<p>India-born former top federal prosecutor in Manhattan Preet Bharara said he is very proud of his Indian heritage which made him more compassionate and tolerant towards other people.<br /><br />Bharara, who was fired by President Donald Trump as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York after he refused to quit, is now a distinguished scholar in residence at New York University’s School of Law where he continues working on issues like criminal and social justice, honest government, national security, and corporate accountability.<br /><br />"I am an American, I happen to be an Indian-American. I am very proud of my background, my roots and my heritage. I am a huge Springsteen fan...but I also listen to Bhangra music, which is a kind of Punjabi music," Bharara said during a conversation last week with New York University's School of Law Dean Trevor Morrison here.<br /><br />Asked about his heritage and background has shaped his personal and professional life, Bharara said he comes from a multi-cultural background and his children know about their "Indian heritage and also about being American".<br /><br />Bharara said people would ask him whether his being of Indian heritage and member of a minority group made him more compassionate and tolerant towards other people.<br /><br />"I say I suppose it does. But what has mattered more to how I think about things is not the fact that I am an Indian- American but that I am an immigrant," he said adding that he and his family are grateful to what America has given them.<br /><br />He recalled how his father came to the US with nothing but 40 years later his son became the chief federal law enforcement officer in the financial capital of world.<br /><br />"The first Indian-American US attorney appointed by the first African-American President. That is not a small thing in the minds of some people...So I began to appreciate that," he said. <br /></p>
<p>India-born former top federal prosecutor in Manhattan Preet Bharara said he is very proud of his Indian heritage which made him more compassionate and tolerant towards other people.<br /><br />Bharara, who was fired by President Donald Trump as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York after he refused to quit, is now a distinguished scholar in residence at New York University’s School of Law where he continues working on issues like criminal and social justice, honest government, national security, and corporate accountability.<br /><br />"I am an American, I happen to be an Indian-American. I am very proud of my background, my roots and my heritage. I am a huge Springsteen fan...but I also listen to Bhangra music, which is a kind of Punjabi music," Bharara said during a conversation last week with New York University's School of Law Dean Trevor Morrison here.<br /><br />Asked about his heritage and background has shaped his personal and professional life, Bharara said he comes from a multi-cultural background and his children know about their "Indian heritage and also about being American".<br /><br />Bharara said people would ask him whether his being of Indian heritage and member of a minority group made him more compassionate and tolerant towards other people.<br /><br />"I say I suppose it does. But what has mattered more to how I think about things is not the fact that I am an Indian- American but that I am an immigrant," he said adding that he and his family are grateful to what America has given them.<br /><br />He recalled how his father came to the US with nothing but 40 years later his son became the chief federal law enforcement officer in the financial capital of world.<br /><br />"The first Indian-American US attorney appointed by the first African-American President. That is not a small thing in the minds of some people...So I began to appreciate that," he said. <br /></p>