Davidson
Fellowship for ‘profoundly gifted youth’.
; Usha Rajagopalan became the first Hindu chaplain at Duke
University, North Carolina.
; Over 6,000 people attended Janmashtami celebrations in
Houston.
; The Sikh Coalition’s hearings on post-9/11 discrimination
threw up alarming stories of discrimination, abuse. Meanwhile,
Shoshana Hebshi and two Indians are handcuffed, detained in a
filthy 6 foot by 10 foot cell, and strip searched at Detroit airport,
September 11.
; Lousiana Governor Bobby Jindal endorsed Rick Perry for
President.
; Swati Dandekar quit Iowa Senate, took up Utilities Board
job.
; Wait for a Green Card might last as much as 70 years, new
report revealed.
