Indo American Conservatives of Texas: IACT Day at the Texas Capitol COMMUNITY

By KumAri susArlA

Austin: Indo American Conservatives of Texas (IACT) delegation visited the Texas State Capitol on March 24, 2023. This visit will be remembered as another successful event in IACT history. Founded in 2019, this organization’s objectives are to educate and promote political awareness among IndoAmericans, to encourage them to become citizens to register and vote, to facilitate debate with political candidates and to keep the community informed of the legislative changes that will affect them.

On March 24th 2023 IACT team made their 2nd visit to the State Capitol in Austin. The first visit took place on April 22nd 2021. This year wewere excited to have the involvement of enthusiastic young adults and a few families in the team to introduce the workings of the government to the next generation.

About thirty participants gathered at the Rotunda Hall followed by a guided tour of the Capitol building. The Capitol structure originally completed by 1853 burned down in 1881. The original building consisted of about 366 thousand square footage. By 1888 the Capitol was reconstructed with an additional 600 thousand square footage. The current layout is now almost1 million square feet in structure with beautiful architecture and an ornate interior. The rotunda has terrazzo flooring with the six seals of the countries that ruled over Texas. The six flags flown over our capitol are Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Tex- as, Confederate States of America and the USA.

We visited the chamber of the Texas House of Representative which accommodates 150 state representatives. An electronic board in the chamber displays each representatives vote. We then visited the Texas Senate chamber which has 31 desks and the senators vote by raising their hands. 1 finger for yes, 2 for no and three fingers indicates presence only.

We visited our state representative Jacey Jetton in his office. IACT received a Resolution from the Texas state legislature commending IACT’s involvement with the Indo American community to bring greater political aware- ness and for promoting conservative principles. We were also able to visit the offices of the Secretary of State, Senator Joan Huffman of District 17 and Senator Lois Kolkhorst of District 18. The aides of both Senators’ offices and Representative Jacey Jetton were very helpful, informative, and encouragedquestions. IACT received a Senate proclamation as well. At the end of our tour we visited the Governor’s office. The delegation was very excited to be able to meet our Texas Governor Greg Abbott and have the opportunity to take a picture with him. Some even said it was an opportunity of a lifetime for them!

A nice lunch was arranged by

IACT in the Legislative Conference Center (LCC) which included Indian food catered by Biryani Pot. The Deputy Director of the Governor’s appointments office Brent Connett joined us for lunch. He informed the team about committeeappointments and the application process and encouraged participation. The Texas state’s constitution gives the Governor the authority to make governmental appointments to state boards and to task forces that advise the Governor. It is important to note that the Texas legislature meets once every 2 years. The sessions last no more than 140 days. There may be special sessions as needed and they last no more than 30 days. Between the Governor’s appointments and the legislature, Texas conducts its business of taking care of the people and the state. President of IACT since 2019 Radha Dixit was extremely happy with the success of the day’s events. Her mission of educating the IndoAmerican community about the workings of the government was displayed wholeheartedly through this last event of her tenure. Most importantly the enthusiasm she saw in the eyes of the younger generation confirmed the importance of IACT as a unique organization standing up for its beliefs while at the same time being available for educating our community from the people actually doing the work in our State. She is very proud of all that IACT has accomplished over the years with success at each event and excited for the incoming President Bijay Dixit who coordinated this Capitol Day event to take IACT to the next level of success.