Broadway musical ‘Bombay Dreams’ lead pair Anisha Nagrajan, left, and Manu Narayan singing at the event by ‘South Asians for Kerry’ (SAKI) and ‘Kerry Victory 2004’ at Pier 92, New York, on July 9.

NEW YORK: A history making fundraiser by ‘South Asians for Kerry’ (SAKI) and ‘Kerry Victory 2004’ brought together a large group of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and Nepali Americans on July 9. So far, it has been the only Kerry/Edwards event with South Asians, a press release said.

Reshma M. Saujani of Kerry campaign, who is also a delegate, told News India-Times that the contributions from the Indian and Pakistani communities were on par unlike in the past when the Indian-American community dominated.

Apart from the surprise presence of Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY), prominent among those present were Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe and New York Senator Charles E. Schumer. Bringing the South Asian community’s weight were Event Chairs Sant and Vikram Chatwal, Lisa and Zubaid Ahmad, Dr. Sabiya and Omar Amanat, Ismail Merchant, Usha and Parag Sexena, and Sujatha and Kashif Zafar. Also present on the occasion were Dr. Bhupi Patel, H.R. Shah, Dr. Dipak Nandi, Ravi Akhoury and Vishakha Desai, President of Asia Society.

Hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal, right, who was one of the event chairs, with Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe at the fundraiser, on July 9 at Pier 92 in New York. (Photo: Mohammed Jaffer/SnapsIndia)

Fresh from their recent coming together as the Democratic ticket Senators Kerry and Edwards were given a rousing reception at the event hosted at Pier 92. The Democratic Presidential nominee said the ideals, which had drawn many in the South Asian community to the U.S., had been betrayed by the Bush Administration. Senator Kerry said South Asians had been unfairly treated under the Bush Administration’s post-9/11 policies. He noted that with a population of over 2.5 million South Asian Americans could play a crucial role in the 2004 presidential election and implored them to come out and vote in November, the release said.

Event Chair Vikram Chatwal said, “Through our fundraising ability we will embark on a historic opportunity to help the community realize its political voice in the White House.”

Later in a personal conversation with Vikram Chatwal, Senator Kerry said he “would love to have ten South Asians working at the White House.”

It is believed that the event raised over a million dollars for the Kerry-Edwards campaign.

Guests at the Kerry/Edwards fundraiser organized by ‘South Asians for Kerry’ and ‘Kerry Victory 2004.’ (Photo: Mohammed Jaffer/SnapsIndia)

SAKI was formed in March 2003 to mobilize the resources of the South Asian American community to support Senator Kerry’s run for the White House. “In supporting the Kerry campaign over the past year, SAKI has met with the community leaders across the nation, organized voter phone banks, campaigned and canvassed in New Hampshire during the primary season, created a national policy group which provides advice and counsel to the Kerry campaign, and organized a National Steering Committee consisting of distinguished business, political and community leaders,” a new release from SAKI said.

“The success of SAKI in mobilizing the community makes it increasingly clear that an inclusive and coordinated approach to political organizing represents the future of South Asian political participation in America. While the political views of South Asian Americans are far from uniform, the community is eager to achieve a stronger political voice in the 2004 presidential election by rallying around issues and common concern, including civil rights, immigration, health care, education, hate crimes and the economy,” the release said.’

(Compiled by M. Chooki)