Earlier this year, when India was going through a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of dollars were raised by Indian Americans to support healthcare and tackle the crisis in their native country. Houston, Texas, was one of the cities in the US where the largest share of aid and funding came from. Recent data from the US Census Bureau and the American Community Survey (2019) shows that Indian immigrants in the US (about 2.7 million) are highly concentrated in the state of California (20 percent), followed by Texas and New Jersey (with 10 each). Percent). and Houston, Texas’ largest city, with a population of approximately 150,000 Indian Americans, has emerged among the top ten centers of community.
Members of the Indian American community in Houston are generally well educated and financially successful. The community is rich with high-income professionals including physicians, dentists, engineers, scientists, IT specialists, university professors, lawyers and business owners. “Indian-Americans in Houston are making their mark as doctors, lawyers, engineers, IT professionals, entrepreneurs and corporate executives. He is also active in the public sector. Over the years, the community has become more vocal and its members are running for city, county and state elections. It is also interesting to see the second generation pursuing unconventional careers as stand-up comedians, artists, writers and musicians,” explains Tarush Anand, President, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce Greater Houston (IACCGH).
Houston has many Indian-Americans who have emerged as leaders in various walks of life. Big names include Dr. Durga D. Agarwal, President and CEO of Piping Technology & Products, a company he founded in his garage in 1978, which is now one of the largest employers in the Houston area. He also supports large-scale charitable and philanthropic activities and is a Regent on the University of Houston System Board. Vijay Goradia, who moved to the US from Mumbai in 1978, is the founder of Vinmar, a $5 billion global plastics distribution company today. Other prominent Indian American entrepreneurs in Houston include Ramesh Bhutada (Star Pipes), Jugal Malani (Unique Industrial Products), Amit Bhandari (BioEnergy), Abeezer Tyabji, (Wireless Shipcom) and Bal Sarin (Brass). Chancellor of the University of Houston, Dr. Renu Khator; Liondale Bissell’s CEO, Bhavesh (Bob) Patel; Malisha S Patel, senior vice president and CEO of Memorial Herman Southwest and Memorial Herman Sugar Land Hospitals, and author Chitra Divakaruni are also renowned Indian Americans in Houston. India-born KP George is a county commissioner court judge in Fort Bend, a large and diverse county in the Houston metropolitan area.
Jiten Agarwal, a prominent community leader in Houston and founder of data analytics firm Expedian, feels that the rapidly increasing number of Indian Americans in Texas’ most diverse metropolitan area over the past decade reflects a shift in the demographics of the community. . “While Indians have traditionally been concentrated in the states of California, New Jersey and New York, we have been a growing community in Texas, particularly Houston, over the past decade. Indian Americans now hold top positions in every field. Not just traditional In the oil and gas sector, but also community members are leaders in diverse fields including politics and philanthropy,” said Agarwal, an IIT-Delhi alumnus who moved to the US with a job and started his own venture by Entrepreneurial Energy of Houston He further added that Indian Americans in Houston, especially the second generation, are now more connected with the local community and making a difference at the local level rather than simply contributing to their temples and mosques.” Since then, I am associated with Combined Arms Houston, an organization that supports veterans of the US Armed Services and Volunteers of America, helping the most vulnerable sections of people in America.”
The Indian community in Houston has actually stepped up on several occasions to not only help people in India or Indian Americans but has also been very active in philanthropic and community activities at the local level. In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, the community came together as never before and served the Houston community with large donations and more than 1,250 volunteers who rescued 687 people from high water and served over 30,000 hot meals to hurricane victims. Seva International, a Hindu-faith based community organisation, was at the front line of relief efforts and is still involved in the reconstruction of homes destroyed by the historic floods. “When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, the service stepped up again by helping distribute masks and other PPE. Members of the organization also distributed nearly one million pounds of food to the communities that were hardest hit. The community opened hearts and wallets and raised millions for relief efforts. Seva is an example of organizations that not only give back to the local community, but also help those in need in India,” says Anand of IACCGH.
Even now, service volunteers are assisting the US Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) in its COVID-19 vaccination efforts. “The Supportive Student Demonstration of Service in Remedial Education program provides after-school tutoring and mentoring services primarily for underserved and under-privileged children at three schools around Houston. Gitesh, president of the Houston chapter of Service International The mission, says Desai, is to create resources and empower communities by providing them with the skills they need to enhance lives.
Other organizations run by the Indian American community in Houston include Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, Magic Bus USA, India House, India Culture Center and Gujarati Samaj of Houston. The Indo-American Political Action Committee of Greater Houston is the political voice of the community, while the Indo-American Charity Foundation is founded on the philosophy of living and giving in Houston.
Ramesh Shah, Dev Mahajan and Raj Bhalla are prominent philanthropists and community leaders. Vinmar’s Goradia is engaged in a number of philanthropic efforts including First USA, an education non-profit of which he is one of the founders and a large donor. “There are a variety of non-profit organizations run by Indian Americans – political, social, religious, commercial and they are all making a difference. As the voice of the business community, we have the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston , which has facilitated trade missions to and from India and we promote business opportunities in Houston,” says Jagdeep Ahluwalia, Founding Secretary/Executive Director, IACCGH. He adds that there are more than 100 religious communities in Houston. There are organizations that help to network the members of the Indian community to hold them together.” Houston is known as the “Kashi” of America because of the sheer number of temples here. The Bohra community has built a large mosque and community center and there are many Sikh Gurdwaras in our area and Mar Thoma Church in Kerala. Both BAPS Shree Swaminarayan Mandir and Meenakshi Mandir are local sites.
