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Text	Dalip Singh Saund (September 20, 1899 – April 22, 1973) was an American politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives. He served the 29th District of California from January 3, 1957 to January 3, 1963. He was the first Sikh/Punjabi Asian American/Indian American elected as a voting member of the United States Congress. Born in Chhajulwadi, Punjab, India, to a Sikh family, he received his bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Punjab in 1919. He immigrated to the United States (via Ellis Island) originally to study agriculture at the University of California, Berkeley. While at the university, he obtained a master's degree (1922) and a PhD (1924), both in mathematics. He thereafter remained in the United States, becoming a successful farmer. Later, he campaigned to allow "Sikhs and Hindus", as all people of South Asian descent were called at that time, to become naturalized citizens. After the Luce-Celler Act was passed in 1946, he applied for naturalization and became an American citizen in 1949. He ran for election in 1950 as a Justice of the Peace for Westmoreland township, California, and won the election, but his election was thrown out as he had been a citizen for less than a year. He later ran again for the same post and won. In November 1955, he announced his campaign to run for the House of Representatives as a Democrat and won an election for an open seat against a famous Republican aviator, Jacqueline Cochran. He was re-elected twice, becoming the first Asian American, the first Indian American and first member of a non-Abrahamic faith to be elected to Congress. In May 1962, Saund suffered a severe stroke which left him unable to speak or walk without assistance. He was defeated for re-election by Republican Patrick Martin by a 56% to 44% margin. Publications Authored • My Mother India. Stockton, California: Pacific coast Khalsa Diwan society (Sikh temple). • This book was written as a critique to the sensational Mother India, by Katherine Mayo, which argued against Indian self-rule. • Congressman From India. New York: Dutton. 1960. • Gandhi, the man and his message.
Title	Dalip Singh Saund
Option1	Member of the United States House of Representatives
Option2
Option3	https:////nriinternet.com/NRIpoliticians/USA/A_Z/S/Dalip_Singh_Saund/portrait1.jpg
Option4
AppMaster	American Sikhs
AppTextCategory	American Sikh Personalities
Language1	English
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