Anti-India hate, more representation: Why US lawmakers are pushing Indian-Americans to enter politics

What did Thanedar say?

Thanedar, a Democrat from Michigan, told the gathering that the US is a nation built by immigrants, and that hatred toward immigrant communities cannot be allowed to continue. He said immigrants and their contributions to the country deserve to be honoured and respected.

He added that change would only come when more people step into public service, saying the country needs more Indian-Americans serving at the local, state and national levels.

What did Krishnamoorthi say?

Krishnamoorthi, the Congressman from Illinois, also spoke about anti-India sentiment in parts of the US and vowed to push back, PTI reported. “We are here to stay. We are part of the fabric of this country,” Krishnamoorthi said, recalling an incident in which he had faced calls for his own deportation to India. He said the community would fight back against anti-India and anti-Hindu hatred, along with all forms of prejudice, bigotry and discrimination, according to PTI.

President Trump isn't just imitating dictators with his vanity projects.
He's also adopting their tactics—threatening election officials with prison time and pushing voter purges here at home. We must stand up for our democracy. pic.twitter.com/MKzVIBbZK7

— Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (@CongressmanRaja) July 25, 2026

Krishnamoorthi, who lost the Democratic primary for the US Senate from Illinois earlier this year, said Indian-Americans are among the best educated and most prosperous communities in the country, making up 10 per cent of all doctors in the US and owning 60 per cent of the country’s hotels and motels, PTI reported.

He urged Indian-Americans to run for office at every level, from local city councils to state legislatures to the US Congress and Senate, regardless of party affiliation, saying the stakes facing the community are too high to sit out.

Why does this push for representation matter?

The Washington event builds on a broader conversation about Indian-American political representation that has been building for years.

In a 2024 interview with ABC News, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, along with Krishnamoorthi and Thanedar, discussed the slow pace of Indian-American representation in Congress despite the community’s rapid growth from around 12,000 Indian immigrants in the US in 1960 to roughly 5 million today, with Indian-Americans now the largest Asian-alone group in the country, according to census data cited by ABC News.

Despite this growth, only five of the 535 members of Congress were Indian-American at the time. Jayapal told ABC News that stronger representation could change how people see their own opportunities and encourage greater participation in democracy, saying, “we’ve got a real opportunity to increase our numbers for Indian-Americans.”

The event was organised by the Indian American Committee, led by Narasimha Koppula, Ramesh Kapur, Deepak Raj, Shekhar Tiwari and Harsh Sethi.

It was held to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, with speakers using the occasion to call for greater political participation and a united response to hatred and discrimination.