Bangladeshi-American Democratic Caucus

Political activism for promoting community interests as well as the common good is the hallmark of a flourishing democracy. Without active and focused political participation, a community, particularly a minority community, becomes invisible to elected officials and is ignored or marginalized by mainstream parties.

Bangladeshi-Americans have made significant contributions to America — from education and entrepreneurship to R&D and technology — but these have been primarily at the individual level. There hasn't been any coherent movement to capture and bring to fruition the political aspirations of this relatively well-to-do and educated community.

Keenly aware of this gap, some Bangladeshi-Americans of California's Silicon Valley (Mollah Huq, Yusuf Haque, Nilufar Haque, Ferdous Alam, Enamul Hoque, Mohammad Helal, Shabbir Chowdhury, Khalid Azim, Anwarul Hasan, Alimul Haque, and others) began planning a political organization some years ago. The effort of these CEOs, managers, entrepreneurs and activists recently led to the formal launching of the Bangladeshi-American Democratic Caucus (BADC).

At the inaugural event held in San Jose, California, on October 21, Dr. Yusuf Haque, founder and CEO of Crest Semiconductor, articulated the vision and goal of BADC in his keynote address.

"BADC is a political platform for Bangladeshi Americans," he said. "We believe in the promise of America and in getting involved politically to achieve a more perfect Union. That is the American way."

BADC, Dr. Yusuf emphasized, is all about American politics. "We align ourselves with the Democratic Party because the majority of Bangladeshi-Americans feel their views are better aligned with the goals of this party." (The overwhelming majority of Bangladeshi-Americans are expected to vote for a second term for President Obama in the upcoming Nov. 6 election that is shaping up to be a very tight race). A single party was chosen to reflect reality. "We do not have the size to influence political issues without supporting one party." However, all Bangladeshi-Americans, Democrat or otherwise, "are encouraged to participate since there are common areas of cooperation."

BADC is not about partisan Bangladesh politics and does not support any Bangladeshi political party. A secular organization, BADC seeks to influence U.S. policy toward Bangladesh in such areas as aid, protection of trade quotas, immigration, global warming, education, healthcare, and the building of democratic institutions. The 7th largest country in the world by population, Bangladesh has shown an impressive GDP growth rate of 6%. It is a low-cost alternative to China and has the potential to reach middle-income country status in about 10 years. "Bangladeshi-Americans should promote this increasingly important country to America by educating U.S. legislators on Bangladeshi issues," Yusuf said.

At the same time, "BADC should promote democratic values and institutions within Bangladesh. While Bangladesh has shown remarkable economic growth, it ranks near the bottom among developing countries in terms of good governance and rule of law."

Anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiments are on the rise in the U.S. This is a valid issue for BADC to take on because "it is a rights issue guaranteed by the U.S. constitution. We must add our voice to marginalize extremist elements in this society."

Perhaps the most important message Dr. Yusuf conveyed to the more than 300 Bangladeshi-Americans attending the event was the urgent need for the younger generation to get politically involved. BADC can help obtain for them "internships in Washington D.C. or Sacramento or in local Congressional offices. We must motivate our children to fully participate in the political process and develop leadership so that they can become the future mayors, governors, congressional representatives, senators, judges and presidents of the United States. Similar efforts are planned in other states. By banding together, our voice becomes amplified."

This is not as far-fetched as it may seem. Few years ago, a nascent BADC actively supported the 2010 Congressional election efforts of Hansen Clarke of Michigan through funding and lobbying. It was a success. Clarke became the first U.S. Congressman with Bangladeshi roots and has been a passionate advocate of Bangladeshi issues in Congress.

Nasreen Rahim, professor of instructional technology at Evergreen Valley College in San Jose, emphasized educational leadership to place Bangladeshi-Americans among decision makers in job placement and political empowerment. She was representing the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), local chapter 6157. AFT is a union of professionals that champions high-quality public education, fairness, economic opportunity, political activism and collective bargaining, issues that are of critical interest to BADC. To illustrate AFT's political alliance with BADC, she highlighted two of the several measures in the California ballot in the Nov. 6 election. Proposition 30 can raise $6-9 billion for public education in the state by slightly increasing the tax on the super-wealthy. Realizing that California's public schools and colleges were in dire financial straits, Governor Jerry Brown created the Proposition to resolve the crisis. Proposition 32, on the other hand, was created by millionaires, corporate executives and super political action committees (PACs) to silence the voice of unions and working people. Nasreen and her AFT colleagues encouraged Bangladeshi-American voters to vote "Yes on 30, No on 32."

To illustrate how tough and turbulent politics can be, consider this: A shadowy super PAC comprising undisclosed donors from Arizona donated $11 million to defeat Prop. 30 and pass Prop. 32. It is the largest anonymous political donation in California's history! Under furious assaults from negative ads, support for Prop. 30 is already sliding in the polls. In response, the state of California, through its Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), filed a lawsuit to force disclosure of information about the Arizona group. With only a few days remaining before the election, it promises to be a fierce fight to the finish.

Junaid Islam, founder and president of Vidder, a cyber-security company, touched on the challenge posed for Bangladeshi-Americans by the arrest of Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis. Nafis had tried to blow up New York's Federal Reserve building on Oct.17. One inevitable effect will be that visas will either be delayed or denied to Bangladeshi students trying to come to the U.S. for higher studies. "The mistake for Bangladeshi-Americans will be to do nothing. That will be guilt by silence. While we do not know all the facts, entrapment or not, we must make every effort to convince Americans that this case does not represent Bangladesh. It is critical that we do this to prevent smear campaigns against us," said Junaid. He also emphasized that Bangladeshi-Americans "must fight for other peoples' rights as well, not just ours."

Samihah Azim, a 26-year-old activist, interfaith outreach coordinator and product manager, spoke from her experience as an intern at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in 2007. "Two things will get politicians to pay attention to Bangladeshi-Americans: a) voting b) money and fundraising. Vote early and vote often, not just in presidential elections but in local and state elections as well. The more you vote, the more you become important in the political process. And the more money you raise to support this candidate or that measure, the more your organization gets recognized." Other young speakers included Demetra Matin (Congressional aide to US Rep. John Garamendi), Deepa Sharma (Campaign Manager for State Senator Jim Beale), and Tahsina Haq (Community organizer for San Jose Labor Council).

It is activists like Samihah, Demetra, Deepa and Tahsina who represent the future of BADC. Samihah's plan, for instance, is to focus on young professionals like herself to develop leaders. She is also exploring opportunities to partner with other organizations to co-host events and make BADC more familiar to Americans.

Developing a political organization requires sustained, painstaking work, particularly one as ambitious as the Bangladeshi-American Democratic Caucus. But the enthusiasm that Bangladeshi-Americans displayed at its launching, from hard-working young doers to experienced Silicon Valley stalwarts to inspired attendees, indicate that a new player is about to make its presence felt in the demanding but empowering arena of American politics.

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Hasan Zillur Rahim is an educator and a technologist working in Silicon Valley. His specializes in advancing education through technology.