Who is Congressman Thanedar who escorted PM Modi to US Congress?

It was a big day for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the United States. On Day 2 of his visit, the PM held bilateral talks, addressed the US Congress and a state dinner at the White House. He became the first Indian to address the US Congress twice. Escorting the Indian leader to his joint address was Indian-American Congressman Shri Thanedar.

Thanedar was also invited by US president Joe Biden to attend the state dinner.

Speaking to ANI, the American politician called it a “great honour” to accompany PM Modi to to the US Congress.

But, who is Shri Thanedar? Let’s take a closer look.

From India to the US

Shri Thanedar was born in Karnataka’s Belgaum in 1955. As per The Quint report, he spent the first 24 years of his life in the southern state’s Belgaum and Dharwad, and Maharashtra’s Mumbai.

“I grew up in poverty in India, in a family of 10, where I remember going to the river to get drinking water. After my father retired, it fell to me to care for my family, so I worked as a janitor,” Thanedar said on his website.

He earned a Master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Bombay at the age of 18.

He also briefly worked as a scientist at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai, as per The Quint report.

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Chasing the ‘American Dream’

In 1979, Thanedar went to the US to pursue a PhD in chemistry at the University of Akron.

He took up a job as a teaching assistant to support his family back home. “My $300 monthly salary wasn’t much to live on – especially after sending $75 each month to help my family still living in India. But through hard work and a little bit of luck, I was able to earn an MBA and a PhD in chemistry,” Thanedar was quoted as saying by The Quint.

According to his US House of Representatives profile, he became an American citizen in 1988.

In 1990, he purchased Chemir, a small chemical testing and analysis laboratory in St. Louis, as per a Politico report.

While Chemir prospered, Thanedar suffered a personal tragedy as his first wife Shamal, with whom he has two sons, died in October 1996.

He eventually remarried in August 1999 to a woman named Shashi.

The entrepreneur witnessed an economic downturn during the Great Recession in 2008 when he had to declare bankruptcy.

In 2010, Thanedar founded Avomeen, a chemical testing lab, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. However, six years later, he sold his majority stake in the company.

Thanedar, who is fluent in Kannada, Hindi, and Marathi, has penned an autobiography in Marathi, and a self-published memoir in English titled The Blue Suitcase: Tragedy and Triumph in an Immigrant’s Life, according to The Quint.

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Plunge into politics

In 2018, Thanedar unsuccessfully entered the race for the Democratic primary for Michigan’s governor post.

Two years later, he became a member of the Michigan State House.

In the 2022 US midterm elections, he successfully ran for the 13th Congressional District of Michigan and became the fifth Indian-American to be elected to the US House of Representatives.

Thanedar is the first desi politician to be elected from the state of Michigan.

In an interview with PTI, the 68-year-old Congressman said: “I grew up in poverty and only came to America with a dream. I was fortunate to achieve my American Dream; the United States is a country of immigrants, a land of opportunity, and this diversity makes our country strong.”

‘Hindu Caucus’ in the US

On 14 June, Thanedar said he plans to form a ‘Hindu Caucus’ in the US Congress to bring like-minded lawmakers together to ensure Hindus do not face hate and bigotry.

“It is important that every person has a right to choose a religion, pray (to) a God that he or she chooses without persecution, without discrimination, without hate or for those who may choose not to pray to a God.

“These are freedoms that are fundamental. These are fundamental human rights,” Thanedar was quoted as saying by PTI.

He made the remarks at the first-ever Hindu American Summit organised by Americans4Hindus at the Capitol Visitor Center, as per the news agency.

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India and US ties

Thanedar has previously called for a strong relationship between the US and other democratic countries, including India.

Speaking to news agency PTI ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the US, the Congressman said he hoped the Indian leader would speak on the “aggression” by China and Russia.

“I expect him (Modi) to propose collaboration in defence, space, businesses and technology. I hope that Prime Minister Modi stresses on the importance of a strong relationship between the United States and India and we need to have a trusting relationship so that we can fight the aggression of China. I hope he speaks about Chinese aggression and Russian aggression against a sovereign democratic country like Ukraine.”

VIDEO | "I expect him (PM Modi) to propose collaboration in defence, space, technology. I hope he speaks about Chinese aggression and Russian aggression against a sovereign democratic country like Ukraine," Indian American Congressman Shri Thanedar tells PTI on PM Modi's… pic.twitter.com/fxB0qbvEZz

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 20, 2023

Meanwhile, Thanedar and his wife were also invited by US president Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden to the state dinner in honour of Modi on 22 June evening.

“(My spouse) Shashi and I are looking forward to the Prime Minister’s visit to the United States; this is a historic event for the Prime Minister. I hope to stress upon the Prime Minister the need for stronger US-India ties,” the Indian-American told the news agency earlier.

With inputs from agencies

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