Sikhs and Muslims in the American state of Arizona have been assured that hate crimes will be vigorously prosecuted. U.S. attorney for Arizona Paul Charlton said this at a meeting with the leaders of minority communities. "The meeting was called by the U.S. attorney to reassure minority residents that hate crimes will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted," Harriet Bernick, executive advisor on public affairs in U.S. attorney's Office, told IANS. "We also told them about the steps being taken by the federal authorities such as the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) to prevent them (hate crimes)." "It was a useful meeting. We had representatives of the Sikh, Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hispanic, African American and Indian communities." According to Bernick, Guru Roop Kaur, who represented the Sikh community, drew the meeting's attention to the murder of Balbir Singh Sodhi four days after September 11, 2001.

An Indian American has been named by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi as advisor for her Leadership Office. Shamina Singh will serve as an envoy to the Asian and Pacific Islander American communities and as a liaison to the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and the India Caucus. "This is the first time that a leadership office of the U.S. Congress has placed such a high priority on issues facing Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, and I will work hard to build strong relationships between the Congress and our communities," Singh, whose portfolio will also include healthcare and labour issues, told IANS. A native of Southern Virginia, Singh is a graduate of Old Dominion University and holds a masters degree in public affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

An exemplary life will be spotlighted when an Indian American retires next month after an illustrious, 21-year-old career with the U.S. military. Gujarat-educated Brigadier General Ravindra Shah, the state air surgeon for New York Air National Guard, Latham, New York, retires on May 3. An urologist by training, he is to be honoured in a military ceremony the same day. Recollecting his career journey, Shah said he came to the U.S. in 1961 after a bachelor's degree in surgery from Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, and began his military career in 1982 by joining the 174th Fighter Wing, Syracuse, New York, as a major. Among his recent assignments, he recollected his involvement in making sure that American troops sent to Afghanistan were fighting fit. He also said that in the weeks following September 11, 2001, he was at Ground Zero every day to ensure that the armed forces were ever-present to protect civilians and people in uniform.