When Gunjan Bagla saw a limousine leaving an event in New Delhi in February, he began pushing through the crowd. Exhausted and jet-lagged after the 18-hour flight from Los Angeles, Bagla was determined to speak to the 26th U.S. Ambassador to India and former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti about opening a new India consulate in Southern California.
The Indian businessman had been advocating for opening a consulate for nearly two years, and speaking with Garcetti felt like an opportunity to advance his efforts.
“He has been the most vigorous ambassador imaginable in India,” Bagla said. “I’ve known the last eight or ten ambassadors and many of them just sit in Delhi and don’t do much, but Garcetti goes all over the country. He’s trying street food and he has adapted Indian habits.”
According to Migration Policy Institute, the biggest share of immigrants from India in the U.S. live in California and L.A. County is one of the state’s top five counties where they settled. A report published by USCDornrife this year said the county has one of the largest populations of South Asians in the U.S. — more than 150,000 residents with heritage from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.
Bagla launched a petition in 2013 urging Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to open an Indian Consulate in Southern California.
Proponents said the lack of a consulate impacted many thousands of Indians in Los Angeles and discouraged American businesses seeking to invest in India, apply for business visas or open Indian companies.
The petition, delivered in 2023 to Modi and Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, had more than 4,300 signatures. It received support from several influential businesses and organizations, including the American Jewish Committee, the World Affairs Council of Orange County and the World Trade Center of Los Angeles.
Bagla also reached out to the office of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass asking her to support the effort.
In September 2023, Bass sent a letter to Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu, an Indian diplomat in the U.S., noting that “a consulate will not only provide important services but become a key partner to expand our cooperation.”
In the following months, Bagla traveled to Palo Alto and Washington D.C. to meet with India’s Ambassador Sandhu.
In February, Bagla flew to New Delhi to speak face-to-face with Garcetti, who became the U.S. ambassador to India in March 2023. Garcetti’s nomination stalled over accusations that he ignored sexual assault and harassment allegations against his former top City Hall aide Rick Jacobs. Garcetti denied the accusations and . after a long delay, the Senate confirmed as the U.S. ambassador.
After sitting through a “boring all-day event” in New Delhi in February, Bagla saw Garcetti getting into a limousine, so he pushed his way through the crowd.
“I said: ‘Ambassador Garcetti, if you don’t do something, Miami will get that consulate!’” Bagla said. “I didn’t imagine what impact it would have on Garcetti. He got so animated.”
Garcetti promised Bagla he would talk to the right people about the consulate, according to Bagla. Garcetti did not respond to this newspaper’s request for an interview.
Garcetti has become a well-known diplomat in India and in May he returned to Los Angeles to speak at the annual Milken Institute Global Conference, where he said he aimed to be a bridge between the U.S. and India.
In June, Bagla learned that Mayor Bass would be hosting a press conference and promptly registered for the event. During the question-and-answer session, he asked Bass if she had an update about the consulate.
“She smiled and said: ‘Let me text Eric (Garcetti) tonight,’” Bagla recalled. “I don’t know if she did, but I was thrilled because I knew something was going to happen.”
President Joe Biden fist pumps Mayor Eric Garcetti as Biden arrives at LAX for a visit to Southern California on Wednesday, October 12, 2022. At the time, Garcetti was awaiting word if he would become the US ambassador to India. Also in the photo: Sen. Alex Padilla and his wife Angela Padilla, and Rep. Karen Bass. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Then on September 22, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his plans to open two new Indian consulates in the U.S., one in Boston and one in Los Angeles.
Two days later, the office of L.A. Mayor Karen Bass announced the opening of an Indian consulate in Los Angeles as the city prepares “to host the world in 2026 for the FIFA World Cup and 2028 for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
Bass said in the statement: “I have seen first-hand the critical work that our Consulates in Los Angeles do to support both the communities they represent, and to build bridges – economic, educational, and cultural – between our cities and our people.”
Richard Hirschhaut, director of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Los Angeles, said opening an Indian consulate “is a good move and smart diplomacy.”
“This is a moment of joy, exaltation and tremendous opportunity,” he said in a phone interview.
It’s unclear when the consulate will open its doors but Bagla is thrilled.
“A lot of things have to happen before the consulate opens, because they have to find a secured location for the consulate office,” he said. “Securing a location and finding the staff will take many months, but I hope it will open in the next year or two.”