US Senate agrees to honour Dalip Singh Saund

[Mehtab Singh]

http://headlines.sify.com/news/fullstory.p...lip~Singh~Saund

US Senate agrees to honour Dalip Singh Saund

Friday, 01 July , 2005, 07:37

Washington: Dalip Singh Saund, the first Indian-American member of the US Congress, will be honoured by having a Post Office named after him.

The US Senate unanimously voted in a bid to perpetuate the memory of Dalip Singh Saund who took the oath of office in 1957 to become the very first Indian-American to serve in the US House of Representatives.

''The 'Dalip Singh Saund Post Office Building' will honour an American who followed his dream to the United States, broke barriers and served as a representative of the people,'' said Congressman Darrell Issa.

''This Act of Congress will preserve Congressman Saund's legacy and honours the success of all immigrants from India and their accomplishments,'' he added.

Born in the village of Chhajulwadi in Punjab in 1899, Dalip Saund came to the United States in 1920 to study at the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a doctorate in mathematics.

For nearly 30 years he was a successful farmer in Imperial Valley and during the period, fought for the rights of the immigrant Indians.

In 1949, he and other Indians finally earned the right to become US citizens. In 1952, Dilip Saund was elected and served for four years as Justice of Peace in Westmoreland, California, and made history in 1956 when he became the first Asian elected to the Congress.

He was elected to the House of Representatives and represented the 29th congressional district during the Eighty-fifth and the two succeeding Congresses. His political career was cut short when he suffered a stroke while campaigning for a fourth term.