(Image source from: timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

The first Indian-origin United States Senator Kamala Harris urged Indian-American leaders to speak the fact and join the collective combat against bigotry, hatred and the thriving anti-immigrant sentiment in America.

Addressing an assemblage of about 200 Indian-American candidates, elected authoritative, humanitarians, community leaders and else interested parties, Harris motivated fellow Indian-Americans to seek inspiration from their country of descent.

"Let's speak the truth. This country was founded by immigrants. Unless you're native American or your ancestors were kidnapped and brought over on a slave ship, you people are immigrants," Harris said in an inspiring speech at the first-of-its-kind event organized by the Indian-American Impact Project.

"An administration rescinding Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) systematically attempting to purge our nation of immigrants, is a fact that should disturb everybody - whether an immigrant or not, who comes from a family of immigrants or not, whether their descendants are from Ireland or India. It's a collective fight," she said.

Harris further said her mother was an Indian-origin and maternal grandfather was one of the freedom fighters in India.

"I'm trying to remember what some of the slogans were when my grandfather participated in India's independence because I am sure that some of those apply to what is going on with today's world," she said.

"And one of them was a national motto at the time and it still is today, which is truth alone triumphs. So let's think about where we are today," she said.

Harris told Indian-origin politicians to look through the lens of the countries of their origin and think it through the lens of what they do and wanted to do and will do to provide a bright future for the country they are in.

"This has been a moment in time where we as Americans are being required to look in the mirror and answer a question of who we are?" she said.

"I believe we are a great country. And part of what makes us who we are is that this country was founded on certain ideas, ideas that were present when we wrote the Constitution of the U.S. which is that we are all equals and should be treated that way. This is a moment in time that is requiring us to fight for those ideals," she said.

By Sowmya Sangam