Members of the Indian American community in Houston are generally well educated and financially successful. The community is rich with high-income professionals including physicians, dentists, engineers, scientists, IT specialists, university professors, lawyers and business owners. “Indian-Americans in Houston are making their mark as doctors, lawyers, engineers, IT professionals, entrepreneurs and corporate executives. He is also active in the public sector. Over the years, the community has become more vocal and its members are running for city, county and state elections. It is also interesting to see the second generation pursuing unconventional careers as stand-up comedians, artists, writers and musicians,” explains Tarush Anand, President, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce Greater Houston (IACCGH).
Houston has many Indian-Americans who have emerged as leaders in various walks of life. Big names include Dr. Durga D. Agarwal, President and CEO of Piping Technology & Products, a company he founded in his garage in 1978, which is now one of the largest employers in the Houston area. He also supports large-scale charitable and philanthropic activities and is a Regent on the University of Houston System Board. Vijay Goradia, who moved to the US from Mumbai in 1978, is the founder of Vinmar, a $5 billion global plastics distribution company today. Other prominent Indian American entrepreneurs in Houston include Ramesh Bhutada (Star Pipes), Jugal Malani (Unique Industrial Products), Amit Bhandari (BioEnergy), Abeezer Tyabji, (Wireless Shipcom) and Bal Sarin (Brass). Chancellor of the University of Houston, Dr. Renu Khator; Liondale Bissell’s CEO, Bhavesh (Bob) Patel; Malisha S Patel, senior vice president and CEO of Memorial Herman Southwest and Memorial Herman Sugar Land Hospitals, and author Chitra Divakaruni are also renowned Indian Americans in Houston. India-born KP George is a county commissioner court judge in Fort Bend, a large and diverse county in the Houston metropolitan area.
Jiten Agarwal, a prominent community leader in Houston and founder of data analytics firm Expedian, feels that the rapidly increasing number of Indian Americans in Texas’ most diverse metropolitan area over the past decade reflects a shift in the demographics of the community. . “While Indians have traditionally been concentrated in the states of California, New Jersey and New York, we have been a growing community in Texas, particularly Houston, over the past decade. Indian Americans now hold top positions in every field. Not just traditional In the oil and gas sector, but also community members are leaders in diverse fields including politics and philanthropy,” said Agarwal, an IIT-Delhi alumnus who moved to the US with a job and started his own venture by Entrepreneurial Energy of Houston He further added that Indian Americans in Houston, especially the second generation, are now more connected with the local community and making a difference at the local level rather than simply contributing to their temples and mosques.” Since then, I am associated with Combined Arms Houston, an organization that supports veterans of the US Armed Services and Volunteers of America, helping the most vulnerable sections of people in America.”
The Indian community in Houston has actually stepped up on several occasions to not only help people in India or Indian Americans but has also been very active in philanthropic and community activities at the local level. In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, the community came together as never before and served the Houston community with large donations and more than 1,250 volunteers who rescued 687 people from high water and served over 30,000 hot meals to hurricane victims. Seva International, a Hindu-faith based community organisation, was at the front line of relief efforts and is still involved in the reconstruction of homes destroyed by the historic floods. “When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, the service stepped up again by helping distribute masks and other PPE. Members of the organization also distributed nearly one million pounds of food to the communities that were hardest hit. The community opened hearts and wallets and raised millions for relief efforts. Seva is an example of organizations that not only give back to the local community, but also help those in need in India,” says Anand of IACCGH.
Even now, service volunteers are assisting the US Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) in its COVID-19 vaccination efforts. “The Supportive Student Demonstration of Service in Remedial Education program provides after-school tutoring and mentoring services primarily for underserved and under-privileged children at three schools around Houston. Gitesh, president of the Houston chapter of Service International The mission, says Desai, is to create resources and empower communities by providing them with the skills they need to enhance lives.
Other organizations run by the Indian American community in Houston include Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, Magic Bus USA, India House, India Culture Center and Gujarati Samaj of Houston. The Indo-American Political Action Committee of Greater Houston is the political voice of the community, while the Indo-American Charity Foundation is founded on the philosophy of living and giving in Houston.
Ramesh Shah, Dev Mahajan and Raj Bhalla are prominent philanthropists and community leaders. Vinmar’s Goradia is engaged in a number of philanthropic efforts including First USA, an education non-profit of which he is one of the founders and a large donor. “There are a variety of non-profit organizations run by Indian Americans – political, social, religious, commercial and they are all making a difference. As the voice of the business community, we have the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston , which has facilitated trade missions to and from India and we promote business opportunities in Houston,” says Jagdeep Ahluwalia, Founding Secretary/Executive Director, IACCGH. He adds that there are more than 100 religious communities in Houston. There are organizations that help to network the members of the Indian community to hold them together.” Houston is known as the “Kashi” of America because of the sheer number of temples here. The Bohra community has built a large mosque and community center and there are many Sikh Gurdwaras in our area and Mar Thoma Church in Kerala. Both BAPS Shree Swaminarayan Mandir and Meenakshi Mandir are local sites.
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