US House resolution backed by 256 lawmakers seeks July as Indian-American Heritage Month

Amid growing anti-Indian American rhetoric, a group of 256 US lawmakers led by Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi on Monday introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives honouring the community's contributions to US growth.

The resolution also supports designating July as Indian-American Heritage Month. People of Indian descent became eligible for naturalisation as American citizens in July 1946.

The US is home to over 5.2 million Indian-Americans who form one of the most religiously diverse communities.

"Indian Americans have distinguished themselves in business, entrepreneurship, higher education, economic scholarship, journalism, literature, and philanthropy, contributing to the economic strength, intellectual life, and global leadership of the United States," reads the resolution.

"I'm proud to lead 256 of my colleagues in designating July as Indian American Heritage Month to honour that legacy and celebrate the many ways Indian Americans continue to enrich our country," Krishnamoorthi said in a statement.

The resolution celebrates their contributions across science and medicine, technology and business, public service and the military, education and philanthropy, arts and culture, and athletics.

The designation of July as Indian American Heritage Month commemorates the signing of the Luce-Celler Act by President Harry S. Truman on July 2, 1946, which made people of Indian descent eligible for naturalisation as American citizens.

The resolution also honours the Indian American community's religious and cultural diversity and the generations of Indian Americans who have contributed to the nation's cultural, economic, and civic life.

The resolution comes at a time when anti-Indian American rhetoric is rising in the US, reflected in the campaign trail for the midterm elections in states such as Texas.

Earlier this month, law enforcement authorities arrested a 19-year-old accused of attempting a mass shooting at an Illinois Hindu temple.

Krishnamoorthi was present at the Sri Venkateswara Swami temple in Aurora, near Chicago, when the accused planned to carry out the mass shooting but failed because his shotgun jammed.

A Carnegie Endowment survey found that 48 per cent of Indian American respondents encountered racist posts targeting their community very or somewhat often since the start of 2025, while one in four reported being called a slur.