A 24-year-old software engineer is the latest Indian-American to foray into US politics, becoming the ever Indian-origin Gen Z candidate to run for state senate in the country.
If elected, Ashwin Ramaswami, a second generation immigrant, would be the first Indian-American senator from the state of Georgia and the only one with both a computer science and a law degree.
A candidate from the Democratic party, he is running against Republican Shawn Still, who was indicted along with former US president Donald Trump for the January 6 US Capitol insurrection.
Who is Ashwin Ramaswami?
A tech startup entrepreneur, Ramaswami has worked on cybersecurity for the US government and currently runs a consulting company specialising in technology law and policy.
His parents, both IT professionals, immigrated from Tamil Nadu to US in 1990 and Ramaswami graduated from Stanford University in 2021. "I was born and grew up in Georgia. I'm a second-generation immigrant, an Indian American, a twin brother, and an engineer," his campaign website reads.
“I'm running for (Georgia) State Senate in order to give back to my community. I want to make sure that everyone has the same opportunities that I had growing up," the 24-year-old told news agency PTI.
Ramaswami says he is keen to make sure the young people have who come from "unconventional backgrounds in politics" have "a new voice".
"I'm a Hindu"
Even as a young techie, Ramaswami says he is grounded in Indian culture. "I'm a Hindu. I've been very interested in Indian culture philosophy my whole life,” he said.
Growing up reading epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita, the 24-year-old also taught Hindu philosophy and culture to school students at Chinmaya Mission Balavihar, a Hindu spiritual movement institute.
“When I was in college, I learned Sanskrit and ended up reading a lot of ancient texts and got very interested in reading Upanishads, ..and my whole life I've been very involved in yoga and meditation and now also teaching Baal Vihara to younger students," he told news agency PTI.
Apart from this, he founded the Dharmic Law Student Organization, a group that conducts programs for Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, and Jain students.
Gen Z and political goals
Working as a civil servant on election security, Ramaswami said he helped secure the 2020 and 2022 elections. Responding to doubts over his young age as he runs for the State Senate, the 24-year-old stated that his generation is “very aware politically”.
“We very much see the news, we see all these things happening, and we want to ensure a good future for ourselves. But I think one problem we face is we don't have the resources or ability to actually go and make a difference in the sense that it's really hard for people my age to get elected because the election process skews towards people who are wealthier and older," he said.
With his eyes set on the state senate, Ramaswami says he aims to increase wages for state employees and introduce better technology to secure elections. He also plans to Introduce "common-sense gun laws" and antitrust laws to hold big tech companies accountable for online harms.
The young techie wants to create a sustainable tech hub in the south of US and make Georgia a leader in green energy investments.
(With agency inputs)
