‘Focus on empowering second generation of NRIs’

He is the only Indian-American who has been felicitated by both the countries. Dr Sudhir Parikh has been awarded the The Ellis Island Medal of Honor by the US and the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman and the Padmashri by India. Parikh is now focusing on making the second generation American-Indians aware about the Indian culture, values and tradition. During his visit to Ahmedabad Dr. Parikh, one of the busiest allergist in US spoke with DNA, sharing  his views about various issues related to the Indo-US
relationships.

Tell us about your journey from Gujarat to US.
When I born in Petlad, there was no separate state of Gujarat. My father was a civil servant and we used to travel a lot. This helped me gain exposure to different regions and develop an understanding of different people. My schooling was done partly in Gujarat, partly in Maharashtra so I know Gujarati, Marathi along with English. I did my MBBS and MD courses from B J Medical College. I went to work with the Medical College of St Bartholomew's Hospital in UK. After a year, I moved to US in 1975 and have been practicing here since then.
 
What inspired you to participate in the social and political activities in US?
Politics is not bad word. The main idea behind being socially and politically active was to protect the interests of our community in US. 'In Rome, do as Romans do', so I started to actively participate in the social and political events. We formed various local groups and during election time we raised funds for the political parties.

So, what is your political inclination?
I've no inclination or loyalty towards any specific political party. I've have worked to raise funds for the candidates of both - Republicans and Democrats. Our concerns are only that the parties should be pro-India.

How do you manage to successfully lobby for issues in the interest of India?
We lobby at the grass-root level but it is done very strategically. We meet the local political leaders and make them aware about the issue. For example we had successfully lobbied to stop the sale of F-16 fighter aircrafts to Pakistan on the grounds that it would increase the tensions between the two countries. We talked to various senators, leaders and made them aware about the ground realities and succeeded. In fact, we will continue to lobby against the sale of F-16.

But didn't the Pakistani-Americans lobby in favour of the deal?
Yes, there was lobbying from Pakistani groups but you need to be very clear when it comes to briefing political leaders and we had put forward our concerns strongly.

Is the US favoring Pakistan? If so why?
US need Pakistan's support to fight terror. We shouldn't get upset about the aide Pakistan receives from US. America will do what is best for both the countries.

What are your views on Barack Obama's health-care reforms?
Actually, more than health-care, the reforms are evident in the insurance sector. Because of the reforms, insurance companies can't refuse to provide insurance cover to the poor. President Obama's idea is to include each and every American under the insurance cover. As health-care insurance will be available to more people, more patients will get proper treatment. It is about bringing the cost of health-care down. It will benefit every US citizen in long run.

You lead a busy life with your 26 clinics across US, heading various social, professional organizations and actively participating in poltics. So at the age of 64, what are your plans for future?
My aim is to familiarise the second generation of Indian-Americans with the American political system. And also keep their bonding with their root in India by exposing them to rich culture, values and traditions of India. I think media is a very effective way of doing this. So, I have 5 magazines that cater to the Indian communities in US. News India Times is a magazine which is circulated nationwide, Desi Talk Chicago and Desi Talk New York are local magazines, The Indian-American is a lifestyle magazine and I have just bought 'Gujarat Times'.