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Indian-American Kash Patel has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), making history as the first Indian-American to lead the premier law enforcement agency. Patel, 44, was born in New York and belongs to the Patidar community, which has its roots in Bhadran village in Gujarat’s Anand district.
Ancestral Roots in Gujarat
According to members of his community, Patel’s family migrated from Bhadran to Uganda nearly 70 to 80 years ago. Leaders from the Patidar community confirmed that his close family members have all settled abroad, having sold their ancestral property in Bhadran upon their relocation to Africa.
The Chh Gam Patidar Mandal, an Anand-based organization that maintains a `vanshavali’ (family tree) of its members, has documented Patel’s lineage. Rajesh Patel, secretary of the organization and president of the Anand district BJP, stated, “In our records, we have names of Kash Patel’s father, Pramod Patel, along with his brothers and grandfather.”
Kash Patel: Family Migration from Africa to North America
Rajesh Patel further explained that while Kash Patel’s name has not yet been added to the family tree, the lineage of 18 generations of his family is recorded and preserved at the organization’s office. “As per our records, the family lived in the Moti Khadki area of Bhadran village before migrating to Uganda. They later sold their ancestral property and settled abroad, mainly in the USA,” he said.
Following the expulsion of Indians from Uganda by dictator Idi Amin in 1972, Patel’s family temporarily returned to India before seeking asylum in Western countries. “Many Indians expelled from Uganda came to India briefly before moving to the UK, US, or Canada. Kash Patel’s family also returned for a short period before relocating to Canada. Eventually, they moved to the United States, where Kash Patel was born in 1980,” Rajesh Patel added.
Kash Patel: Background and Professional Journey
Before being appointed as FBI Director, Patel served as Chief of Staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller. In this role, he led the Secretary’s executive team and provided counsel on all departmental operations, as detailed in his biography on the U.S. Department of Defense website.
Patel completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Richmond before obtaining a law degree from New York. He also holds a Certificate in International Law from University College London’s Faculty of Laws in the United Kingdom. Apart from his legal and governmental expertise, Patel is an avid ice hockey fan and has been playing the sport since the age of six.
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