United States House of Representatives

House Rep. Bera seeks CA Hall of Fame for Dalip Singh Saund

June 28, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In May, US House Representative Mark Takano of California honored Dalip Singh Saund in the House Chamber as part of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Dalip Singh held the same seat from 1957 to 1963 as the first Asian American, Indian American and Sikh American House Representative in the United States. Yesterday, during a speech in the House Chamber, Representative Ami Bera, an Indian American, called on California Governor Jerry Brown to induct Dalip Singh into the California Hall of […]

Categories: Politics • Tags: Ami Bera, California Hall of Fame, Dalip Singh Saund, Jerry Brown, Mark Takano, United States House of Representatives

Honoring Dalip Singh Saund

May 22, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On May 16, US House Representative Mark Takano (D-CA) commemorated Asian Pacific American Heritage Month by honoring one of his predecessors, Dalip Singh Saund, the first Asian American (and only Sikh) to serve in US Congress (1957-1963): Congressman Saund was the first Asian American Member of Congress, the very first Member of a non-Abrahamic faith, and the first Member born in Asia. He was also our first Sikh American to enter Congress. He also represented my hometown of Riverside, California, […]

Categories: Events, Politics • Tags: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Dalip Singh Saund, Mark Takano, United States House of Representatives, US Congress

Rep. Judy Chu speaks at the launch of the American Sikh Congressional Caucus. (source: Judy Chu Facebook page)

American Sikhs get voice in US Congress

April 25, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Yesterday, the creation of a new bipartisan group called the American Sikh Congressional Caucus was announced in Washington, D.C., the purpose of which is to “educate Members of Congress and the general public about Sikh American issues. It will also allow Members to strategize on how to support the Sikh American community.” For this session of Congress, the American Sikh Congressional Caucus is co-chaired by two House Representatives from California: Representative Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park, and advocate for the Sikh […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Politics • Tags: American Sikh Congressional Caucus, David Valadeo, Judy Chu, United States House of Representatives, US Congress

More Sikhs seeking public office in 2012

March 23, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Sikhs in this country are still seeking greater involvement in public politics. It is a different journey than that of our Sikh neighbors to the north in Canada, who have been able to leverage their greater proportion of the population and size of their Sikh communities to garner seats at provincial and federal levels. However, whereas in Canada, Sikh candidates can quite often contest on a platform espousing Sikh-specific issues (and political parties of all stripes court that vote), this […]

Categories: Politics • Tags: 2012 elections, Canada, Dalip Singh Saund, Jack Uppal, United States Congress, United States House of Representatives, US Congress, US House Representative

Sikhs 2012!

March 21, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The first Sikh to serve as a Member of Congress in the United States, and indeed the first Asian American, was Dalip Singh Saund (pictured right) in 1957. He served as a Congressman representing the Democratic Party in California’s 29th Congressional District until 1963. At the municipal level, it has already been documented on this blog that there have been three Sikhs who have recently held mayoral or head of city council positions across the United States. However, with the […]

Categories: Politics • Tags: 2012 elections, Dalip Singh Saund, Harmeet Dhillon, Ricky Gill, Sarabjit Kaur Cheema, United States House of Representatives, US House Representative