“I am honored to introduce to you, Tulsi Gabbard, a good friend and one of the most promising and inspiring leaders in the Democratic Party, “ said Dr. Dr. Sampat Shivangi, a leading Indian American, dedicated physician and philanthropist, while introducing Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, as she announced her candidacy for US Presidency in 2020.
Tulsi was the first Hindu ever elected to the US Congress and the first member to take her oath on the Bhagavad Gita, Dr. Shivangi told a select guest of audience, who were invited to the event in Los Angeles, CA last week. “She was also one of the two first female war veterans elected to Congress.”
Tulsi was elected to the Hawaii State legislature in 2002 at the age of 21, making her the youngest woman in the country to be elected to the state legislature. She sacrificed her state house seat in 2004 to voluntarily serve in the army as a Captain in the US army and has served on 2 deployments in the Middle East. She continues to serve as a Major in the Army National Guard.
A veteran and with multiple prestigious awards, Tulsi is the recipient of several awards, including the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award from the Institute of Politics at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government,
A 37-year-old Iraq War veteran, Tulsi has been a United States Representative for Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District since 2013 and is now in her 3rd term. She has won all 3 elections by a whopping 80% of the votes polled.
A former vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee, she currently serves on the Armed Services Committee and Committee on Foreign Affairs and is vice chair of the Congressional India Caucus. She has been a fresh voice in the Democratic Party with her support for US-India relations, her opposition to the war in Iraq, her opposition to arms sales to Saudi Arabia and her more recent vigorous opposition to arming the rebels in Syria.
In addition to national security and international issues she has been active on Environmental, Medicare and social issues in Congress. Amid the clamor of Trump headlines and focus on higher-profile candidates, Tulsi Gabbard has been quietly making the traditional moves of a presidential candidate. She recently visited Iowa, where locals urged her to run for president, according to the Iowa City Press-Citizen. She keynoted a progressive gathering in New Hampshire in September. And she’s writing a book due out this spring titled, “Is Today the Day?: Not Another Political Memoir.”
Tulsi has distinguished herself with an anti-interventionist approach to foreign policy and the Middle East, and a progressive populist economic policy that has earned her praise from the likes of Sanders and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. She was one of the first members of Congress to endorse Sanders. “There’s a very clear contrast and clear difference when it comes to our two Democratic candidates,” Gabbard said at the time, “and who will exercise good judgment” in matters of war.
Dr. Sampat S. Shivangi is a conservative life long member of the Republican Party and hails from the state of Mississippi. Dr. Shivangi is the National President of the Indian American Forum for Political Education, one the oldest Indian American associations. For the last three decades, he has advocated for Bills in the US congress on behalf of India through his close relationships with US Senators and members of the Congress. Dr. Shivangi has worked enthusiastically in promoting the India Civil Nuclear Treaty and the US-India defense treaty that was passed in the US Congress.
Dr. Shivangi has held high offices in USA including as an advisor to US Health & Human Services appointed by the President George W. Bush, a member of the Mississippi State Board of Health by Governor Haley Barbour, then a Chair of the State Board of Mental Health, now by Governor Phil Bryant. For his significant contributions to strengthening India-US relations, Dr. Shivangi was honored with India’s highest civilian award by the President of India, with the Pravasi Bharathiya Sanman award in 2017. Dr. Shivangi was also honored with Ellis Island Medal of Honor in New York in 2008.
As an admirer and strong supporter of Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Dr. Shivangi told the audience in LA last week, “You may be looking at the next President of the United States in 2010; the fiorst woman ever elected to the Highest Office in the world.”
Dr. Shivangi, who was one of the very first to support and donate to her campaign when Tulsi had made her initial bid to the US Congress in 2012, described Tulsi as “truly a breath of fresh air in politics.”
