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Obama Pays Tribute to First US Indian Congressman
Bangalore: Obama paid tribute to the first Asian American United States Congressman, late Dalip Singh Saund at the 18th annual gala of the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Washington, DC, reports Aziz Haniffa of Rediff.
Obama described Saund as a leader for the entire community of Asian American and he also acknowledged all the pioneering Asian Americans for their contribution to America.
Referring to the Indian-Americans, Obama said, ‘’many of them faced hardship; many of them faced ridicule; many of them faced racism. Many were treated as second-class citizens -- as people who didn't belong. But they didn't give up. They didn't make excuses. They kept forging ahead. They kept building up America."
"But they were trailblazers like Dalip Singh Saund -- a young man from India who, in 1920, came to study agriculture, stayed to become a farmer, and took on the cause of citizenship for all people of South Asian descent.And once Dalip earned his own citizenship, he stepped up to serve the country he loved -- and became the first Asian American elected to the Congress."
Moreover, Obama also made it clear that Asian-American community should not be treated as the model minority.