Harpreet Sandhu tells young people not to underestimate the value of working for an elected official
Counciller Harpreet Sandhu is a politician. He says that’s what he does. It is what he loves to do and what he has been doing for almost 30 years. He has worked out how and where he fits in the great churning of processes that is the American democracy.
He is best known in the media for his work promoting the safety of taxi-drivers in the Richmond area of California in the United States of America. He is also known for his work promoting the youth to participate in politics. He supports Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama.
Mr Sandhu is a deeply rooted man and very articulate. He gave me a quick run down of the Richmond area so that there would be some background to the rough nature of the neighbourhood. “Richmond is a town that is around 100 years old. It’s a port city,” says Mr Sandhu, going on to explain how it flourished during the war year when a lot of people moved into the city increasing the population to 120,000 from 40,000 because of a ship building yard that had been set up there. “When war ended, the people moved on and the population segregated into African-American, Hispanic and so on,” says Sandhu.
In a tiny area about 3 mile by 3 mile, Richmond has the sixth largest homicide rates in the country and the second largest in California “Drug dealing is rife and this leads to turf wars,” says Mr Sandhu.
It is in this context that he talks about the safety of the taxi drivers who are “99 per cent Indians and of that 80 per cent are Sikh”. There was a particularly drastic attack where a taxi-driver was caught at a dead end and shot at point blank range. This is when Mr Sandhu got involved. He was interviewed by the local press on the story. He went on record to say that this was a hate crime and as such had to be treated differently. “There was no motive to steal. The cab driver was carrying a large sum of money with him as well as a laptop and that was not stolen,” he says. However, it could not be admitted as such due to the legalities of defining a hate crime.
This took a turn for the worse when a second similar incident happened. This time, however, the cab driver managed to escape and related the incident to say the person who shot him (the bullet lodged in his jaw and did not kill him) did not attempt to rob him. Just asked him to lower the window and shot him.
In the light of these incidents, Mr Sandhu gathered the considerable might of the local Sikh community behind him to push for safer driving conditions for cab drivers. The result was that about $30,000 of public funding was to be earmarked for cameras in taxis and for protective shields for drivers.
This is a unique move in all of America as public funds were used towards safety for a private enterprise. Even more unique is the fact that there was hardly any opposition at all to this move.
Mr Sandhu who turns 50 next year started working in the system almost 30 years ago. “I remember during election time, volunteers coming to the door and asking if I would like to help. I said yes and it increased awarensess. People came to know me. I was still an oddity as most Asians were either doctors or lawyers,” says Sandhu. He explains by saying how politics does not play a very important role in the daily lives of people in the US as opposed to those in India. There is no interaction with politicians.
“Indians are very good at donations. We give a lot of money to the political party of our choice. However, we don’t know how to use that influence. It only fair that we ask for good school, road and facilities in your area. Instead they go for photo ops,” he says. However, that trend seems to be changing. “However, I find that with the new generation, they have a chance to get into these roles as they are financially secure. They realise the importance of working for an elected official and the leadership opportunity it provies. You can hardly get that kind of experience working as a doctor.”
Mr Sandhu was at the convention when Barack Obama made the now famous speech. “I was there when he made that speech and that’s when I got attached. In fact, even my wife said that he was a man to watch,” says Sandhu going on to explain how he was one of the highest vote gatherers for Obama.
In two years Mr Sandhu will run for Mayor. He needs $100,000 to run and he says about 60-70% of that will be raised by Sikhs all around America. Being Sikh is a large part of his identity. “I am the only baptised Sikh who is serving on the council. Visibility is greater for me.”
“When I look back, I’ve been doing this for a long time. It takes a while to build up such a career here. Many Indians come here thinking - Ok we’ve got money, now we’ll get a ticket. It does not work like that.”
Mr Sandhu moved to the Richmond area when the local gurudwara was being built there. His father was the president of the board and hence moved to the area to be closer to the gurudwara complex. Today, it is a rambling structure and has and attendance of about 1500.
Mr Sandhu’s family has been in the area since the Asian Exclusionary Act was removed. This Act meant that while some could come and live in the US, they would not be allowed to bring their families. Today he has a rambling network of cousins and relatives in the area numbering about 100. He lives here with his wife Inderpreet and three children Tanisha, 23, Hoorin, 21, and Barjodan, 20.
