Attorney General Bill Lockyer is scheduled to attend. So is state Sen. Liz Figueroa, and Assemblyman John Dutra, and Milpitas Mayor Henry Manayan. The high-powered guest list for a dinner Friday in the Fremont hills is an obvious sign that the Indo-American Community Federation is an organization with clout, even though most local residents have never heard of the non-profit group.

Reflecting the growing recognition in Washington of the plight of Kashmiris Pandits influential democrat from Ohio and members of the India Caucus Sherrod Brown urged Home Minister L.K.Advani to consult the Kashmir Task Force (KTF) while resolving the “unfortunate situation”.In a letter to Advani last week, Brown noted the deteriorating condition of the Pandits, their forced exodus by terrorists trained outside India’s borders and decried the harsh living conditions in the make-shift camps set up for them.