A gunman killed six people at the suburban Milwaukee temple in a rampage at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek, Wisconsin on Sunday, August 5th.

Saddened by the senseless shooting at a Gurudwara in Wisconsin, Obama said Sikhs are part of the broader American family. "As we mourn this loss which took place at a house of worship, we are reminded how much our country has been enriched by Sikhs, who are a part of our broader American family," Obama said. He added that his Administration will provide whatever support is necessary to the officials who are responding to this tragic shooting and moving forward with an investigation.

The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) expressed its strong and unequivocal condemnation of the shootings of innocent victims that killed seven innocent persons and left many more injured. GOPIO considers this despicable act as unforgivable and unjustified criminal action directed to create fear among innocent citizens.

"We join with several community organizations and agencies in our condemnation as we share the pain and anguish of our brethren and sisters in the USA," said Ashook Ramsran, President of GOPIO. We extend our condolences to the families of the victims and offer prayers for the speedy recovery of those injured.

GOPIO commended US President Obama and Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao for their prompt condemnation of this criminal action and acknowledge the diligent efforts of local agencies in promptly providing emergency services to the survivors and their families.

"We fully support all measures taken to bring security, calm and confidence to the people and urge all efforts to prevent similar attacks in the future," Ramsaran added.

"The tragedy shocked our nation and our community and our thoughts and prayers are with those impacted," said Amrit Soni, president of the India Association of Greater Boston. Soni said there are between 80,000 and 100,000 Indian-Americans in the Boston area. "This community has been doing very well," he said. "We have brought the values from our country here."

Candlelight vigil and prayer service were held in memory of those killed in the shooting at various locations across United States, including members of the Hamden Gurdwara Sachkhand Darbar, in suburban Milkwaukee, Lafayette Park near the White House, Marysville temple in Snohomish County, Sikh Sabha of New Jersey, Sikh Gurudwara in Norwalk, CT where members of the Indian community and larger American community joined in vigil and prayers.

Temple officials unveiled a simple but powerful memorial to the victims. While leaders had repaired most of the damage to the temple, they left one bullet hole unrepaired. Beneath it they installed a small gold plate engraved with "We Are One. 8-5-12"

GOPIO-INDIA MARKS INDEPENDENCE DAY

GOPIO International's India chapter held a gathering of its members on August 14, 2012, the eve of the 65^thIndependence Day of India on August 15^th, 2012. Few senior members narrated their experiences dating back to their participation in the struggle for the country's independence as well as recounted the support and participation of hundreds of members of the Indian Diaspora.

GOPIO-India particularly noted the beginning of the important Gadar Movement of 1913 that was initiated by overseas Indians in San Francisco, California, USA, that spread like wildfire and led to martyrdom by hundreds from both India and those of the Diaspora that returned to make the ultimate sacrifice for their motherland. The meeting noted with delight that Gadar Movement's centenary celebrations are being planned by GOPIO International worldwide, including in Delhi and other parts of India. GOPIO International Director for Government Liaison and immediate past President of India Chapter, K. N. Gupta said Indians everywhere rejoice on Independence Day that marked the culmination of perhaps the biggest and longest battle for freedom in the colonized era. Besides the hundreds of martyrs, GOPIO members paid tribute to freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose etc and the architects of independent India like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Sardar Patel and scores of others.

The national flag was hoisted followed by national anthem and Vande Mataram. The meeting concluded with condolences on the sad demise of Maharashtra's former Chief Minister and Congress strongman, Vilasrao Deshmukh, in Chennai on August 14, 2012 consequent to kidney and liver failure. Deshmukh was serving as the Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences. Deshmukh was a GOPIO supporter and strongly endorsed GOPIO's role in bringing together India and its Diaspora in the fields of science and technology.

GOPIO International's Coordinator for Africa, Munish Gupta, said that Deshmukh was instrumental in enabling a Memorandum of Understanding between GOPIO International & Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) Center for Technology Commercialization. FICCI C Tech is the implementation agency for international and bilateral efforts of Government of India's Department of Science & Technology and Defense Research & Development Organization.

