US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna hold a joint press conference during the US-India Strategic Dialogue at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on July 19, 2011. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for deeper regional security cooperation and trade ties in talks with Indian leaders, held in the shadow of triple bomb blasts in Mumbai. India's concerns over the US troop drawdown in Afghanistan and New Delhi's renewed peace talks with arch-rival Pakistan are expected to figure in the "strategic dialogue" underway in the Indian capital. AFP PHOTO / POOL / Saul LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna hold a joint press conference during the US-India Strategic Dialogue at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on July 19, 2011. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for deeper regional security cooperation and trade ties in talks with Indian leaders, held in the shadow of triple bomb blasts in Mumbai. India’s concerns over the US troop drawdown in Afghanistan and New Delhi’s renewed peace talks with arch-rival Pakistan are expected to figure in the “strategic dialogue” underway in the Indian capital. AFP PHOTO / POOL / Saul LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton’s contingency of Indian-American supporters have launched a nation-wide group aimed at winning the party’s nomination. The group was launched to network leaders and advocates who share Clinton’s values and her vision for the country.
“It is important to mobilize support of millions of Indian Americans living here in the US for Secretary Hillary Clinton – enable them to go out and vote for electing Hillary Clinton as our next President. This organization has been created primarily to achieve this goal,” the group’s website reads.
A self-described grassroots volunteer organization, Indian-Americans for Hillary (IAFH) said this week the group will hold its inaugural event this Sunday in Maryland. The event will be addressed by John Podesta, national campaign chair for the Clinton campaign, and Neera Tandon, president and COO of Center for American Progress.
Tandon has remained a personal and close friend of Clinton’s for years.
The group notes that Clinton has maintained a strong relationship with India, and the Indian-American community. She has thousands of Indian-American friends across the nation, according to the IAFH, and has traveled to India four times during her tenures as First Lady, a Senator and while serving as Secretary of State.
“Hillary Clinton’s connection with India goes back a long way. She visited India as First Lady in March 1995 with her daughter Chelsea and President Bill Clinton. Since then, popular lore has it that she was a friend of India in the White House,” the website said, adding, “having traveled extensively in India, she has a much deeper level of familiarity with India than any other candidate in the race.”
While serving as Secretary of State, her focus on re-balancing U.S. foreign policy towards Asia contained a strong emphasis on the expansion of ties to India, the group claims. Additionally, she worked vigorously to incorporate better relationships in the technology, defense and space sectors between the two nations. The group also states that Clinton has pledged to fix the nation’s broken immigration system, improve access to higher education and increase wages — all issues which the Indian-American electorate are religious about.
“Indian Americans need comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to full and equal citizenship. Only Hillary, as president, can act on these issues in a jiffy,” the group said.
