ASHWIN RAMASWAMI has become the first Indian American from Gen Z to run for a state or federal legislature in the US, indicative of a new breed of young politicians emerging from the community.
Ramaswami's parents immigrated to the US from Tamil Nadu in 1990. Generation Z (also known as Zoomers) encompasses those born between 1997 and 2012.
"I'm running for (Georgia) state senate to give back to my community. I want to make sure that everyone has the same opportunities I had growing up," Ramaswami, 24, said in a recent interview.
"I want to make sure we have a new voice, people who are young, who come from unconventional backgrounds in politics because it's really important that we have people who represent us, not just people who can afford to do it."
The second-generation Indian American, who has built a career in software engineering, election security, and technology law and policy research, is running for state senate in district 48 of Georgia.
Ramaswami, a Democrat, is hoping to replace incumbent Republican Shawn Still, who was indicted with former president Donald Trump for the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.
If elected, he would be the first Gen Z state senator in Georgia and the only Georgia state legislator with both a computer science and a law degree. By doing so, he would also break barriers as the first Indian American in the Georgia state legislature.
"Everyone should make sure they have access to a quality education. We want to make sure people have access to jobs and the economy, entrepreneurship and also access to healthcare, reproductive rights and all these issues that matter to us. That's why I've been running," Ramaswami, whose parents are both from the IT sector, said.
"My parents both came to the US in the 1990s. They both came from Tamil Nadu. My mom is from Chennai, my dad is from Coimbatore. I've always grown up with Indian culture and also American culture growing up as well. I'm a Hindu. I've been very interested in Indian culture philosophy my whole life,’ he said.
While growing up, he went to Chinmaya Mission Balavihar where he learned about epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita.
(PTI)
Sarah Pochin (Photo: UK Parliament)