Nikki Haley’s governorship
I have always believed and said that it is Indian
people’s creativity-much more than its political leadership or its natural resources-that
has made India leap-frog to become a leading economic and industrial
powerhouse, staking its claims to become a global power, a permanent member of
the UN’s Security Council with a veto power and a country that other countries
can ignore only to their disadvantage.
We Indians are proud to have played our part, albeit
microscopically small, in our country’s march to the forefront of the community
of nations in the world.
Recently we played host to Prime Minister David Cameron
and Presidents Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy and Wen Jiabao. All came to India
for closer cooperation in economic and trade activities and for their share in
the growing Indian market.
Not only in India, but Indians are making their presence
felt in the US, their adopted country. In the foreseeable future, an
Indian-American might be US president. President Obama has already made a
breakthrough in that direction.
The swearing in of Nikki Haley as South Carolina’s the
first woman Indian-American governor (and, at 38, the youngest one) was a proud
moment for us Indians. Bobby Jindal, governor of Louisiana State in the US was
the first Indian-American governor when he took office in 2008.
Nikki Haley took oath on Jan. 13 and started her
inaugural speech by saying, “I stand before you today, the proud daughter of
Indian immigrants,” swelling every Indian chest with pride!
Born in Bamberg, South Carolina, to Sikh parents from
Amritsar, a holy Sikh city from India’s Punjab State, Nikki (Namrata) Randhawa
is married to Michael Haley and has two young children. Pointing to her mother
in the audience she said, “When you grow up with a mom like her, the word
‘can’t’ is not in your vocabulary!”
What a coincidence that Nikki Haley took the oath of
office just two weeks before India’s 61st Republic Day wherein this year we
warmly welcome and honor Indonesia’s President who will be the Chief Guest at
our Republic Day parade and celebrations.
K. B. Kale, Jakarta
This was first published in JP on 19th January 2011
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