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80-20 is a national, nonpartisan, Political Action Committee dedicated to winning equal opportunity and justice for all Asian Americans
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The Evolution of My Advocacy
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I came to US in 1965 from India as a graduate student at Rutgers University, NJ. Knowing the US reputation as the birthplace of democracy, with no British style social class system of lords, dukes, nobles, serfs, peasants, etc., I expected American society to be a model of egalitarian meritocracy. Fresh off the boat, I was naive and had rose colored glasses on my views about USA.
After getting a PHD I started working in Bell Labs in New Jersey. Bell Labs had very high standards; they selected PHDs from the Ivy's and other top universities. While working there, one thing became quite clear: even though Bell Labs had many Asian Americans (and a few women) in the professional ranks, they did not get promoted to management positions. I learned that white people did not want to work for women or Asian Americans in supervisory positions (there were no blacks or hispanics in the professional ranks at the time).
My naivete' ended with a sudden jolt when, in 1987, I learned that a group of misguided youth, called Dot-busters, were harassing Indian men, women and children. They made their target victims known explicitely by their name; Dot-Busters referred to the red dot Indian women wore on their forehead as a mark of Hindu tradition. They started in Jersey City and spread in the nearby towns. They beat up many Indian men, women and children and two men were killed in Jersey City. Their objectives were clear - to drive out new Indian immigrants from Jersey City. Later it was rumored that the son of the Jersey City Police Chief was the head of this gang. Later still, it was found that Police Chief committed suicide. A New York Times article wrote: "In December, Mayor Cucci appointed a former New York City Police Commissioner, Patrick V. Murphy, to begin a six-month investigation of the department, which had been accused of insensitivity to complaints from Indian-Americans in Jersey City.
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I realized that the new immigrants from India must become more fully integrated in the towns and neighborhoods where we lived, and more fully participate in the democratic process of elections and voter registration, etc. In order to facilitate that, I started NJ Chapter of Indian American Forum for Political Education and worked with the NJ legislature to get an Anti- Racial Harrassment bill passed in both houses of NJ. The Governor signed the bill in the presence of Indian American community.
I retired seven years ago from NJ Department of Environmental Protection where I was appointed by the Governor of New Jersey to serve as an Assistant Commissioner. I took time to think through which organization should I devote my time and energies to in my retirement. My education and career have engaged me in the high tech areas of telecommunications, computer sciences, and Environment, and I have taken much delight in working with some of the most talented individuals in Bell Labs and Bellcore. Yet, at a deeper level, I have found meaning and a deeper sense of satisfaction in civil rights work, following on the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Therefore, I decided to work for 80-20 Initiative and broaden my field of activity to encompass All Asian Americans. I had a dream of uniting all Asian ethnic groups: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Indian, Filipino, etc. based on our shared cultural background and common issues we face as the new immigrants in USA.
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Since 1980's women have made geat strides in moving up the corporate ladder and getting elected to state and federal legislatures. They have still not achieved parity, but the progress of Asian Americans in achieving parity is still a dream. For us, the most basic civil right of getting admission to any college based on merit (not hampered by undisclosed quotas) is still a distant goal. So is the prospect of moving up the management hirarchy in corporate as well as government departments.
With my many years of advocacy, I have found that 80-20 is the only organization that has the vision and courage to identify these issues affecting Asian American community and to do every thing possible to improve the odds for our future generations to achieve parity in the American society.
For our children, please join us in making a better America!
Ved Chaudhary
Board Member & Life Member
80-20 National Asian American PAC
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