WHEN KAPIL Sharma began his career in 1993, the India Caucus had only eight members. But by the end of his stint with Congressman Frank Pallone in 1998, the membership of this informal association in the American House of Representatives that promotes Indian-American issues, included 101 Congressmen.
Kapil Sharma, who is 28 years old, today is part of a lobbying firm, Verner Liipfert, which has been hired by the Indian embassy in Washington. He forms part of a breed of young Indian-American professionals in American politics. And he is one of 30 others on Capitol Hill. Interestingly, more than half of them are young women.
Priya Dayananda, 29, works as Senior Legislative Aide to Congressman Gregory Meeks of Queens, New York.
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Explaining how people like her play a big role in the American legislative process, she said: "Our job is to brief bosses on issues that are being debated and explain to them the impact their vote in the House will have on individuals, the state and the nation."
Before joining Congressman Meeks, who represents a largely African, American, Indian, Pakistani and Hispanic electorate, she worked with Congresswoman E P Johnson from Texas.
Associated with running the India Caucus with Congman Pallone, Mr Sharma said, "I am extremely proud of my roots in India. For an immigrant community, the way to total integration in their adopted home is by playing an active role in the politics of that country. The India Caucus is today the largest caucus in Congress which does not have a single Indian American member."
The Caucus organises meetings for its members with the leaders of the community, teaches people about India and pushes for better ties between the two countries.
Mr Sharma, who is also the president of the Network of South Asian Professionals (NetSAP), hopes that President Bill Clinton's visit will 'expose those to India who have never been exposed to it before.'
"When CNN shows Clinton at the Taj Mahal, attending a classical performance, Americans here will see India as other than a country which has nuclear weapons and human rights violations. I want people here to see how rich India is" he said.
While both Mr Sharma and Ms Dayananda are second generation Indian Americans, the success story of Kris Kolluri is a little different as he came to America at the age of 16. Arriving from Coimbatore in 1985 in the eleventh grade, Kris had to either adapt to America fast or be left out. "Arriving here at that age was a sort of blessing. It made me stronger and helped me adapt faster. I had the grounding of a strong value system evolved through 15 years in India and it is this that has helped me get where I am today," he said.
Mr Kolluri is the Legislative Director for Congressman Richard A Gephardt, the leader of the Democratic Party in the House of Representative and who is tipped to be the next Speaker.
In effect, people like Kris Kolluri and Priya Dayananda are guiding the way laws are made and advancing the goals of individual members and their constituents.
"Immigration, health care, class feeling problems and affirmative action are Indian-American issues I have worked on, I have also worked hard not to be identified as the guy who can handle only Indian-American issues," Mr Kolluri said.