{"id":15704,"date":"2013-06-27T03:06:09","date_gmt":"2013-06-27T03:06:09","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2013-06-27T03:06:09","modified_gmt":"2013-06-27T03:06:09","slug":"First-Indian-American-Congressman-to-be-inducted-into-the-California-Hall-of-Fame-","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=15704","title":{"rendered":"First Indian-American Congressman to be inducted into the California Hall of Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>US lawmakers have requested the State of California to induct Dalip Singh Saund, the first Indian to be elected to Congress, into the California Hall of Fame.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A group of 14 Congressmen from California today led by Ami Bera sent a letter to California Governor Jerry Brown described Congressman Saund as &#8220;a trailblazer for human and civil rights and for the Asian-American community&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As we continue to work towards comprehensive immigration reform, the contributions that California Congressman Dalip Singh Saund made should be recognized by enshrining him in the California Hall of Fame,&#8221; lawmakers said in the letter.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dalip Singh Saund was the first Asian-American elected to Congress, serving in the 85th, 86th, and 87th Congresses.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>He was the first Indian-American to serve in Congress and the first member of a non-Abrahamic faith to be elected to the House, the lawmakers wrote.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Dalip Singh Saund was born in a small village in India after immigrating to the United States in 1920 to study at the University of California, Berkeley Saund earned an MA and a PhD in mathematics&#8221; said the letter.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Upon graduating, he remained in the United States and became a farmer-growing lettuce in California&#8217;s Imperial Valley of California&#8221; it said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In 1953, Saund became a distributor of chemical fertilizer in Westmoreland,&#8221; said the letter.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Saund&#8217;s political career began in 1942 when he was elected President of India Association of America. In this role, Saund raised funds to lobby for Congresswoman Claire Booth Luce&#8217;s bill for citizenship rights and to allow individuals of South Asian descent to become naturalized citizens&#8221; it added.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;After the passage of the Luce-Celler Act, Saund applied for and became a citizen in 1949. One year later he successful ran for election as a Justice of the Peace for Westmoreland Township&#8221; the letter said.<\/p>\n<p>In 1956 Saund successfully ran for the House of Representatives,&#8221; it said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Saund served a total of three terms in the House (January 3, 1957 &#8211; January 3, 1963), fighting for local and national interests&#8221; the lawmakers wrote in the letter.<\/p>\n<p>They added that Congressman Saund had opposed the closing of Corona Naval Hospital and championed a number of projects important to California including flood control, supplemental water for Southern California, and water rights for Imperial County farmers.<\/p>\n<p><em>via www.business-standard.com<\/em><br \/>\n<!--break--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US lawmakers have requested the State of California to induct Dalip Singh Saund, the first Indian to be elected 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