People Of Indian Origin

Indian-origin Bodhana Sivanandan becomes England's top female chess player

Indian-origin chess prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan has become England's top-rated female player, according to the latest rating list of the International Chess Federation (FIDE). The 11-year-old, whose parents moved from Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu to England in 2007, has 2366 FIDE rating points. The primary school student based in North London has overtaken four-time British women's champion, Lan Yao, who is 25, at the top of the FIDE list for England. With this, she has also broken into the world's top 100 women for the first time, currently sitting at number 72, stated the English Chess Federation in a press release. "It is an extraordinary rise for a Harrow schoolgirl who took up the game during (the 2020 COVID-19) lockdown after finding a chessboard and set in a bag her father wanted to throw out," the release added. Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is also of Indian origin, congratulated Sivanandan and recalled the time he played a game with her at his official .

Trump immunity ruling brings focus on Indian-origin judge Amit Mehta

Indian-American judge Amit Mehta has come into focus after he ruled that US President Donald Trump's speech ahead of the violence that rocked the Capitol on January 6, 2021 was not subject to presidential immunity. Mehta, a federal judge of the US District Court of the District of Columbia, in 2022 rejected Trump's effort to dismiss three lawsuits accusing him of bearing responsibility for the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. Last August, Mehta had ruled that Google had broken anti-trust laws to maintain its dominance in online search. Born in Patan in Gujarat in 1971, Mehta was nominated as a judge to the US District Court for the District of Columbia in 2014 by then-President Barack Obama. Mehta came to the US as a one-year-old and went on to pursue his B.A. in Political Science and Economics from Georgetown University in 1993 and his JD from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1997. After law school, Mehta worked in a law firm in San Francisco before clerking for Sus

Indian truck driver held in US after 3 killed in chain-reaction crash

Jashanpreet Singh, 21, who has reportedly been living in the US illegally, was arrested in California for vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of drugs

Co-worker beheads Indian-origin motel manager in front of family in Texas

Chandra Mouli Bob Nagamallaiah, originally hailed from Karnataka and was residing in Dallas with his wife and son

Srinivas Mukkamala becomes first person of Indian origin to lead AMA

During his decades working in organised medicine, Mukkamala has been a fierce advocate for patients

Indian-American Faizan Zaki wins 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee

Faizan Zaki, a 13-year-old Indian-American student from Texas, has won the Scripps National Spelling Bee after he spelt claircissement" correctly, maintaining the dominance of the children from the community in the prestigious US competition. Zaki bested Sarvadnya Kadam to win the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday night. A 7th-grade student at C M Rice Middle School, Zaki finished second in 2024 in a spell-off to another Indian-American Bruhat Soma. This was Zaki's fourth time participating in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. This was Zaki's fourth time participating in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Zaki earned the prestigious title in round 21 when he correctly spelt claircissement, which is defined as the clearing up of something obscure: enlightenment. He outlasted eight other accomplished spellers to win the title on Thursday night. The culmination of the national championship came with a shock. Zaki had an earlier chance to win this year's bee, in the ..

Indian-origin Neela Rajendra sacked by Nasa after Trump's DEI order

Neela Rajendra was one of the few DEI officials who kept their job last year when Nasa cut nearly 900 DEI-related roles due to budget problems

What is the Perplexity AI, founded by Indian-origin Aravind Srinivas?

The AI-powered search engine Perplexity was cofounded by Aravind Srinivas, an Indian-origin engineer and entrepreneur, which he describes as "fastest way to get answers to any questions"

"I am rich and I have no idea what to do with my life," posts Loom founder

Vinay Hiremath, the co-founder of Loom, shared his mixed emotions and confusion following the $975 million sale of his startup in 2023

Five Indian-origin men charged with murder of Indian man in New Jersey

Five Indian-origin men have been charged with murder in the US in connection with the death of a 35-year-old man from India. Sandeep Kumar, 34, of South Ozone Park, New York, was charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the death of Kuldeep Kumar in Manchester Township around October 22, 2024, according to a statement on Saturday by Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer and Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police Colonel Patrick Callahan. Investigation into Kuldeep's death revealed that Sandeep acted in concert with other defendants in carrying out Kuldeep Kumar's murder. Other defendants in the case are Sourav Kumar, 23, Gaurav Singh 27, Nirmal Singh 30, and Gurdeep Singh 22, all from Greenwood, Indiana. On December 14, 2024, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Major Crime Unit was contacted for a report of a deceased individual located in the Greenwood Wildlife Management Area in Manchester Township. Law enforcement authorities and detect

British trader gets 12 years' jail in Denmark for 'cum-ex' tax fraud

Shah has denied any wrongdoing, arguing earlier in court that he used a legal loophole, which meant the trades did not break the law, and that he should be acquitted

