Former president of the Indian National Congress, Rahul Gandhi, during his address to the Indian diaspora at an event in California, the first stop of his U.S. visit, lauded the diaspora for being ambassadors of the country and urged Indian students in United States to return to the country.

Praising the Indian American community Gandhi said, “We think of our country, you are all our ambassadors. When America says Indian people are extremely intelligent, Indian people are masters of IT, Indian people are respectful – all these ideas that have come, they’ve come because of you, your actions, and your behavior. So, I thank you very much for that.”

He added, “Thank you very much for holding up the Indian flag in America, showing the American people what it means to be Indian, respecting them, respecting their culture, learning from them, and also allowing them to learn from you. You make us all proud.”