He is best known in the media for his work promoting the safety of taxi-drivers in the Richmond area of California in the United States of America. He is also known for his work promoting the youth to participate in politics. He supports Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama.
Mr Sandhu is a deeply rooted man and very articulate. He gave me a quick run down of the Richmond area so that there would be some background to the rough nature of the neighbourhood. “Richmond is a town that is around 100 years old. It’s a port city,” says Mr Sandhu, going on to explain how it flourished during the war year when a lot of people moved into the city increasing the population to 120,000 from 40,000 because of a ship building yard that had been set up there. “When war ended, the people moved on and the population segregated into African-American, Hispanic and so on,” says Sandhu.
In a tiny area about 3 mile by 3 mile, Richmond has the sixth largest homicide rates in the country and the second largest in California “Drug dealing is rife and this leads to turf wars,” says Mr Sandhu.
It is in this context that he talks about the safety of the taxi drivers who are “99 per cent Indians and of that 80 per cent are Sikh”. There was a particularly drastic attack where a taxi-driver was caught at a dead end and shot at point blank range. This is when Mr Sandhu got involved. He was interviewed by the local press on the story. He went on record to say that this was a hate crime and as such had to be treated differently. “There was no motive to steal. The cab driver was carrying a large sum of money with him as well as a laptop and that was not stolen,” he says. However, it could not be admitted as such due to the legalities of defining a hate crime.
This took a turn for the worse when a second similar incident happened. This time, however, the cab driver managed to escape and related the incident to say the person who shot him (the bullet lodged in his jaw and did not kill him) did not attempt to rob him. Just asked him to lower the window and shot him.
In the light of these incidents, Mr Sandhu gathered the considerable might of the local Sikh community behind him to push for safer driving conditions for cab drivers. The result was that about $30,000 of public funding was to be earmarked for cameras in taxis and for protective shields for drivers.
This is a unique move in all of America as public funds were used towards safety for a private enterprise. Even more unique is the fact that there was hardly any opposition at all to this move.
Mr Sandhu who turns 50 next year started working in the system almost 30 years ago. “I remember during election time, volunteers coming to the door and asking if I would like to help. I said yes and it increased awarensess. People came to know me. I was still an oddity as most Asians were either doctors or lawyers,” says Sandhu. He explains by saying how politics does not play a very important role in the daily lives of people in the US as opposed to those in India. There is no interaction with politicians.
“Indians are very good at donations. We give a lot of money to the political party of our choice. However, we don’t know how to use that influence. It only fair that we ask for good school, road and facilities in your area. Instead they go for photo ops,” he says. However, that trend seems to be changing. “However, I find that with the new generation, they have a chance to get into these roles as they are financially secure. They realise the importance of working for an elected official and the leadership opportunity it provies. You can hardly get that kind of experience working as a doctor.”
Mr Sandhu was at the convention when Barack Obama made the now famous speech. “I was there when he made that speech and that’s when I got attached. In fact, even my wife said that he was a man to watch,” says Sandhu going on to explain how he was one of the highest vote gatherers for Obama.
In two years Mr Sandhu will run for Mayor. He needs $100,000 to run and he says about 60-70% of that will be raised by Sikhs all around America. Being Sikh is a large part of his identity. “I am the only baptised Sikh who is serving on the council. Visibility is greater for me.”
“When I look back, I’ve been doing this for a long time. It takes a while to build up such a career here. Many Indians come here thinking - Ok we’ve got money, now we’ll get a ticket. It does not work like that.”
Mr Sandhu moved to the Richmond area when the local gurudwara was being built there. His father was the president of the board and hence moved to the area to be closer to the gurudwara complex. Today, it is a rambling structure and has and attendance of about 1500.
Mr Sandhu’s family has been in the area since the Asian Exclusionary Act was removed. This Act meant that while some could come and live in the US, they would not be allowed to bring their families. Today he has a rambling network of cousins and relatives in the area numbering about 100. He lives here with his wife Inderpreet and three children Tanisha, 23, Hoorin, 21, and Barjodan, 20.
No comments:
Post a Comment