Diversifying the federal bench has been a goal and hallmark of the Obama administration. Despite the current political climate, President Obama has made significant inroads in making the judicial system reflect the communities it serves. Recognizing this progress, the time is now ripe for the president to nominate a South Asian Article III judge in California.

Federal courts today are more diverse than they have ever been. As of August, 47 percent of President Obama's nominees are women; 21 percent are African-American; 11 percent are Hispanic; and 7 percent are Asian. The president's record also includes a number of noteworthy "firsts": the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice (Sonia Sotomayor); the first openly gay male federal judge (J. Paul Oetken); and the first Asian-American Article III judge in the Northern District of California (Lucy Koh). Just three weeks ago, President Obama nominated current-U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Nguyen to be the first female Asian-American judge to sit on the federal appellate bench.

President Obama, however, has yet to nominate a single South Asian Article III judge. The only South Asian Article III judge — U.S. District Judge Amul Thapar of the Eastern District of Kentucky — was nominated by President George W. Bush in 2007. Local courts only recently appointed the two South Asians who currently sit as federal magistrate judges (Jay Gandhi of the Central District and Paul Grewal of the Northern District).

The absence of South Asian judicial nominations stands in stark contrast to the growth and contributions of the South Asian community, which has created jobs and significant value for the economy through entrepreneurship, innovation, leadership and social responsibility. There are more than 3 million South Asians living in the United States. South Asians have been the fastest growing Asian-American ethnic group in the country. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Indians in the U.S. grew 69 percent from 1,678,765 in 2000 to 2,843,391 in 2010. Indians are now the second-largest Asian population in the country. In California alone, there are more than 500,000 South Asians, many of whom reside in Alameda and Santa Clara counties. One need only drive around Silicon Valley and other locales to see the incredible impact South Asian immigrants have had in technology, business, medicine and other industries. South Asians in the Bay Area have also become more active in politics, running for elected office, raising money for local and national candidates, and securing positions in key government roles.