Aruna Miller: America 's Indian Origin Supermom
Aruna Miller arrived in the United States of America as a seven-year-old in 1972. Now in her early fifties, the Hyderabad-born civil engineer turned politician is in the fray to be the 2nd Indian-American woman, after Pramila Jayapal from Washington State, to enter US House of Representatives.
She has received tremendous support from Indian-Americans in Maryland and across the nation. In an interview to PTI, she has said, "I think the rhetoric that's happening at the national level about immigrants being demonized and marginalized. This resonates with a lot of people because many of us have come here as immigrants to this great nation. Diversity is not our problem. It's our promise. I think that's what spurred a lot of people to wake up and say, wow, I need to take an active role in what's happening in our country."
Aruna Miller is married to her college sweetheart David Miller, also an engineer by profession and they have three grown-up daughters. She worked for 25 years as a Transportation Engineer for Montgomery County and other local governments. The Bush v. Gore election in 2000 sparked her political interest, when she realized that she needed to engage and empower others every day, and not as a bystander or to cast a vote when there is an election. She started to volunteer locally, which brought her face to face with the changing needs of her community.
In 2010, she ran for and was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates for the 15th Legislative District. On her campaign website, she says that as a State Delegate, she saw first-hand what a big impact seemingly small legislative changes can have on people’s lives. This time around, Aruna Miller is pitted against party colleague David Trone in the Democratic party for the Sixth Congressional District of Maryland primary. The winner of the June 26 primary election is expected to easily sail through given that it is considered to be a Democratic stronghold.
Aruna Miller is an environmentalist and believes that “climate change is real, it is happening, and we must elect legislators who will take action.” She has often said that addressing climate change is the most urgent challenge of our generation and called for the United States to return to the Paris Climate Agreement. She says that by leaving the Paris agreement the US has abdicated leadership on this issue and believes that the technologies of the future will be those that address the need for clean, renewable energy and they will be developed countries who lead.
She has advocated for stronger regulations on the coal and energy industry and supported the construction of wind-powered generation stations. She says she is proud of her work as a State Legislator which included promoting renewable energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protecting waterways and her initial contribution to the fracking ban in Maryland.
She is also a great advocate for strong India-US ties and accompanied the then Maryland governor Martin O'Malley to India as a Maryland State Delegate. She believes that "It is critical that the largest democracy and the oldest democracy have a strong bond together. I'll continue to work on that". Early this month, she was endorsed by 'Desis for Progress', the US-based organization of progressive South Asians. She is also a Patron of the Hyderabad-based group ‘Walk For Water’, which is leading a global campaign for universal safe water access.
Aruna Miller says that her past, present, and future have one purpose – to give the best of herself every day to champion the needs of others. She has drafted legislation to help people in their daily lives and continually supported a progressive agenda to help working families, women, children, seniors, and all those who believe they are forgotten, she declares. Is she the new supermom that the US needs during the current crisis of astute political leadership.
Rituraj Phukan
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