Source: Times of India
On July 28, 2003 Times of India reported that "having made waves in medicine, business, law, information technology and other professional sectors, Indian-American are now looking to making their presence felt in the political arena... Underlining the need for Indians to build greater representation in public office, Deepka Lalwani -- who stood and lost a city council election in a Bay Area city last year -- said: 'You can be the best CEO or entrepreneur and have two Mercedes in your garage, but on the street you are just an ordinary brown person...' Expressing similar sentiments, Neera Puri, a psychologist said: 'After the 9/11 tragedy, we were viewed as different. Our gurdwaras and temples were attacked and hate crime increased. We didn't realise how important representation was till we became scapegoats.'"