Two senior Indian-origin officials will be part of the high-profile delegation accompanying President Donald Trump to India during his two-day visit starting February 24.
Ajit Pai, chairman of the powerful Federal Communications Commission, and Kash Patel, a National Security Council official, are two Indian Americans travelling with President Trump to India.
Mr Pai was born in Kansas and studied at Harvard and the University of Chicago. His parents, who are both doctors from Maharashtra, had immigrated to the US in 1971.
In 2012, Mr Pai joined the Federal Communications Commission, an independent body that regulates the US communications laws and regulations, as one of the body’s five commissioners. President Trump named him to head the organization in 2017. He came into prominence for his opposition to Net Neutrality, the concept that Internet Service Providers cannot discriminate between their network users.
Mr Kash Patel, whose parents are originally from Gujarat, was born in New York. His parents had migrated to the US from East Africa and Canada. He was in the news recently for his role in discrediting the Russia interference probe. He joined the National Security Council’s directorate of international alliance and organization in 2018 and was also given charge of counter-terrorism. He started work this week at the office of the Director of National Intelligence. Mr Patel had also worked for the Republican leadership of the House Intelligence Committee earlier.
The decision to include Indian-Americans in his delegation headed for India is President Donald Trump’s way of acknowledging the rising profile of over 4 million Indian-Americans in the US.
At the Howdy Modi rally in Houston in September 2019, Mr Trump lavished praise on the Indian-American community. “You enrich our culture. You uphold our values. You uplift our communities. You are truly proud to be Americans and we are proud to have you as Americans,” he said.
“You (India) have never had a better friend as President as President Donald Trump,” Trump declared loud cheers from the audience.
Author Profile
- India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) is an emerging think tank and a media-publishing company focused on international affairs & the India Story. Centre for Global India Insights is the research arm of India Writes Network. To subscribe to India and the World, write to editor@indiawrites.org. A venture of TGII Media Private Limited, a leading media, publishing and consultancy company, IWN has carved a niche for balanced and exhaustive reporting and analysis of international affairs. Eminent personalities, politicians, diplomats, authors, strategy gurus and news-makers have contributed to India Writes Network, as also “India and the World,” a magazine focused on global affairs.
Latest entries
In ConversationJuly 26, 2024India-Italy defence collaboration can extend to third countries: Anil Wadhwa- In ConversationJuly 23, 2024Italy views India as a key partner in Indo-Pacific: Vani Rao
- DiplomacyJune 29, 2024First BRICS unveils a roadmap for boosting tourism among emerging economies
- India and the WorldJune 11, 2024On Day 1, Jaishankar focuses on resolving standoff with China
