South Asian Republican Coalition launched in New Jersey

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EDISON, New Jersey – The South Asian Republican Coalition (SARC) was launched with a rally and dinner at the Royal Albert’s Palace in Edison, NJ, on December 29.

Hundreds of people from the Republican party and from South Asian communities were in attendance, according to a press release.

The purpose of SARC is to bring South Asian Americans (from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal) and other countries together on one platform for a strong voice, to create awareness among South Asian Americans to actively participate in mainstream politics.

The aim is also for these communities to believe in core values and principles of the Republican party and to support and promote it, said the release.

SARC was founded by Hemant Bhatt in March of 2018.

Bhatt is a businessman, political operative, activist and also Founder and President of TrumpMyPresident.com; Director, Immigration Relations, America Winning Coalition; Founder, President and CEO of fearmanagement.org and the Managing Director of Quick Insurance Agency.

Pinakin Pathak, a businessman, community leader and philanthropist, and Sridhar Chillara, a businessman, and Founder and CEO of Mana TV International, TV5 International, joined hands with Bhatt in December, 2018, as Co-Founders of SARC to achieve SARC’S mission and goals and objectives.

Bhatt, in his welcome address, said South Asian Americans have the interests of ‘America First’ and are committed to make America proud, safe, strong, wealthy and great.

“Though we have been organizing this event only for the last few days, I am very happy to see a great outcome of attendees. We want to take this organization to the national level and make sure that main-stream America knows the existence of South Asians in America and we want to make a difference as well. Since the community has come together, I see an excellent and bright future ahead of us,” he said.

“America is land of opportunity for all and South Asians will not leave any stone unturned to repay mother America what they have gotten from here. In U.S. there are about 20 million South Asian Americans and are growing very fast,” he said.

Bhatt added, “We, at SARC believe that a vital democracy requires an informed electorate, civil discourse and bold thinking.”

Bhatt called the supporters of SARC as an extraordinary team of enlightened individuals, entrepreneurs, educators and middle class working persons who will create awareness of the issues America is facing.

“What U.S. President Donald J. Trump and his administration are doing will be done by any head of any nation for the best interest of nation and its people,” he said.

He also emphasized to create awareness among South Asians and legal immigrants who become citizens to register them as Republicans.

Pathak in his speech said: “We need to see what these young Republicans are made of, what they are looking for, what are their core principles and what they want to bring into this country. So I am a firm believer and a staunch Republican and I want it to grow among our Asian community. We want to bring Mr. Trump back again in 2020.”

Steven Rogers, Chairman of America Winning Coalition, Member of President Donald J. Trump Advisory Board 2020 and a retired law enforcement official, gave the keynote address.

Rogers narrated the achievements and accomplishments of President Trump and his administration and enlightened the audience about the contribution made by South Asians in the mainstream America for its economic growth.

He emphasized that America has proven capitalism’s worth, and that socialism which is failed the world over, should not be promoted in America. He blessed the launch of SARC and encouraged the audience to re-elect President Trump.

“SARC is a model organization that represents hope, dedication and commitment our party must embrace to reignite the light of liberty given to us by our Founding Fathers. SARC is a big part of President Trump’s mission in Making America Great Again,” he said.

“As I looked at those candles and I looked at the words, I saw that the South Asian Republican Coalition will bring light where there is darkness, strength where there is weakness and faith where there is fear, and that is exactly what President Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ agenda is all about. This organization, your organization, is a huge part of this great country and this great party. It has the potential of becoming one of the strongest voices for the Republican Party and the principles in which our founding fathers founded this nation upon,” he said.

“However, that strength and those principles can only come with spirit, commitment and dedication that you in this organization and good solid Republicans across this country will support our president in fighting for. The South Asian community has ignited a torch that is going to go from coast to coast and around the country,” Rogers added.

Padma Shri Dr. Sudhir Parikh, the Founder and Chairman of Parikh Worldwide Media, who attended the meet, congratulated the SARC team on its launch. He recalled how he has supported the Republican party in the past.

“Today, my personal dream has come true,” said Dr. Parikh.

“Those who are of the young generation and my Indian American friends would not know that I was one of the handful of Indian Americans in the early 1990s who was very active in the Republican Party, and raised $4 million, which was a lot of money back then as our community was so small,” he said.

Dr. Parikh added: “I am also the one who introduced the New Jersey Republican Party to our community by holding a fundraiser for former Governor Christie Whitman, who no one really knew at the time because she was an underdog.”

Dr. Parikh went on to saying how “the Republican Administration has always helped minorities, especially Indian Americans.”

“I was also the first Indian American physician who was appointed as a member of the New Jersey Medical Licensing Board by Gov. Whitman in 1993. Then again in 2013, another Indian American physician was appointed to the board by former Governor Chris Christie and this shows that the Republican Administration, whether it is at the state level or the national level, will always care for our community. Even President Donald Trump’s administration has given India a waiver to crack a defense deal with Iran despite the U.S. sanctions against Iran, which shows that he is for India and is very accepting of the U.S.–India relations,” he added.

“We definitely need a change,” said another attendee Arun Vyas, of the United Rudra Foundation, at the meet, agreeing with Bhatt’s mission. “There has been a lot of conversation going around of how can we empower the Indian American community and even though we Indians, in general, believe we will always lean on the Democratic side, we should also know that there is no need to stick to one party. We need to look for change and see who will be better for our community and we need to choose them.”

John Vrtaric of the Woodbridge Republican Organization shared his immigrant experience with the audience saying, “We all know that we came from our mother countries. We know what happened there and what is happening now and we don’t want to go back. We don’t want to experience it again and we don’t want our children or grandchildren to suffer the oppression we had to suffer through over there.”

He added: “This country is the only country in the world that can give use the opportunity of change and freedom,” adding the fact of how welcoming the American flag is to any immigrant.

Sanjiv Pandya was the emcee of the meet.

For further information, please visit SARC’s website: www.sarcusa.org or send email to info@sarcusa.org