US diplomat Donald Lu meets Jain community in Los Angeles, hails their role in US-India ties

SENIOR American diplomat Donald Lu recently met the members of the Jain community in Los Angeles as part of an initiative by the US state department to interact with the Indian-American diaspora, which is instrumental in ties between the  two nations.

Lu, assistant secretary of South and Central Asia, visited the Southern California Jain temple where he met the members of the local Jain community.

During the meet-and-greet, Lu appreciated the contributions made by the Jain community in southern California to the broader Los Angeles area and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to connect with it, a media release said.

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Among the Jain leaders were Ajay Jain Bhutoria, US President’s Advisor on the Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Commissioner; JAINA past president Mahesh Wadher and Jain temple president Sameer Shah.

"Indian-Americans are the backbone of our strong relationship with India. It was wonderful to connect with the Jain community in Southern California and learn about their many contributions to the wider Los Angeles area," Lu said while acknowledging the role that Indian-Americans have played in strengthening ties between the two democracies, both of which are going to elections this year. 

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Present in the meeting were some prominent Jain leaders, including Ajay Jain Bhutoria, US president's advisor on the Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) commissioner; Mahesh Wadher, former president of the Federation of Jain Associations in North America; and Sameer Shah, president of a local Jain temple.  

Shah, Wadher, and the entire temple executive team helped Lu grow familiar with the various religious practices and principles of Jainism, such as food practices, philosophy of non-violence, Lord Mahavir's message of peace, the Jain way of fasting traditions, and the community outreach and philanthropy work carried out by JAINA and the Jain temple to support individuals both locally in Los Angeles and in other parts of the US and abroad, in places like India and Nigeria.

Bhutoria expressed his appreciation for the State Department team’s visit to the Jain temple, highlighting the importance of Lord Mahavir’s message of promoting peace, non-violence and compassion. Bhutoria emphasised that the US-India relationship is the strongest under President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Tony Blinken and that these people-to-people dialogues would further strengthen the US-India relationship and help promote American interests and shared values.

Bhutoria thanked the state department officials for the visit and stressed that the US-India ties are the strongest under president Joe Biden and secretary of state Antony Blinken.

He also said that such people-to-people interactions would further strengthen the bilateral relationship and help promote American interests and shared values.

(with PTI inputs)