Our Bureau
Washington, D.C.
Last week, Indian American Impact hosted its annual Summit, Gala, and South Asian Hill Day, bringing together more than 300 South Asian American leaders, organizers, elected officials, artists, students, and advocates from across the country under this year’s theme: We Belong.
Held as Impact marked its 10th anniversary, the convening came at a pivotal moment for South Asian communities amid rising anti-immigrant rhetoric, growing political attacks, and renewed questions of belonging.
Over two days, attendees came together to build community, advance policy solutions, and demonstrate the growing civic power of Indian and South Asian Americans.
Highlights:
South Asian Hill Day
Joined by 21 partner organizations serving the South Asian diaspora, advocates held meetings with more than 70 House and Senate offices, elevating priorities on immigrant rights, voting rights, and combating hate violence, and making clear that South Asian Americans belong at every decision-making table.
Summit & Gala: From Care to Action
Anchored by the theme We Belong, the Summit opened with former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy in conversation on community care, loneliness, and what it means to show up for one another in difficult times.
From there, attendees engaged in policy deep dives on issues shaping our future from artificial intelligence and immigrant rights to next-generation political leadership.
Action Labs included opportunities for participants to phonebank South Asian Virginia voters ahead of a key referendum election in which AAPI voters proved decisive, alongside trainings in media advocacy and writing letters to the editor.
The convening culminated at the annual Gala, where attendees celebrated a decade of building political power and honored trailblazers moving our communities forward. Honorees included Pennsylvania State Senator Nikil Saval and former senior advisor to President Biden Neera Tanden, while Fmr. Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta delivered a powerful reminder of what is at stake in this moment.
Featured voices throughout the convening included:
- Virginia Lieutenant Governor Ghazala Hashmi
- U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, Suhas Subramanyam, and Raja Krishnamoorthi
- Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy
- Former Associate Attorney General of the United States Vanita Gupta
- Deepinder Mayell, Executive Director of the ACLU of Minnesota
- Manjusha Kulkarni, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate
- Dozens of organizers, policymakers, journalists, and emerging South Asian elected officials
Why it matters
The very next day, after South Asian advocates came to Capitol Hill to affirm that we belong, the President amplified racist rhetoric targeting Indian Americans on social media underscoring exactly why this gathering mattered.
At a time when political leaders traffic in division and immigrant communities are being scapegoated, this convening sent a different message: our communities are organized, engaged, and building power.
South Asian Americans are one of the fastest-growing electorates in the country and increasingly shaping policy, politics, and public life.
Chintan Patel, Executive Director of Indian American Impact, said:
“At a moment when our communities are being targeted and our loyalty questioned, we came to Washington not to ask for belonging, but to assert it. We met with Congress, organized across generations, and made clear that South Asian Americans are not on the sidelines of this democracy; we are helping shape its future. In the face of hate, our answer is not silence. It is solidarity, action, and power.”
Indian American Impact is a national organization that elevates the voices of Indian and South Asian Americans to ensure that every level of government represents us and our values. Impact works to mobilize, engage and elect South Asians in an effort to build a world in which all Americans have the opportunity to thrive.
