Amerish B. ‘Ami’ Bera (47), an Indian-American Democrat from California; and Tulsi Gabbard (31), the first Hindu ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and a Democrat from Hawaii, created history as they were sworn in as members of the 113th Congress.
Raised by a Hindu mother and a Catholic father in “a multiracial, multicultural, multifaith family”, Ms. Gabbard (31), the first American Samoan and one of the first female combat veterans in U.S. Congress, took her oath of office on Thursday on the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu scripture.
“I believe strongly in embracing diversity,” Ms. Gabbard, who was exposed as a child to both the New Testament and the Bhagavad Gita told Stephen Prothero, a professor in Boston University’s religion department, in an interview published in USA Today .
Mr. Bera became the third Indian-American member of the U.S. House after Amritsar-born Dalip Singh Saund, Democrat from California (1957 to 1963); and Louisiana’s current Republican governor Bobby Jindal (2005-2008).
Mr. Bera, the son of immigrants from India, took the oath in the presence of his wife, daughter, brothers, and his father.
The newly sworn-in 113th Congress is the most diverse group of representatives in history, with 98 women; 43 African-Americans; 31 Latinos; 12 Asian-American and Pacific Islanders; and seven gay and bisexual members new members of the House and Senate.
