The Indian community in Australia condemned the vandalism of Hindu temples in several parts of the country and demanded strict action against the perpetrators. Earlier in January this year, several Hindu temples were vandalized in different parts of Australia allegedly by Khalistan supporters.

“I expect the Government to take appropriate actions against this. We are Hindus and in our culture, the meaning of Hinduism is a way of life and we respect every religion,” said an Indian in Sydney while speaking to ANI.

“Every time we hear something like this, it makes us concerned. As a Hindu or a Christian or a Muslim, we’re all one and we support each other. The government has to take care of this and take action against people creating problems for a particular community,” said another Indian in Sydney.

While speaking to ANI, another Australian of Indian origin told ANI, that what is happening in the country against the community is a matter of concern. “The Government says we are a multi-culture country but they should take strict actions against the people involved and should show support for our temples,” said an Indian in Sydney, Australia.

In January, Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Australia’s Carrum Downs was vandalised with anti-Hindu graffiti.

The act came to notice on January 16 after temple devotees came for ‘darshan’ amid the three-day long “Thai Pongal” festival which was celebrated by Australia’s Tamil Hindu community, The Australia Today reported. On the evening of January 15, 2023, Khalistan supporters tried to draw support for their referendum through a car rally in Melbourne. However, they failed miserably as less than two hundred people gathered out of an almost 60,000-strong Melbourne community, according to The Australia Today.

A week before the above incident, On January 12, the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Australia’s Mill Park was smeared with anti-India and anti-Hindu graffiti. The temple was vandalised by anti-India elements with anti-India slogans written on the temple’s walls, located in the suburb of Mill Park, The Australia Today reported. Patel, an onlooker shared how he witnessed the vandalised walls of the temple when he visited the site.

“When I reached the temple today morning all walls were coloured with graffiti of Khalistani hatred towards Hindus,” The Australia Today quoted Patel as saying.

He added, “I am angry, scared and dismayed by the blatant display of religious hatred towards the peaceful Hindu community by Khalistan supporters.”

The management of Melbourne’s International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temple also known as the Hare Krishna Temple found the temple walls vandalised with anti-India graffiti.

The attack on ISKCON Temple came two days after Victorian multifaith leaders held an emergency meeting with Victorian Multicultural Commission, per the news report. The Victorian Multicultural Commission had issued a statement condemning the vandalism of Hindu temples in Mill Park and Carrum Downes.

Later, India had condemned the vandalization of Hindu temples in Australia and said that the matter has been raised with the Australian government in Canberra and asked for expeditious investigation against the perpetrators.

Arindam Bagchi, Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs had assured, “Our Consulate General in Australia has taken the matter with the local police. We have requested expeditious investigation action against the perpetrators and of course measures to prevent such incidents in future. The matter has also been taken up with the Australian Government, both in Canberra and New Delhi. And we are looking forward to the action that we have requested.”

Australia’s High Commissioner to India Barry O’Farrell AO had also condemned the incidents and said that Australia is shocked at the vandalism of two Hindu temples in Melbourne, and authorities are investigating the same.

Neal Mohan will become the next Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Alphabet-owned YouTube following Susan Wojcicki’s announcement that she will be stepping down from her role.

Who is Neal Mohan?
An Indian-American, Neal Mohan will become the next Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Alphabet-owned YouTube following Susan Wojcicki’s announcement that she will be stepping down from her role as the head of the video-sharing platform. With this, Mohan will be joining the elite list of global tech chiefs of Indian origin such as Google parent Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, IBM’s Arvind Krishna, and Adobe’s Shantanu Narayen.

Career of Neal Mohan
Neal Mohan started his career at Accenture in 1996 and then joined a startup called NetGravity which was subsequently acquired by online advertising firm DoubleClick.
The 49-year-old Neal Mohan holds a bachelors degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar, an award given to the top 10 percent of the class who have received the highest grade point averages (GPA).
In 2007, DoubleClick was bought by Google. Neal Mohan played a key role in advancing Google’s advertising products, including AdWords, AdSense, and DoubleClick.
A Stanford graduate, 49-year-old Neal Mohan has been serving as YouTube’s chief product officer since 2015.
Neal Mohan has also had a stint with Microsoft where he was the manager of corporate strategy.
He sits on the board of American personal styling service Stitch Fix and Biotech company 23andMe.
In addition, Mohan leads YouTube’s trust and safety team that oversees the creation and enforcement of platform policies and community guidelines governing the content available on the platform.

Indian-American Republican Vivek Ramaswamy is planning to announce his 2024 presidential bid. Ramaswamy for the time being has embarked on test runs and fact-finding missions in Iowa- where he has been addressing multiple events. Ramaswamy insisted that his trip to Iowa and other prep work he is doing for a potential run are serious. According to a report by Politico on Monday (February 13), Ramaswamy is exploring a run for president, testing, among other things, whether his warnings about the dangers of ‘wokeism’ and socially-responsible investing have political currency with Republican politicians, business leaders and farmers.

