Indian-American Mona Das Hailing From Bihar Elected To Washington State Senate, Takes Oath On Bhagavad Gita

Indian-American politician Mona Das, who was born in Bihar, has been elected to the Washington State Senate from the 47th district of the State of Washington in her maiden electoral bid, reports India Today. Das took her oath by swearing on the Bhagavad Gita.

Belonging to the Democratic Party, she had immigrated to the US with her parents when she was just eight months old. Das is known to take immense pride in her roots; her ancestral village is in Dariapur in Kharagpur division in Munger district of Bihar.

The 47-year-old freshman senator is a Psychology graduate from Cincinnati University, while her father who resides in St Louise, Missouri, is an engineer.

On the day of her swearing in, Das gave her best wishes to those celebrating Makar Sankranti, saying, “Namaskar aur pranam aap sabo ko... Makar Sankaranti ki badhai ho aap sabo ko. (My greetings to all of you, wishing all of you a happy Makar Sankranti)”

Furthermore, she heaped praise on Mahatma Gandhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating, "Like Mahatma Gandhi and the present great and dynamic leader Prime Minister Modi ji said, education is the key to success for girls in life. By educating a girl you have educated an entire family and successive generations as well."

Das added that she looks forward to visiting her ancestral village in Bihar one day, and also travelling throughout India to get better acquainted with her native country’s culture.

Having beaten incumbent Republican leader Joe Fain, Das will be on the Senate Housing Stability and Affordability Committee as vice chair.

She will also serving on the Senate Transporation Committee and the Economic Development and Trade Committee.