Press Releases

Indians Launch Cyberwar to Forestall Elimination of H1-B Visas

Petition on Sulekha.com rallies global opinion; 7000 signatures in one day and growing

AUSTIN, US, July 17, 2003: Indians in the US and around the world rose in spontaneous and overwhelming groundswell of support for an online petition seeking to forestall a proposed bill in the US Congress abolishing H1-B Visas.

More than 7000 Indians signed the petition on the popular online portal Sulekha.com and hundreds are signing up every hour, voicing outrage at a bill proposed by Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo of Colorado asking to abolish H1-B visas that allowed US to attract skilled professional talent from countries like India that helped power the high-tech and Internet boom.

Most signatories to the petition feel that the bill attempts to punish the very set of people who have helped power the global high-tech domination of US. This attempt to punish this skilled segment for their contributions to America strikes most as being grossly unfair and unjust. "Doesn't make any sense whatsoever to abolish H1B's who generate billions of dollars of revenue to the US government," says Venkat M., one of the signatories to the petition.

"The overwhelming response to this petition is simply unprecedented in Sulekha's history. We expect this petition to attract over 100,000 signatures in the next two weeks. The Tancredo bill has caused tremendous outrage," says Satya Prabhakar, CEO of Sulekha, the world's most popular online Indian community.

Within a day of the petition going online, it attracted wide coverage in Indian dailies like Hindustan Times, Times of India, Indian Express and Hindu. The Times of India's headline announced: "

The other common sentiment that is expressed by the petition signers on Sulekha is that this bill will end up irreparably hurting US and the high-tech advantage it enjoys today in the world without helping increase local employment, one of the goals of the bill. "If this Bill becomes a law, US will lose a huge chunk of technically qualified personnel and it will result in more and more outsourcing," said Manish Birla, another petition signatory.

Sulekha.com plans to hand over the petition, along with the list of signatories, to US President George W. Bush, Indian President A P J Abdul Kalam, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Congressman Tancredo. The petition will also be submitted to influential lawmakers in the US Congress and Indian Parliament, said Vijay Anand. Anand said he hopes to generate over 50,000 signatures for the 'Do Not Abolish H1-B Visa' petition. The site has managed to generate great interest among the Indian professionals, located around the world, he added.

Sulekha.com plans to hand over the petition, along with the list of signatories, to US President George W. Bush, influential senators and congresspersons, Congressman Tancredo, Indian President A P J Abdul Kalam, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and editors of all major media worldwide. The petition will also be submitted to influential lawmakers in the US Congress and Indian Parliament, said Vijay Anand. Anand of Sulekha.

Says Vijay Anand of Sulekha.com, "Sulekha.com offers a platform for Indians to express themselves and connect to the Indian community, no matter where they are. Petitions Central is a Sulekha service that increases the social and political capital of the global Indian community by enabling them to rally around causes that are close to their heart." Earlier in the year, a petition championing the cause "India Should be a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council" received tremendous response. About 60,000 Indians from across the world have signed in support of this petition.

About Sulekha.com

Sulekha.com is the flagship service of Smart Information Worldwide, Inc., a leading Internet media and services company with operations in US and India. Sustained by the creative contributions of tens of thousands of Indians from over 50 countries, Sulekha has become the biggest online community for Indians, winning the unexampled loyalty of hundreds of thousands of visitors and acclaim from the media ("One of the finest Indian websites" - Times of India). In addition, Sulekha is also the dominant provider of classifieds, ticketing, membership and fundraising services to Indian organizations and is today the biggest online ticketer for Indian events and movies in North America. Penguin has recently published Sulekha's first print publication Black, White and Various Shades of Brown: Best of Sulekha.com. Web address: http://www.sulekha.com

Contact:Arti Patel, Sulekha.com, (214) 616-2749, arti@sulekha.net