By Er Rajesh Pathak
In recent days, much debate followed a significant development in the United States, when the Supreme Court placed a legal obstacle ahead of then-President Trump’s tirade against various countries. However, few—particularly in India—noticed the man who outshone the entire US legal fraternity by spearheading this move. He is Neal Kumar Katyal, the son of Indian-origin parents.
This was not Katyal’s first major contribution. He had earlier won a case that many in the legal and political fraternity consider “the most important case for American democracy ever.”
Now 55, Katyal came to international prominence when he was appointed as the Acting Solicitor General of the US during President Barack Obama’s tenure. Earlier, in 2001, he had also stood as co-counsel for then Vice President Al Gore in the landmark legal battle against George W. Bush.
Born in Chicago to Indian parents—his mother, Dr. Pratibha, a physician, and his late father, Surendra, an engineer—Katyal studied law at Yale Law School. There he came in close contact with another prominent Indian-origin legal expert, Akhil Amar, a specialist in constitutional law. Akhil’s brother, Vikram Amar, is the Dean of the University of Illinois College of Law, while Katyal’s sister, Sonia Katyal, is both an attorney and a professor at UC Berkeley School of Law.
Katyal, however, is not the only Indian-origin legal star in the US. The diaspora has produced a remarkable number of distinguished judges and legal scholars. Among them:
· Amit Mehta, District Judge for the District of Columbia, nominated by President Obama.
· Neomi Rao, appointed by President Trump.
· Amul Thapar, the first federal judge of South Asian descent, widely seen as a strong contender for the US Supreme Court.
· Sri Srinivasan, another highly respected judge, also considered for the country’s highest court.
The Indian legal diaspora in the US has drawn inspiration from many trailblazers. Among the most respected was Dr. Ved Nanda, a distinguished professor of law at the University of Colorado. He served as President of the World Jurist Association and Vice President of the American Society of International Law. His students included three who went on to become US cabinet ministers, most notably Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State.
So admired was Dr. Nanda that his students raised millions of dollars to establish two study centers in his honor, including the Dr. Ved Nanda Center for International and Comparative Law at the University of Denver. He also served as Sanghchalak of the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (the overseas wing of the RSS). In recognition of his contributions, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Vibhushan in 2018.
The stories of Neal Katyal and many other Indian-origin legal minds highlight how talent, intellect, and determination can propel individuals to the highest echelons of the US judiciary and legal profession.
(The writer is a civil engineer and a freelance contributor from Bhopal)