Indian-origin candidates among 39 in race for Oxford University Chancellor

The University of Oxford on Wednesday announced the 38 finalists in the race to be elected the new Chancellor of the University of Oxford, which includes Indian-origin candidates but excludes former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan. Ankur Shiv Bhandari, the first Indian-origin Mayor of Bracknell Forest in Berkshire; Nirpal Singh Paul Bhangal, a Professor of International Entrepreneurship; and Pratik Tarvadi, a medical professional, will go head-to-head with academics, politicians, philanthropists and entrepreneurs. Former Conservative Party leader Lord William Hague and former Labour politician Lord Peter Mandelson are among the senior politicians selected, with Khan deemed to have been disqualified following the selection process. Applications were considered by the Chancellor's Election Committee solely on the four exclusion criteria set out in the university's regulations. All applicants have been notified whether their submissions have been successful, a university statement

Explained: Who is Jhumpa Lahiri, why did she refuse Isamu Noguchi award?

The New York-based museum, which was found by Japanese American designer and sculptor, recently told employees not to wear clothes expressing political messages, or slogans

Never do anything half a**ed: Kamala Harris recalls Indian mother's advice

Kamala Harris becomes first woman of colour in the United States to officially become the Democratic Presidential nominee. Harris speaks on her mother and upbringing in her acceptance speech

Who is Laxman Narasimhan and why Starbucks fired its CEO after a year?

The abrupt removal of Indian-origin Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan comes amid declining sales and mounting pressure from activist investors

Newly-elected British Indian MPs swear oath on Bhagavad Gita, Gutka, Bible

Newly elected Indian-origin MPs to the House of Commons have been pledging their allegiance to the British Crown as a symbol of loyalty to the country, choosing to swear on holy texts or to affirm their oath during the first week of a new Parliament. A new copy of the Bhagavad Gita' presented to Speaker Lindsay Hoyle by Shailesh Vara, former Conservative Party member of Parliament who lost his Cambridgeshire seat in last week's general election, featured early on as Rishi Sunak was among the first British Indian MPs to take his oath as Leader of the Opposition on Tuesday. Holding the text in his right hand, the former prime minister read out the customary text: I swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God. First-time MP Kanishka Narayan, who is the first Indian-origin member of Parliament to represent Wales in the Westminster Parliament after winning the Vale of ...

Record 29 Indian-Origin MPs set to shape UK Parliament after 2024 election

Labour has emerged as the predominant party among People of Indian Origin (PIO) MPs, winning 19 seats, marking a substantial rise compared to previous terms

Hindus not represented in USCIRF, says head of Indian diaspora body

Hindus, who constitute one percent of the American population and is the third largest religion of the world, has gone unpresented in the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, in the absence of which the USCIRF has been producing biased, unscientific and one-sided reports on India and Hindus, the head of a top Indian diaspora think-tank body said Friday. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on Friday announced the appointment of three new members -- Maureen Ferguson, Vicky Hartzler, and Asif Mahmood and reappointments of Stephen Schneck and Eric Ueland to its commission. The term of the previous commissioners -- Abraham Cooper, David Curry, Frederick Davie, Mohamed Magid, Nury Turkel and Frank Wolf ended on May 14. Congratulations to the appointed member of the USCIRF. Leaders have missed a historic opportunity to appoint representation for diversity and the balance in the commission, representation of one of the largest faiths. One in every six

People of Indian origin feel very proud to be Indian, says FIIDS chief

Observing that there has been a paradigm shift in India's stature at the global stage and its all round development in the last 10 years under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, the head of a Indian diaspora think-tank on Friday said the global Indian community right now feel very proud to be an Indian. Indian diaspora right now feels very proud to be an Indian and I think a lot of credit goes to the leadership of Prime Minister Modi in these last two terms. It really did a paradigm shift and infused confidence not just on Indian Americans but also people of Indian origin all over the world because they're now getting respected, Khanderao Kand, chief of Policy and Strategy at Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS), told PTI Friday. India is not just strong, but India's position on various issues are really appreciated. India is making awesome progress on the climate side. India is developing its infrastructure. Indian diaspora when visiting India now from ..

Diaspora body urges US govt to address deaths of Indian-origin students

A prominent Indian diaspora body has urged various agencies of the US government, universities and student associations to work towards addressing the spike in the deaths of Indian-origin students in the US in recent months. An analysis of the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS) found the causes of these incidents range from suspicious shootings/kidnapping, environmental deaths due to lack of safety knowledge (monoxide poisoning, hypothermia), mental issues triggering suicides, and even suspicious accidents to violent crimes. The FIIDS said authorities should enhance safety education, improve search and rescue procedures, implement stricter rules against fraternity ragging; increase awareness of risks and safety, and provide mental health support. Since the beginning of 2024, there have been at least half a dozen deaths of Indian and Indian-origin students in the US. A 25-year-old Indian student who had been missing since last month was found dead in the US cit