At the age of 14, Belgaum-born Shri Thanedar — the newest Indian American member of Congress — worked as a janitor, cleaning doctor’s offices around town to support his family.

Thanedar had six sisters and two brothers. The family lived in a small, rented house, with a toilet 50 feet outside the residence, no running water, and a roof that leaked. Still, things were all right, until his father lost his job as a court clerk.

“The family fell into hardship. And I was only 14 years old, but I was the oldest son, and by Indian culture and customs, I felt responsible to take care of the family,” Thanedar, a Democrat who will represent Detroit, Michigan, told this publication in an exclusive interview. The congressman-elect is the fifth Indian American in the House, joining Reps. Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington, Ro Khanna and Ami Bera, both Democrats from California, and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Illinois.

The future millionaire continued to work as he went to college. At the age of 24, lacking sustainable economic opportunities in India, Thanedar decided to immigrate to the U.S. to get his PhD at the University of Akron, in Ohio. His visa application was rejected four times by one consular officer, but — with a stroke of luck — approved on the fifth time by another officer while the first one was on vacation.

In 1991, Thanedar bought a small, three person scientific consulting business, Chemir, with annual revenues of just $150,000. By 2005, Chemir's revenues were $16 million and it employed 160 people, including 40 PhD chemists. He took out a $24 million loan from Bank of America to buy six related businesses. In 2008, Thanedar said his group of companies had 500 employees, and was valued at $200 million.

But the recession that year hit hard: the businessman lost everything, including his home. His group of companies were sold for $31 million to pay back his loan to Bank of America.

Thanedar was named Entrepreneur of the Year for his region by Ernst and Young, in 1998 and 2007. “As I was leaving my company for the last time in 2008, I asked if I could take my awards. They said yes. And I told myself: ‘I’m going to win one of these again one day.’”

In 2010, Thanedar and his son Neil launched Avomeen Analytical Services. In 2016, his pledge to himself manifested, as Ernst and Young once again named him Entrepreneur of the Year.

“In the recession, there were two fails. The government helped big banks with billions of dollars so that they could survive. At the same time, small businesses like mine were not being helped.”

“And it is the small businesses that create bulk of the jobs, but it is the large corporations that have the ears of the politicians. And so I think I'm much more sympathetic to the needs of the smaller businesses as a result of that,” said Thanedar.

The businessman launched his political career in 2018, with a gubernatorial run in Michigan. He pitched himself as a fiscally-prudent Bernie Sanders, but lost to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. In 2020, Thanedar won a seat in the Michigan state Legislature, representing portions of Detroit. He gave up his seat earlier this year to run for Congress, and emerged victorious Nov. 9 morning with 71 percent of the vote.

Thanedar beat Michigan state Senator Adam Hollier, a Black Democrat. The Detroit Free Press noted that Detroit, which has the largest Black majority of any major city in the U.S., will not have a Black representative in Congress for the first time since 1955.

“People have seen me work as a state representative. I fought corporations, I fought for clean water, I fought for contamination cleanups, I brought money for education, I brought money for community projects,” said Thanedar, addressing New India Abroad’s question as to how an Indian American won a Congressional seat in a majority Black district.

“Many of them know my story or have heard my story. Whenever I go into a community meeting, people actually come and say, ‘hey, I remember when you couldn't afford your apartment, you slept in a car for the whole summer.’”

The congressman-elect, who spoke to this publication during a break from freshman orientation, has set an ambitious agenda for his time in office.

“My overall goal is to improve the quality of life for people and that means better health care. I believe that health care is a fundamental human right. We are the only developed nation that does not provide health care to its citizens. Today we have over 26 million people that are out of health care,” said Thanedar, noting that the Covid-19 pandemic laid bare healthcare access disparities, especially in low income communities of color.

The congressman said he also wants to focus on the shadow pandemic: the mental health crisis. He also wants to focus on more home ownership, especially in low income communities.

Thanedar also discussed Flint, Michigan’s water crisis. “A lot of children got exposed to lead in the drinking water. We have chemicals leaching. Pollutants and chemical discharge by corporations often find their way into the ground and into the drinking water.”

“We need to ensure that corporations are responsible and held responsible for any kind of chemical spills and chemical release and any kind of toxic materials leaching into the ground water. We need to replace those lead pipes. And the recent infrastructure bill has provided substantial amount of money to replace lead pipes,” said Thanedar, noting that he will also fight against water turn-offs for people who can’t pay their water bills.

“No one should be denied water or access to good, clean water because of affordability.”

