Washington D.C, December 14, 2014

United States Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard will travel to India from December 15 to January 3, 2015, following an official invite from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The official trip will take her to New Delhi, Goa, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad to promote economic and cultural ties between the two nations.

During her three week stay in the country, Congresswoman Gabbard will engage with several senior government and industry representatives, to discuss advancing common global interests, including counter terrorism and military cooperation, harnessing the potential of India’s high skilled work force via H-1B visas and the promotion of tourism.

On her visit, Tulsi Gabbard, Congresswoman said, “The potential for my country, the US and India is extremely bright and I wish to enhance this potential through my visit to India. I was delighted to accept the invite of Prime Minister Modi. He is a leader whose example and dedication to the people he serves should be an inspiration to elected officials everywhere. I look forward to investing in efforts that can strengthen the relationship of the world’s largest democracies.”

As a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Congresswoman Gabbard harbors a deep interest in America’s relations with countries around the world. Representative Gabbard also serves on the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans – which was established in 1994 and has been the driver of India-U.S. bilateral relationship. As a practicing Hindu, her visit is also aimed at highlighting the spiritual contributions of India to the world.

On Rep. Gabbard’s scheduled visit, Kathleen Stephens, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires in India said, “We are delighted to have Rep. Gabbard in India to help further strengthen the India-U.S. relationship.”

The visit of the Congresswoman is yet another example of the deepening relations between India and the United States, with Barack Obama, President of the United States travelling to India in January 2015 as the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebration in New Delhi.

Background Note:

Tulsi Gabbard was born in Leloaloa, American Samoa in 1981, the fourth of five children. At the age of two, Tulsi and her family settled in Hawai’i where as a teenager, she co-founded the Healthy Hawai’i Coalition, a non-profit teaching children to take care of themselves and the environment. An advocate for environmental policy, Tulsi ran for the Hawai’i State Legislature in 2002 and became the youngest person ever elected. A year later, Tulsi joined the Hawai’i National Guard to serve Hawaii’s citizens and our country.

In 2004, Tulsi voluntarily deployed to Iraq with her fellow Soldiers of the 29th Brigade eventually serving two tours of combat duty in the Middle East. Tulsi was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal during Operation Iraqi Freedom, was the first female Distinguished

Honor Graduate at Fort McClellan’s Officer Candidate School, and was the first woman to ever receive an award of appreciation from the Kuwaiti military on her second overseas tour. Tulsi continues to serve as a Captain in the Hawai’i National Guard’s 29th Brigade Combat Team. In between her two tours, Tulsi worked in the U.S. Senate as a legislative aide to Senator Daniel Akaka, where she advised the senator on energy independence, homeland security, the environment, and veterans’ affairs.

In 2010, Tulsi ran for the Honolulu City Council and served as Chair of the Safety, Economic Development, and Government Affairs committee and Vice Chair of the Budget committee. Representing Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District, Tulsi is one of the first two female combat veterans and the first Hindu to ever serve as a member of the U.S. Congress.She took her oath of office on the Bhagavad Gita.

Tulsi is a practicing Hindu who was raised in a multi-racial, multi-faith, family. Studying the Bhagavad Gita alongside other religious/spiritual teachings. She grew up appreciating a common central message of the Bhagavad Gita: that we can only truly be happy if we are using our life in the loving service of God and humanity. This selfless service to God and all people i.e. servant leadership based on Karma Yoga, rooted in the understanding of Sanatan Dharma, is a guiding principle in Tulsi’s life.

Tulsi met Prime Minister Modi during his recent visit to the United States of America, where she voiced her strong support for the celebration of World Yoga Day. She also promised to advocate forit within the United States.

Tulsi firmly believes that the potential for the U.S. and India is very bright, but cannot be realised by economic development alone. “We cannot have a compassionate and truly prosperous society if the people themselves are greedy, selfish, angry, and envious. So we must ask ourselves how can we contribute to the development of a compassionate and caring societyand world?The answer is by being servant leaders.We need to be leaders who transcend political partisanship, personal ambition and greed. Leaders around the world in every country have to be examples to their people.”