Caucus Membership Drive Gains Momentum
Members of the India Caucus Membership Drive Committee recently met with Congressman Anthony D’Esposito, urging him to join the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, a bipartisan coalition of American lawmakers dedicated to strengthening the ties between India and the United States.
Committee Chairman Varinder Bhalla, along with Dr. Dattatreyudu Nori, Sudhir Vaishnav, Hussain Baqueri, Gobind Munjal, and Gunjan Rastogi, briefed Congressman D’Esposito on the history and significance of the Caucus.
Hussain Baqueri highlighted the remarkable growth in bilateral trade, a fiftyfold increase from $4 billion in 1993 to $200 billion in 2023. Sudhir Vaishnav spoke about the strengthening defense and security relationship between India and the United States.
The Caucus Membership Drive Committee, an extension of the Indian American Voters Forum, was formed at the recommendation of Consul General Binaya Pradhan to boost membership in the India Caucus. Established in 1993 by Congressman Frank Pallone (NJ) and Congressman Bill McCollum (FL), the Caucus started with nearly 100 members and is now the largest single-country Caucus in the House of Representatives, boasting 142 members. “We are aiming to increase membership of the India Caucus to 200 in the next two years”, says Dr. Nori.
Congressman Tom Suozzi, who joined the India Caucus in July, is actively encouraging his colleagues, including Congressman Joe Courtney, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, and Congresswoman Jahana Hayes from Connecticut, to become members of the Caucus.
The Indian American Voters Forum, founded by Varinder Bhalla in 2008, aims to enhance the Indian community’s participation in the U.S. political mainstream. In 2010, Bhalla successfully persuaded NY Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to join the Senate India Caucus, established in 2004 by Senator John Cornyn and then-Senator Hillary Clinton.