“We need to work from the bottom up, lift the people at the bottom through creating economic opportunities, creating business opportunities, giving them the skills that they need to get good paying jobs,” said Thanedar, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which is chaired by Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington state.

“So there's a lot that needs to be done, and that's what I'll be fighting for in the halls of Congress,” said Thanedar.

ਅਮਰੀਕੀ ਰਾਸ਼ਟਰਪਤੀ ਡੋਨਾਲਡ ਟਰੰਪ ਨੇ 14 ਨਵੰਬਰ ਨੂੰ ਰਿਪਬਲਿਕਨ ਸੰਸਦ ਮੈਂਬਰ ਮਾਰਜੋਰੀ ਟੇਲਰ ਗ੍ਰੀਨ ਲਈ ਆਪਣਾ ਸਮਰਥਨ ਜਨਤਕ ਤੌਰ ‘ਤੇ ਵਾਪਸ ਲੈ ਲਿਆ, ਇੱਕ ਦਿਨ ਬਾਅਦ ਜਦੋਂ ਦੋਵਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ H-1B ਵੀਜ਼ਾ ਪ੍ਰੋਗਰਾਮ ਬਾਰੇ ਰਾਏ ਵੱਖਰੀ ਹੋ ਗਈ ਸੀ। ਗ੍ਰੀਨ, ਜੋ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਟਰੰਪ ਦੀ ਸਭ ਤੋਂ ਤਿੱਖੀ ਵਕਾਲਤ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲਿਆਂ ਵਿੱਚੋਂ ਇੱਕ ਮੰਨੀ ਜਾਂਦੀ ਸੀ, ਨੇ ਇੱਕ ਬਿਲ ਦਾ ਐਲਾਨ ਕੀਤਾ ਜੋ H-1B ਵੀਜ਼ਾ ਪ੍ਰੋਗਰਾਮ ਨੂੰ ਸਮਾਪਤ ਕਰਨ ਦਾ ਪ੍ਰਸਤਾਵ ਰੱਖਦਾ ਹੈ — ਇਹ ਉਸ ਸਮੇਂ ਹੋਇਆ ਜਦੋਂ ਕੁਝ ਦਿਨ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਟਰੰਪ ਨੇ FOX ਨਿਊਜ਼ ਨੂੰ ਦਿੱਤੇ ਇੰਟਰਵਿਊ ਵਿੱਚ ਕਿਹਾ ਸੀ ਕਿ ਸੰਯੁਕਤ ਰਾਜ ਨੂੰ “ਵਿਦੇਸ਼ਾਂ ਤੋਂ ਹੁਨਰਮੰਦ ਲੋਕਾਂ” ਦੀ ਲੋੜ ਹੈ ਜੋ ਉੱਚ-ਹੁੰਨਰਮੰਦ ਵਾਲੀਆਂ ਖਾਸ ਨੌਕਰੀਆਂ ਕਰ ਸਕਣ।

ਰਾਸ਼ਟਰਪਤੀ ਦੀ H-1B ਵੀਜ਼ਿਆਂ ਬਾਰੇ ਨਰਮ ਪੋਜ਼ੀਸ਼ਨ ਤੋਂ ਵੱਖ ਹੋਕੇ, ਗ੍ਰੀਨ ਨੇ ਐਕਸ ‘ਤੇ ਪੋਸਟ ਕੀਤੇ ਇੱਕ ਵੀਡੀਓ ਸੰਦੇਸ਼ ਵਿੱਚ ਕਿਹਾ, “ਮੈਂ ਇੱਕ ਬਿਲ ਪੇਸ਼ ਕਰ ਰਹੀ ਹਾਂ ਜੋ H-1B ਵੀਜ਼ਾ ਪ੍ਰੋਗਰਾਮ ਨੂੰ ਪੂਰੀ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਖਤਮ ਕਰੇਗਾ, ਕਿਉਂਕਿ ਇਹ ਦਹਾਕਿਆਂ ਤੋਂ ਧੋਖਾਧੜੀ, ਦੁਰਵਰਤੋ ਅਤੇ ਅਮਰੀਕੀ ਕਰਮਚਾਰਿਆਂ ਦੀ ਨੌਕਰੀਆਂ ਖੋਹਣ ਦਾ ਕਾਰਨ ਬਣਿਆ ਹੈ।”

