Currently there are 3 million Indians in America with a steady growth in population. Immigration from the Indian subcontinent began in the 1980s and saw a significant rise through the 1990s. As the first wave of Indian immigrants began to have children in that 1990s time many of those sons and daughters reached an age where they can join the military and many did. A commonality among these individuals was they had no prior family ties to the US military and military service was and still is an unfamiliar concept to those first-generation Indians.

Unlike many Americans who can point to a close relative or family friend - perhaps even a parent or sibling - who served, the present-day Indian community of aspiring Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, Sailors, and Guardians did not have the same luxury. Our families took a leap of faith in hopes that their son or daughter was making the right decision. I founded this organization with the idea that I do not want any family to feel that apprehension when their son or daughter makes the decision to join the military. That family should have an organization that will field their difficult questions while remaining sympathetic to their background and culture.

This idea first presented itself to me in the Summer of 2022 when I was at the Army Airborne school and met another Indian servicemember. I recognized his last name and asked him how he came to join the military, and where he attended school. He gave me his story – which was eerily similar to the ones I’ve heard many Indians give before – and told me he had commissioned from Rutgers University. My second cousin had commissioned from there just recently and we bonded over our mutual connection and fortuitous meeting. After this interaction it occurred to me that there are Indian service members all throughout the military, but there isn’t really a way for us to all connect. The idea started taking form.

Fast forward to April of 2023 where I was introduced to COL Avichal through a mutual friend to whom I expressed my intent of starting a veteran’s association for Indians. We met for ramen and sushi where I pitched him my idea. He was ecstatic at the prospect of a uniting body for Indians who served in the US armed forces. Later that evening he would divulge to me that he had a group chat of around 50 parents whose kids had attended West Point and had reached out to him for questions and would intermittently ask him questions pertaining to military service and current events that may affect their children. This confirmed two things: one there was an audience for this, and two I had someone that validated that I was on the right path.

From there I started this organization and have continued to build upon it little by little hoping to build a community for ethnic Indians who have served in the United States military.