WASHINGTON, FEB 25: If posterity captures a defining moment that signaled the political coming of age of Indian Americans in the United States, it could be at noon in the year 2000 on a balmy Thursday in Washington. That’s when a group of 33 well-heeled immigrants trooped into the White House to voice their views on the Presidential trip to South Asia at the invitation of the Clinton administration. Participants in the meeting, who spoke on background at the request of the White House to keep the discussions private, said the deliberations covered four broad areas: Kashmir, Pakistan’s role in fomenting terrorism in the state, the folly of the President considering a Pakistan stopover, and up gradation of ties with India through trade and technology transfer. Possibly for the first time, the Indians went on the offensive on Kashmir, describing how a harmonious and pluralistic state had had its peace shredded by Pakistan-sponsored terrorism carried out by rabid and insular jehadists. Articulating this viewpoint was Kashmiri activist Jeevan Zutshi, while community activist Sunil Aghi said a stopover in Pakistan by the President at this juncture during an India trip would “hurt the sentiments of a billion people.” Others like Narpat Bhandari pressed for a greater US recognition of India’s geo-political aspirations, while his Silicon Valley colleague Kanwal Rekhi questioned the American soft spot for a nuclear and communist China at the expense of a more responsible and democratic India.