Who is Indian-origin Ro Khanna who sent stern message to Pakistan after Operation Sindoor

Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna has voiced support for India’s recent military action targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan, calling it a justified response to the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people dead, including one Nepali tourist.Speaking to CNN, Khanna said, “Innocent people were killed, India took a response that helped take out some of the terrorist networks.” The strikes, part of Operation Sindoor, hit nine terror-related sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.At the same time, Khanna cautioned against further escalation. “The most urgent thing is de-escalation… There should be no retaliation on either side. This should be the end of it,” he said.He strongly criticised Pakistan Army Chief Aseem Munir, labelling him a “dictator” who jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan and oversaw what Khanna described as a rigged election. He urged the United States to use its leverage, including IMF funding, to demand democratic reforms in Pakistan.Khanna also advised India not to take extreme retaliatory measures like cutting off water supplies to Pakistan, warning that it would breach the Shimla Accords. “You can’t deprive a population of water,” he added.Who is Ro Khanna?Rohit Khanna, commonly known as Ro Khanna, is an Indian-American politician and lawyer. He has been serving as the US Representative for California’s 17th congressional district since 2017. He is a member of the Democratic Party.Before entering Congress, Khanna served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the US Department of Commerce under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2011.Khanna was born in 1976 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Indian immigrant parents from a Punjabi Hindu family. His father is a chemical engineer and IIT graduate, while his mother was a schoolteacher. He graduated in economics from the University of Chicago and earned a law degree from Yale.His maternal grandfather, Amarnath Vidyalankar, was a freedom fighter who worked with Lala Lajpat Rai and spent two years in jail during India’s struggle for independence. Khanna has often spoken about the influence of both Mahatma Gandhi and the American civil rights movement on his values.