INDIAN AMERICAN RAJAN GANGAHAR WINS BEST STORY AWARD

Indian American Rajan Gangahar has won the best story award for the movie Khushiyaan at the Punjabi International Film Academy Award in Toronto. New York-based Gangahar was presented with the award at a function held in Toronto over the weekend, a media release said. The event was attended by top stars from the Bollywood including Dharmendra, Om Puri, Pran Chopra, Jimmy Shergil and Sonu Sood.

INDIAN AMERICAN CARDIOLOGIST HARVINDER SAHOTA WINS GOLDEN ORANGE AWARD

Cardiologist Dr Harvinder Sahota has been honored with the Golden Orange Award by the World Affairs Council of Orange County, California. The council is an association of nonprofit, nonpartisan organization across the US working to engage Americans in international affairs and foreign policy matters.

Born in Punjab, Dr Sahota earned his medical degree from the Patiala Medical College. He invented the perfusion balloon in 1978, a Federal Drug Administration-approved device, used all over the world to treat heart patients. He has performed the first coronary angioplasty around the world including in India, Mexico, Russia, Ukraine, and United States. He has 30 US patents to his credit and applications pending for more.

MURALI KRISHNA TO HEAD OKLAHOMA HEALTH BOARD

Psychiatrist Dr R Murali Krishna has been unanimously elected president, Oklahoma State Board of Health. This is the first time an Indian American has been elected president of the board, which oversees the state's medical professionals and hospitals.

"As president, I hope to be a catalyst for wellness in our state," he said, "I strongly support all efforts to assist the citizens of Oklahoma to obtain optimal physical and emotional wellness."

Dr Krishna is president and chief operating officer, Integris Mental Health, which provides adult and child/adolescent mental health services in inpatient, residential, outpatient and clinical settings; an employee assistance program; and crisis intervention services. He received national recognition for his efforts to help the victims of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing of the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building while serving as chief of staff at St Anthony Hospital, where most of the victims were treated.

Awards and recognitions he has won include the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness; the Outstanding Asian American Award, and the American Heart Association's Heart and Soul Appreciation Award.

INDIAN AMERICAN VIN GOPAL ELECTED MONMOUTH COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIRMAN

Activist and local businessman Vin Gopal recently announced his candidacy for Monmouth County Democratic Party Chairman. In an impressive show of support, elected Democrats throughout Monmouth County signed a letter touting Gopal's record of fundraising and organizing. The Democratic party leaders are encouraging fellow Democrats to support Gopal, citing his recent bid for the New Jersey State Assembly, where he received the most votes of any Democratic legislative candidate in Monmouth County.

Gopal was also the only Monmouth County Democratic Legislative Candidate who received an endorsement from the Asbury Park Press and his team was able to raise over $200,000 for his campaign.

Gopal has spent the last six years organizing and fundraising for Democratic campaigns throughout Monmouth County. Gopal's aggressive fundraising efforts have helped the Democrats win elections in key municipalities and his grass roots organizing has led to the formation of new Democratic Clubs in Colts Neck, Neptune City, Little Silver, West Long Branch and other municipalities.

Gopal serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Northern Monmouth Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Trustees of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Monmouth County and is President of the Hazlet Business Owners Association. Gopal also volunteered for many years as an EMT for rescue squads in Freehold and Colts Neck.

A graduate of Penn State University, Vin Gopal is a former legislative aide to New Jersey Assemblyman Herb Conaway and former fundraiser for Newark City Councilman Ron Rice, Jr. He resides in Long Branch, NJ.

INDIAN AMERICANS SOHINI RAMACHANDRAN AND SALIL LOCHKE NAMED PEW BIOMEDICAL SCHOLARS

Two Indian American researchers, Dr Sohini Ramachandran of Brown University, and Dr Salil Lachke of the University of Delaware, were named Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The scholars receive $240,000 over four years to pursue their research, join a prestigious community that includes Nobel Prize winners and MacArthur Fel.

