Four people of Indian-origin and another, who has embraced India, were the faces of diaspora's influence beyond science and technology in the US when they appeared with VIPs on the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his Sunday community reception here:
- Hari Srinivasan, who was the emcee, is the anchor of the PBSNewsHour Weekend. As a serious, in-depth TV news programme it is very influential, beyond the viewership numbers, among opinion-makers and politicians.
He is also a senior correspondent and director of digital partnerships. The Mumbai-born journalist has been an anchor for ABC News Now and a reporter for ABC Nightline and World News Tonight and CBS Evening News.
- Nina Davaluri, the other emcee, recently completed her reign as Miss America, the first Indian-American to win the title. Though born in the US, she spent most of the first two-and-a-half years of her life in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.
- Nikki Haley is the governor of the South Carolina. From a Sikh family, she was elected on a Republican ticket in 2010. At 42, she became the youngest serving governor of a state in the US and the first woman in the state. Though born in the state, her parents are immigrants from Amritsar.
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- Ami Bera is a Democrat member of the House of Representatives from California. His parents are from Gujarat but he was born in Los Angeles. He is a doctor by profession and was elected in 2010.
- Tulsi Gabbard is the first Hindu member of the House of Representatives. She is not ethnically an Indian but is an American Samoan. She was raised in the Hindu faith that her mother had adopted.
Gabbard took the oath of office on a copy of the Bhagvad Gita, which he presented to Prime Minister Modi. She is a Democrat from Hawaii and the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. She is a combat veteran having served in Iraq with the Hawaii National Guard and continues to hold the position of a Military Police company commander.
In addition, Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana was recognised from the stage for a message he sent, although he was not present. A former Congressman, he was first elected governor in 2007 and re-elected in 2011.
