Indian-American Aruna Miller pushes for more diversity in elected offices

She was speaking at an event hosted by the Indian Consulate in New York to launch an Indiaspora report that highlights the impact of Indians in the US.

Lieutenant Governor of Maryland Aruna Miller. / X/@arunamiller

Indian-American Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, Aruna Miller, emphasized the need for diverse representation in government offices in the US.

“When immigrants come to this country such as me, it's hard to navigate government, and it's hard to trust government when you don't see people that look like you there. That's why it's very important to have representation at all different levels,” she said.

Miller was speaking at an event hosted by the Indian Consulate in New York to launch the Indiaspora Impact Report titled “Small Community, Big Contributions, Boundless Horizons”. The report analyses the impact of Indian diaspora in the US.

At the event, Miller said that Maryland made history in 2023 by electing its first Black governor, Wes Moore, and by electing her as the first Indian-American immigrant woman to serve as lieutenant governor. “What's pretty interesting about Governor Wes Moore and me, we became the first in the nation, the first gubernatorial ticket with two people of color ever to win in the history of United States,” Miller said.

Miller emphasized that the mission for immigrants goes beyond being the first to hold their positions. The goal, she stated, is to ensure a level playing field for everyone. “The assignment is to make sure every person, young and old, when they walk into a room or a space, they know that they belong there, they deserve to be there,” she said.

“When we created our cabinet, we created the most diverse cabinet in Maryland's history where 50 percent of our cabinet secretaries, are people of color, and 50 percent are women. And, we also have the highest amount of AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) cabinet secretaries in the continental United States,” she added.

Lauding the contributions of Indian-Americans, Miller highlighted their significant presence and achievements. She pointed out that a substantial percentage of Indian-Americans are physicians and entrepreneurs, and many feature on the Forbes 500 list. Miller also suggested including the impressive record of Indian-American spelling bee champions in reports like the one published by Indiaspora. Since 1999, 28 out of 34 spelling bee champions have been Indian-Americans.

“Every one of these young champions is going to go on to be entrepreneurs and physicians and Nobel Prize winners, you name it,” she added.

Deeply impressed by Indiaspora, says Atul Keshap

Speaking at the Indiaspora Impact Report event, Indian-American diplomat Atul Keshap lauded the contribution of the organization. “I'm so impressed by the work of Indiaspora to make Indians and Indian-Americans and people from all over the world from Indian heritage have that sense of collective identity,” he said.

Keshap noted that the concerted efforts of Americans and Indians from various sectors, including government officials, politicians, and individuals from all walks of life, have significantly advanced US-India relations. “The amazing thing is how far we have come in the past 25 years. It is nothing shy of remarkable when the US and India sit down nowadays,” he said.

Keshap, the president of the US India Business Council, expressed his privilege in leading a small yet impactful organization in both India and the United States. Founded by the US and Indian governments, the council serves as the principal articulator of policy ideas aimed at facilitating trade and investment between the two nations, ultimately benefiting both American and Indian citizens, he said.

“The two greatest democracies on earth, we've been at it for 49 years. Next year will be our 50th anniversary. We have seven different policy verticals related to digital economy where the United States and India lead the world very proudly, financial services, energy, aerospace and defense, legal and professional services, and a whole new committee called farms, food, agriculture, retail, manufacturing, supply chain,” he said. “What's amazing about this particular element of US-India work is that it has been jet propelled since the pandemic by a deeply shared sense of mutual trust,” he added.

Indiaspora founder lauds FedEx CEO’s immigrant story

MR Rangaswami, the founder of Indiaspora, commended Indian-American FedEx CEO Raj Subramanian’s achievements saying, “It is another immigrant success. He came here, I don't know, 30, 40 years ago. But he started in a company. He stayed with the company for 30 plus years. Now he's CEO of a Fortune 500 company. And that's one of the successes we have. And also this gentleman is not just a CEO success, but the work he does and what he does for the community is amazing,” he added.

Raj Subramaniam serves as the president and chief executive officer and is a member of the Board of Directors at FedEx Corporation, one of the world's largest transportation companies. He became the second CEO in the company's history, succeeding its founder in June 2022.