CONGRESSMAN Suhas Subramanyam, the first Indian-American Congressman from the East Coast, took his oath of office on the Bhagavad Gita, becoming the only lawmaker from the community to do so this year. Subramanyam’s mother, who immigrated through Dulles Airport, witnessed the swearing-in ceremony.
Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu American elected to the US House of Representatives, set the precedent for taking the oath on the Gita in 2013 when she represented Hawaii’s second congressional district. Gabbard, now 43, is currently a nominee for the position of director of national intelligence.
“My parents got to see me sworn in as the first Indian American and South Asian Congressman from Virginia,” Subramanyam said after the ceremony.
“If you had told my mother when she landed in Dulles Airport from India that her son would go on to represent Virginia in the United States Congress, she might not have believed you, but my story is the kind of promise that America holds. I am honoured to be the first, but not the last, as I represent Virginia’s 10th in Congress,” he added.
Subramanyam, a former policy advisor to US president Barack Obama, has served in the Virginia General Assembly since 2019. He founded the bipartisan "Commonwealth Caucus" to focus on collaborative legislation. His legislative achievements include lowering toll costs, refunding overcharged consumers, addressing gun violence, and improving education access for students.
The 119th Congress includes four Hindu lawmakers: Suhas Subramanyam, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, and Shri Thanedar. Hindus and Muslims remain the third-largest religious groups in Congress, following Christians and Jews.
At a bipartisan interfaith prayer service on 3 January, Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi read a passage from the Bhagavad Gita. The service, held to bless the new Congress, included remarks from speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries.
"Years ago, Hindu Americans were not included at prayer services in our nation’s capital,” Krishnamoorthi said. “I’m grateful that we now have a seat at the table and that I can play a part in spreading the beautiful blessings of the Hindu faith to my colleagues, both Republican and Democrat.”
During the event, Krishnamoorthi recited a passage from the Gita: “The Supreme Lord said: In all activities just depend upon Me and work always under My protection. In such devotional service, be fully conscious of Me. If you become conscious of Me, you will pass over all the obstacles of conditional life by My grace. If, however, you do not work in such consciousness but act through false ego, not hearing Me, you will be lost.”
(With inputs from PTI)
Bob Blackman MP speaks during the event