ਟਰੰਪ ਨੇ ਟਰੂਥ ਸੋਸ਼ਲ ‘ਤੇ ਪੋਸਟ ਕਰਕੇ ਐਲਾਨ ਕੀਤਾ, “ਮੈਂ ਜਾਰਜੀਆ ਰਾਜ ਦੀ ‘ਕਾਂਗਰੈੱਸਵੁਮੈਨ’ ਮਾਰਜੋਰੀ ਟੇਲਰ ਗ੍ਰੀਨ ਲਈ ਆਪਣਾ ਸਮਰਥਨ ਅਤੇ ਐਂਡੋਰਸਮੈਂਟ ਵਾਪਸ ਲੈ ਰਿਹਾ ਹਾਂ।” ਟਰੰਪ ਨੇ ਲਿਖਿਆ: “ਮੈਨੂੰ ਤਾਂ ‘ਵੈਕੀ’ ਮਾਰਜੋਰੀ ਤੋਂ ਸਿਰਫ਼ ਸ਼ਿਕਾਇਤਾਂ ਹੀ ਸ਼ਿਕਾਇਤਾਂ ਸੁਣਾਈ ਦਿੰਦੀਆਂ ਹਨ!”

ਰਾਸ਼ਟਰਪਤੀ ਨੇ ਇਹ ਵੀ ਦੱਸਿਆ ਕਿ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੇ ਰਿਸ਼ਤਿਆਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਦਰਾਰ ਕਿੱਥੋਂ ਤੋਂ ਸ਼ੁਰੂ ਹੋਈ। ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦਾਅਵਾ ਕੀਤਾ ਕਿ ਇਹ ਤਨਾਅ ਉਸ ਵੇਲੇ ਸ਼ੁਰੂ ਹੋਇਆ ਜਦੋਂ ਟਰੰਪ ਨੇ ਗ੍ਰੀਨ ਨੂੰ ਸੁਨੇਹਾ ਭੇਜਿਆ ਸੀ ਕਿ ਉਹ ਸੈਨੇਟ ਜਾਂ ਗਵਰਨਰ ਦੀ ਚੋਣ ਨਾ ਲੜੇ, ਇਹ ਕਹਿੰਦੇ ਹੋਏ ਕਿ ਡੇਟਾ ਉਸ ਦੀ ਸਫਲਤਾ ਦੀਆਂ ਘੱਟ ਸੰਭਾਵਨਾਵਾਂ ਦੀ ਭਵਿੱਖਬਾਣੀ ਕਰ ਰਿਹਾ ਸੀ।

ਟਰੰਪ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ ਕਿ ਗ੍ਰੀਨ ਇਸ ਗੱਲ ਤੋਂ ਵੀ ਨਾਰਾਜ਼ ਸੀ ਕਿ ਉਸ ਨੇ ਉਸ ਦੀਆਂ ਬਾਰ–ਬਾਰ ਕੀਤੀਆਂ ਕਾਲਾਂ ਦਾ ਜਵਾਬ ਨਹੀਂ ਦਿੱਤਾ। ਉਸ ਨੇ ਆਪਣੇ ਵਿਅਸਤ ਸਮੇਂ ਦਾ ਹਵਾਲਾ ਦਿੰਦਿਆਂ ਕਿਹਾ, “ਮੈਂ ਹਰ ਰੋਜ਼ ਇੱਕ ਗੁੱਸੇ ਨਾਲ ਭਰੀ ਪਾਗਲ ਦੀ ਕਾਲ ਨਹੀਂ ਲੈ ਸਕਦਾ।” ਟਰੰਪ ਨੇ ਆਪਣੀ ਪੋਸਟ ਦੇ ਅੰਤ ਵਿਚ ਕਿਹਾ ਕਿ ਉਹ ਕੇਵਲ ਤਦ ਹੀ ਪ੍ਰਤੀਯੋਗੀ ਨੂੰ ਸਮਰਥਨ ਦੇਣਗੇ ਜੇਕਰ ਨੁਮਾਇੰਦਾ ਗ੍ਰੀਨ ਦੀ ਜਗ੍ਹਾ ਕੋਈ ਸਹੀ ਵਿਅਕਤੀ ਚੋਣ ਲੜੇਗਾ।

ਗ੍ਰੀਨ, ਜੋ ਜ਼ਿਆਦਾਤਰ ਟਰੰਪ ਦੀ ਖੁੱਲ੍ਹੀ ਨਿੰਦਿਆ ਕਰਨ ਤੋਂ ਬਚਦੀ ਰਹੀ ਹੈ, ਨੇ ਐਕਸ ‘ਤੇ ਜਵਾਬ ਦਿੱਤਾ ਕਿ ਟਰੰਪ ਨੇ “ਮੇਰੇ ‘ਤੇ ਹਮਲਾ ਕੀਤਾ ਅਤੇ ਮੇਰੇ ਬਾਰੇ ਝੂਠ ਬੋਲਿਆ।”