As part of Tamil American Heritage Month 2026, U.S. lawmakers joined community leaders to celebrate Tamil heritage and culture by honoring Tamil Americans for their “exemplary” contributions to the community. The event was held on January 22, 2026, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Organized by GSA Global Eye Magazine USA, the celebration was co-hosted by several organizations, including New York Tamil Sangam, South Asian Herald, Washington, D.C., NRI Tamil New York, World Federation of Tamil Youth USA, and the Tamil Tech Entrepreneur Council USA.

Highlighting recent legislative efforts, speakers recalled that on January 14, 2025, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, along with Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, introduced a bipartisan resolution to designate January as Tamil Language and Heritage Month. 

It was a “proud step forward in recognizing Tamil history, culture and the remarkable contributions of Tamil Americans across the United States,” noted actress and Natyamargam founder Indrani Davaluri, who served as emcee for the event.

Dr. Vijay Prabhakar, chairman of Global Eye Magazine Group and president of the American Multi Ethnic Commission, said Congressman Krishnamoorthi needs no introduction. He described him as the first Tamil American elected to the U.S. Congress and expressed strong confidence that he would be elected as the first Tamil and Indian American U.S. Senator this year.

“It’s a no mean achievement. He has been through the welfare system. His success story is phenomenal,” said Dr. Prabhakar. “He’s hard working and dedicated, and he is a goal oriented and people-oriented person.” 

Dr. Prabhakar also encouraged attendees to vote for Congressman Krishnamoorthi in the Senate primary scheduled for March 17.

Dr. Prabhakar emphasized that a victory would mark the “brightest moment” for Tamil Americans in the United States and for Tamil Nadu. On the occasion, he also announced the Senthamizh Global Leadership Award for Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, citing his work in advancing the state, its language, culture, and heritage. He said a U.S.-based delegation would travel to Chennai next month to present the award and urged Tamil Americans to participate.

Commending Dr. Prabhakar’s community service, Congressman Krishnamoorthi referred to him as a “Very Good Person,” noting that he has helped countless people over the years. “We should all be the helpers in our community,” the Congressman said, thanking attendees for gathering to celebrate Tamil Heritage Month at the nation’s capital.

Reflecting on the broader national context, Congressman Krishnamoorthi said the United States is celebrating its 250th birthday this year. “This is our birthday year. So, in our birthday year, it’s important to remember that our democracy only functions when people show up, and that’s what’s true of any community, including the Indian American community and the Tamil American community,” he said.

“When you celebrate your heritage, you nurture your roots, and when you nurture your roots, they grow deep and you grow tall. And when trees grow deep roots and grow tall, they provide shade to others,” he added. He noted that the Tamil American community is about 360,000 strong in the United States and nearly 80 million worldwide.

Congressman Jonathan Jackson congratulated the organizers and honorees, thanking Dr. Prabhakar for hosting the celebration and recognizing all those honored for their “exemplary” contributions. Referring to Congressman Krishnamoorthi’s Senate bid from Illinois, he added, “Congratulations in advance for your tremendous service.”

Congressman Shri Thanedar said there is a very “likely possibility” that a Tamilian would soon serve in the U.S. Senate. “I wish him well. He has been an amazing member of Congress. He’s been a great mentor to me,” he said.

Sharing his personal journey, Congressman Thanedar recalled working as a janitor while growing up in India to support his family and help arrange marriages for his siblings. He also spoke about having his U.S. visa rejected four times before being approved on his fifth attempt. 

Now a member of Congress serving on the Homeland Security Committee, he reflected, “What a great country this is,” adding that he is “just delighted” to serve Detroit, Michigan.

Congressman Thanedar said his priorities include affordable housing, healthcare coverage, job creation, workforce skills, and raising the minimum wage in Detroit. 

“I also want to make sure this hate about immigrants must go away. This is a country of immigrants. We got to be proud of our immigrants. We cannot Make America Great Again without the help of immigrants,” he said, noting immigrant contributions across medicine, academia, business, technology, and innovation.

“We got to honor our immigrant community. We cannot send ICE into our streets, terrorizing and rounding up people asking them for their document in the streets,” he added, noting that he has introduced legislation to “abolish” ICE. 

He also called for immigration reform that provides “legal pathways” to citizenship, stressing, “We don’t have to worry about people crossing our borders illegally if we have an immigration system that works for all of us…”

During the event, the Thiruvalluvar Award of Excellence 2026 was presented to Lingeswaran Srinivasan, Founder and Managing Trustee of the Global Welfare Foundation, Chennai, in recognition of leadership and service reflecting Thiruvalluvar’s teachings on social justice, human values, ethics, and inclusive governance.

Eleven members of the Tamil diaspora were also honored in “recognition of their exemplary contributions and service to the Tamil community and society at large.” 

The honorees were:

• Sivakumar Rajaratnam, Program Director, Tata Consultancy Services, Appleton, Wisconsin
• Kathirvel Kumararaja, Board of Director, New York Tamil Sangam, New York
• T. Vishnudatta Jayaraman, Ph.D., Founder and Editor-in-Chief, South Asian Herald, Washington, D.C.
• Dr. Rajagopal Appavu, Chief Scientist, Research Rising Stars, Tampa, Florida
• Rajaram Srinivasan, Director of Engineering, Marriott, Washington, D.C.
• Cecil Sundar, Director of Data and AI, Microsoft, Broomfield, Colorado
• Ayyadurai Wordsworth, Founder and CEO, Salem Infotech, Herndon, Virginia
• Nambirajan Vaithilingam, President, Great Lakes Chicago Chapter, Tamil Tech Entrepreneurs Council, Chicago, Illinois
• Dev Stephen, Founder, Unavu, Baltimore
• Meenal Subramaniam, Accounting Executive, Excell Deck, Virginia
• Kumaran Ravi, Co-Founder, Chennai Express, Chantilly, Virginia

A message from M. Vallalar, Commissioner of the Department of Welfare of Non-Resident Tamils, was read by Antony Johan during the program. He thanked GSA Global Eye Magazine USA for organizing the celebration and recognizing individuals whose achievements have brought pride to the global Tamil community.

“This celebration reflects the spirit of historic bipartisan resolution presented in the United States Congress recognizing Tamil language and Heritage Month, honoring one of the world’s oldest living classical civilizations and its enduring contributions to the global society,” the message read. “I extend my warm congratulations to the awardees being honored today.”

Awards Jury Chair Neelam Jai, Washington D.C. Tamil Sangam President Senthil Malaikolundu Kumar, National President of the Tamil Tech Entrepreneur Council New Jersey Muthukrishnan Govindaraj, Together We Rise founder Jyoti Mohan, and others also addressed the gathering. The invocation was delivered by Arya Sudarsanam, a Grade 9 student at Briar Woods High School in Ashburn, Virginia.

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