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Inder Singh
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The Helmsman
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FACTFILE
President, GOPIO
Home address: 3818 Gleneagles Dr. Tarzana,
CA 91356, USA
Contact Tel: 818 708-3885
InderSingh-USA@hotmail.com
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Inder Singh came to the US in 1968 and obtained an M.S. in Information Management Science. From 1969, he worked in various capacities in the computer field, rising to the position of MIS director and then vice-president of a computer consulting company.
Inder Singh has been involved with the Indian/Asian community for over 35 years. Currently, he is the president of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO). In 1989, as president of the National Federation of Indian American Associations, the largest national body of people of Indian origin in the US, he sponsored the first global convention of people of Indian origin, which was attended by delegates from 22 countries, including some ministers and many community and political stalwarts of Indian origin. At the end of the five-day convention in New York, GOPIO was formed to network the global Indian community.
As the leader of the National Federation, Inder Singh lobbied for many issues dear to the Indian American community. He successfully piloted a nationwide campaign against the supply of highly sophisticated military hardware, including AWACS to Pakistan. He mobilised the Indian community against Senator Kennedy’s 1986 Immigration bill; joining hands with other Asian national organisations, convinced many US Congressmen to keep the then family reunification quota intact.
As chairman of the Indian American Heritage Foundation, Inder Singh has been organising an annual awards function since 1987 to recognise and reward talented Indian American high school graduates.
Inder Singh formed the Global Punjabi Diaspora, to recognise the contributions of Punjabis to their new homeland and to preserve and globalise their heritage, culture and language. He organised a highly successful commemoration event in January 2002 for late Dalip Singh Saund, the first Asian/Indian elected to the US Congress. The event attracted many Indian “firsts” from North America, the first state senator, the first state assemblyman, the first highest ranking presidential appointee, and the first premier of a state in North America, Ujjal Dosanjh.
Inder Singh is probably the only Indian American who has publically hosted presidents of two countries, president of his motherland India, Giani Zail Singh, and president of his adopted homeland, US, George Bush, once in 1989 and then in 1991. President Bush (Sr.) had addressed him, in his official speeches at two different occasions, as the “leader of the Asian community”. No other Indian American has that distinct honour to date.
Inder Singh has held leadership positions in many Asian community organizations. He co-founded the Asian & Pacific American Republicans Coalition which became an officially chartered group of the California Republican Party. He was on the Asian Advisory Board of the Republican National Committee (Republican Party of USA), National Co-Chairman for Asian Americans for Bush/Quayle 1992, National Honorary Chairman for Asian Americans for Bush/Quayle 1988 and National Vice Chairman for Indian Americans for Reagan/Bush 1984.
Inder Singh was appointed a member of the 1992 Presidential Rank Review Board, a prestigious appointment by the White House to review and rank senior Federal Government executives for Meritorious Services Award. He served as a Board Member from 1995 to 2001 and Vice Chair from 1998 to 1999 of the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging, a national body of Asian Americans with offices in most of the states with Asian population, catering to the needs of Asian seniors. He was also advisor to UNICEF for the premier of the movie Gandhi in Southern California.
—By Nupur Handa
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more...
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January 2007
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