Founder Jeevan Zutshi
Jeevan Zutshi, founder of the Indo-American Community Federation, founding member of IAKF and ex Director of KOA and IAKF is a man with multiple talents. Community service is his mission.
Jeevan Zutshi has been a member of Kashmiri overseas association (KOA) since its inception. He became the founding President of California Chapter in 1986. He served as an elected Director for three terms and served as the national V.P. of KOA from 1989-1991.
When the turmoil began in Kashmir in early 1990, Jeevan formed Kashmir Task Force which became a very important committee of NFIA to educate U.S Congress about the violations of human rights of Kashmiri Pandits and to fight Congressman Burton's House Resolution 87 which asked for a plebiscite as a solution to Kashmir crisis.
Jeevan founded Kashmir Political Action Committee in July, 1990 which was later merged as part of a national organization of Kashmiri Pandits called IAKF (Indo American kashmiri Forum) that was born on April 20, 1990 on the initiative of late K.L. Kaul. Jeevan became Convener of IAKF, representing California. In this role, he would educate US Congress think tank about human rights violations of KPs. He also served as a KOA (Kashmiri Overseas Association) Director from 1986 to 1991 and as a Vice President from 1989 to 1990.
The first ever fundraiser for Stephen Solarz was organized by Jeevan and his Indo-American friends in California on September 29 1991, to educate him and the Indo-American community about Kashmiri Pandit exodus.
Another fundraiser was initiated by Jeevan for KOA in Fremont in 1990 to raise funds for immediate relief to Jammu camps and yet another fundraiser for KOA was organized with the help of Indian community on January 5, 1991. $5000 were dispatched to Kashmir Sahayata Samiti, Jammu, on April 21, 1991 by Federation of Indian Associations of Northern California, Fremont, California.
He convened an international symposium in Fremont on November 15, 1992, mobilizing the Indian community support and giving a jump start to highlighting the exodus of Pandits. Think tank and speakers from India participated. The symposium generated death threats to Jeevan. KOA passed a unanimous resolution on November 25, 1991, expressing "deep regret for the rash telephone calls to Jeevan Zutshi and his family". The resolution pointed out that "These acts of cowardice are most uncivilized for any time or any place and should be denounced in the strongest terms".
Jeevan led two delegations to Jammu camps in 1994 and 1996 as V.P. of local FIA and as V.P. of Indian American Friendship Council. Meetings were held with the Prime Minister, Home Minister, Rajesh Pilot, Jagmohan, Shutrughan Sinha, Pramod Mahajan; and several Ministers including relief Commissioners, to address complaints by camp dwellers, and increase their allowance. 45 children in the camps were also adopted.
On behalf of Kashmiri Pandits, Jeevan organized three fundraisers for Congressman Sherrod Brown of Ohio since 1998 and two fundraisers for Congressman Frank Pallone in his California home. The two have become the voices of Kashmiri Pandits. He also did fundraiser for Congressional members Anna Eshoo, Ed Royce, Gary Ackerman, Mike Honda, Pete Stark and Senator John Edwards, who was the U.S. Presidential candidate in year 2004.
Jeevan was among the 23 Indo-American leaders from the U.S. invited to brief President Clinton on his historic trip to India on April 25, 2000. He has undertaken visits to meet visiting Prime Ministers or other Indian Ministers from India. He also played host to a few visiting dignitaries to California, including the local Consul Generals and Ambassadors.
He convened two very powerful international Symposia on Kashmir in 2001 and 2003 and has been continuously educating the mainstream community about the plight of Pandit community.
In October 2003, a conference was sponsored by Congressman Frank Pallone on Jeevan's initiative to brief the State department on the status of kashmiri Pandits.
On June 9, 2009, Capitol Hill Briefing was hosted by International Kashmir Federation (IKF) in cooperation with HAF, NFIA, USINPAC, IACF and UHF which highlighted Kashmir situation and briefed the U.S. Administration.
Jeevan raised some funds for Faridabad Girls hostel and adopted children in Jammu camps. He also did Fundraiser’s to help victims of terrorism in refugee camps of Jammu and Kargil, India.
Jeevan serves as the national coordinator for Foundation for Excellence helping several Kashmiri boys and girls to be considered for sizable scholarships in professional colleges of India. He worked with All India Kashmiri Samaj (AIKS) to identify the recipients from years 1996 to 2000.
He has led meetings to pay homage to martyrs and Pandit victims of terrorism along with other Hindu groups, organized rallies against enemies of Kashmiri Pandits both in San Francisco and Los Angeles. He even agreed to meet Yasin Malik and his cohorts in their own backyard and opposed a few Kashmiri Pandits for promoting hatred and disinformation.
He is a trustee of FIA of Northern California and served as a Delegate of NFIA and its Regional V.P.
Jeevan has helped organize the Festival of India since 1993 and always promoted Kashmir through a Float, as part of the Parade, attended by more than 30,000 people in the City of Fremont.
He founded a non-profit organization named Indo-American Community Federation and celebrated tenth year with a huge cultural festival and health fair in 2005. The Unity Dinner, Jeevan's dream, has become the most powerful event of his organization in California. Governor of California, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, hundreds of high State and local level politicians, have attended.
The organization strives to fight hate crime, disinformation, and promotes unity amongst diverse cultures.
Jeevan received "Hind Rattan award" at 19th international congress of NRIs
on January 25, 2000 at Hotel Intercontinental, New Delhi.
Jeevan was honored by KOA in 1996 for dedication and service to Kashmiri Pandit community; he was honored by U.S Congressman Pallone for serving the cause of Pandits in 2003 and by Pete Stark for promoting diversity and understanding of Indian culture in 2004.
He was honored by the Alameda County Library foundation in year 2003, California legislature in year 2004 in a ceremony on the capitol hill for being a pioneer to lead Indo-American community positively in assimilating in mainstream culture.
He was honored by California Chinese community for providing leadership to promote diversity in year 2005, and was honored by Fremont Chamber of Commerce for promoting emerging markets in 2006.
Jeevan is a graduate civil Engineer and was appointed by the California House speaker to serve as a Member of Departmental Transportation Advisory Committee for a 4 year term overseeing the legislative highway projects of the California Department of transportation.
Jeevan was appointed by Board of Supervisors to perform an Availability Study to analyze the Alameda County's use of local, small emerging, minority and women business enterprises on County construction, architecture and engineering, professional services, and goods and other services contracts.
He was assisted by an eleven-member Community Task Force members conducting outreach to the County's ethnic businesses.
He was also appointed by Attorney General to serve on his Civil Rights' Commission on Hate Crime Reporting to improve the reporting of hate crimes and hate incidents occurring in schools and improve the reporting of hate crimes and hate incidents by law enforcement agencies.
Jeevan is a graduate Civil Engineer, a practicing Realtor and property manager, expert in Commercial Real Estate and lending. He is Publisher of a home owner magazine called Equity.
Jeevan is also an Insurance broker specializing in health and visitors insurance.
Jeevan has always been fascinated by the following quote:
"They alone live, who live for the welfare of others, the others are more dead than alive. Give and take is the policy of ordinary people but there are a rare few who always serve others. They forget themselves in the service of others." -Swami Vivekananda
Jeevan Zutshi with his wife and parents