Ramachandran, who specializes in human economics and evolution, tries to answer questions like: Does variation on the human X chromosome reflect sex-specific processes in the past? Does genetic variation account for different cancer treatment outcomes? Do cultural traits "mutate" more quickly than genes? She received a bachelor's degree in mathematical and computational sciences from Stanford University in 2002 and her Ph.D. from Stanford in biological sciences in 2007. She was elected to the Harvard Society of Fellows in 2007 and did postdoctoral work with John Wakeley, studying coalescent theory. Ramachandran joined the faculty at Brown University as an assistant professor in ecology and evolutionary biology in July 2010. She is also a faculty member in the Center for Computational Molecular Biology.

Lachke, a biologist whose research is yielding new discoveries about the world's leading causes of blindness, is exploring the molecular defects that cause eye disorders such as cataracts and glaucoma. Lachke has identified a gene, TDRD7, which when mutated can lead to cataracts and glaucoma in mice and in humans. A novel online gene discovery tool he has developed and which is hosted at the UD Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, called "iSyTE" (for "Integrated Systems Tool for Eye gene discovery"), will help scientists more rapidly home in on previously unknown eye-associated genes and their functions. Within the past three years, Lachke's research using iSyTE has already led to the discovery of three new cataract associated genes, and many more are in the pipeline. Lachke earned his doctorate in biology at the University of Iowa in 2003. He completed postdoctoral studies at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital before joining the UD faculty in 2011.

FOUR YOUNG INDIAN-AMERICAN SCIENTISTS HONORED

Four Indian-American researchers figure among 96 named by President Obama as recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the highest US honor for young professionals. The Presidential early career awards embody the high priority the Obama Administration places on producing outstanding scientists and engineers to advance the nation's goals, tackle grand challenges, and contribute to the American economy.

The honored were Biju Parekkadan of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Pawan Sinha and Parag A. Pathak, both Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Sridevi Vedula Sarma of Johns Hopkins University.

Awardees employed or funded by various government agencies are selected for their pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and their commitment to community service as demonstrated through scientific leadership, public education, or community outreach.

Announcing the awards, Obama said, "The impressive accomplishments of today's awardees so early in their careers promise even greater advances in the years ahead."

RANEE RAMASWAMY NOMINAED FOR NATIONAL COUNCIL OF ARTS

President Obama has appointed another Indian American to a key administration post - Ranee Ramaswamy - as member of the prestigious National Council on the Arts.

President Obama said, "These dedicated and accomplished individuals will be valued additions to my Administration as we tackle the important challenges facing America. I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead."

Founder and Co-Artistic Director of the Ragamala Dance Company, Ramaswamy has been a master choreographer, performer, and teacher of Bharatanatyam dance since 1978.  Her work has been commissioned by the Walker Art Center, American Composers Forum, and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and has been supported by the National Dance Project and the Joyce Foundation. Among her numerous grants and awards are 14 McKnight Fellowships, a Bush Foundation Choreography Fellowship, and an Artist Exploration Fund grant from Arts International.

Ramaswamy said, "I am very honored to be nominated by President Obama. As an artist of East Indian descent, I have worked in Minnesota for over 30 years, creating an awareness of Bharatanatyam dance and Indian culture. Living in the United States, I am inspired by so many diverse cultures and art forms to think creatively and find new and exciting ways to capture and move the audience while staying true to tradition and personal aesthetic."

GOPIO Senior Vice President - Dr Piyush Agrawal, Weston, Florida, USA, Tel: +1-954-684-6494, E-mail:sudhapca@aol.com

To become a Life member of GOPIO, one can sign up online at http://gopio.net/online_membership.htm or fill up the form and send it with a check to: GOPIO International, PO Box 560117, New York NY 11356, USA.

Contact Dr. Thomas Abraham, Tel: 203-329-8010, E-mail: gopio@optonline.net.

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