75 years of US-India relations, US Joins Indian Diaspora To Celebrate

New Delhi, April 15 : Tennis veteran Ashok Amritraj, wellness pioneer Dr. Deepak Chopra, tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain, and actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas are among a host of Indian American luminaries who feature in a video message released by the US Mission in India to celebrate 75 years of US-India relations, and whose remarkable contributions reflect the journey of Indians in the United States over the past 75 years. The full video can be viewed on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Chargé d’Affaires Patricia Lacina stated: “At the core of the U.S.-India partnership are the countless personal friendships formed over the years between individual Americans and Indians as they study, work, live, and learn together. The contributors to this video stand at the pinnacle of their respective fields of endeavor, highlighting the many ways that these people-to-people connections have helped both our countries thrive.” The video features (in alphabetical order): tennis ambassador, philanthropist and filmmaker Ashok Amritraj; author and wellness pioneer Dr. Deepak Chopra; activist, first Indian Miss America and actor Nina Davuluri; CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta; tabla virtuoso, composer and music ambassador Zakir Hussain; food and travel author, TV chef and actor Madhur Jaffrey; actor, producer and philanthropist Priyanka Chopra Jonas; television host, producer, food expert and author Padma Lakshmi; comedian, actor and television host Aasif Mandvi; literary author and journalist Suketu Mehta; U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy; film director and producer Mira Nair; former chairman and CEO of PepsiCo and author Indra Nooyi; 2019 Scripps Spelling Bee Champion Shruthika Padhy; 2020 TIME Magazine Kid of the Year, scientist and inventor Gitanjali Rao. People-to-people ties are one of the cornerstones of the U.S.-India relationship. In 2019, 15 million Indian visitors traveled to the United States, and Americans are now the second-largest group of foreign citizens visiting India. Approximately 200,000 Indian students currently enrich U.S. university campuses as they pursue higher education opportunities. The Indian American diaspora numbers an estimated four million people, and roughly one-third of all immigrant-founded start-ups in the United States have Indian founders, a press release from the US Embassy said. The U.S. Mission in India – comprising the Embassy in New Delhi and Consulates General in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad, will continue 75th Anniversary celebrations with a range of events across the country throughout this year.