Who is Vivek Ramaswamy?

Vivek Ramaswamy, 37, is an entrepreneur and author who has founded multiple enterprises. He has been dubbed by the New Yorker Magazine as the “CEO of Anti-Woke Inc.” He was born on August 9, 1985, in Cincinnati, Ohio. His parents immigrated from India. Ramaswamy’s father worked as an engineer at General Electric while his mother was a geriatric psychiatrist.

Ramaswamy graduated summa cum laude in biology from Harvard in 2007 his career as a biotech investor at a prominent hedge fund. He continued to work as an investor while earning his law degree at Yale. According to his website, Ramaswamy emerged as a prominent national commentator on stakeholder capitalism, free speech, and identity politics in 2020.

‘I’ve developed a vision for American national identity’

Speaking to Politico, Vivek Ramaswamy said “I believe that I’ve developed a vision for American national identity that I have a deep conviction for and is the product of my own journey of having lived the gifts that this country has afforded me.” Ramaswamy first considered pursuing elected office in 2021, when he weighed making a bid for Senate in Ohio. However, he chose not to.

The report said that Ramaswamy’s net worth is reportedly in excess of $500 million, which is enough to seed his campaign through the key early states. The 37-year-old has already fashioned a policy platform which includes defeating China economically, reforming the national security apparatus and firing the managerial class of the federal government. Ramaswamy said on Thursday that he is plotting out his potential cabinet too, impressed with the intellect of former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and the likes of Senator Tom Cotton, former governor of Arizona Doug Ducey and governor of Iowa Kim Reynolds.

Four Indian-American engineers are among 106 new members elected to the Washington-based National Academy of Engineering (NAE) for making outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice, and education.

This brings the total US membership to 2,420 and the number of international members to 319, NAE President John L. Anderson announced. The four Indian-Americans are: Shorya Awtar, Anirudh Devgan, Anil Sachdev, and T.S. Ramakrishnan.

Awtar, CEO of Parallel Robotics LLC, Michigan has been chosen for inventing and commercialising game-changing surgical products that have made minimally invasive surgery affordable and accessible around the world.

Devgan, President and CEO of Cadence Design (NASDAQ:CDNS) Systems, California was chosen for technical and business leadership in the electronic design automation industry, and Sachdev, principal technical fellow and lab group manager, General Motors Co (NYSE:GM), Michigan for the research, development, and commercialization of lightweight materials to improve vehicle fuel economy.

Ramakrishnan, senior scientific adviser, Schlumberger-Doll Research Center, Massachusetts — for contributions to petrophysics, reservoir characterisation, abandonment of production wells, and carbon sequestration and storage.

Apart from four Indian-Americans, three Indians figure among 18 new international members of NAE, including Vikram S Deshpande, professor, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, UK; Raman Sujith, chair professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT-Madras, and Aniruddha B Pandit, vice chancellor and UGC Professor, Chemical Engineering, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai.

Individuals in the newly elected class will be formally inducted during the NAE’s annual meeting on October 1, 2023. Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer, according to a release.

“Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to ‘engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature’ and to ‘the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education’,” an NAE release stated.

Election of new NAE members is the culmination of a year-long process. The ballot is set in December and the final vote for membership occurs during January.

Founded in 1964, NAE is a private, independent, non-profit institution that provides engineering leadership in service to the nation, and is a part of The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Indian-American Republican and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy is planning to announce his 2024 presidential bid, joining Nikki Haley who is set to launch her campaign on Wednesday.

Mr. Ramaswamy, 37, who is a millionaire and has been dubbed by the New Yorker magazine as the “CEO of Anti-Woke Inc.”, has, for the time being, embarked on test runs and fact-finding missions in the U.S. State of Iowa where he has been addressing multiple events, according to a media report.

Mr. Ramaswamy insisted his trip to Iowa and other prep work he is doing for a potential run are serious, the Politico reported on Monday, adding that he said: “this is not a play for attention.” He is exploring a run for president, testing, among other things, whether his warnings about the dangers of ‘wokeism’ and socially-responsible investing has political currency with Republican politicians, business leaders and farmers, the report said.

“Ramaswamy doesn’t necessarily want to run on his businessman track record. Instead he is planning to launch an ideas-based campaign focused on revitalising the American spirit and bringing back a culture of merit into society,” it said.

The son of Indian immigrants — his father a General Electric engineer and his mother a geriatric psychiatrist — Mr. Ramaswamy was born in Cincinnati. He attended Harvard and Yale universities and is worth reportedly in excess of $500 million, enough to seed his campaign through the key early states.

He made his name first by becoming a successful biotech entrepreneur and developing medicines, including five drugs that became FDA-approved.

“I believe that I’ve developed a vision for American national identity that I have deep conviction for and is the product of my own journey of having lived the gifts that this country has afforded me,” he was quoted as saying in the report.