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thePeorian.com
One transplant who has found
Peoria to be very welcoming is Sri
Vuppuluri, a native of India who
came here to work for Caterpillar
12
years ago and now consults
for the company. A leader of the
local Indo-American Society,
Vuppuluri said India natives
have always been welcomed in
Peoria as well as other parts of
the country.
A significant reason for that, he
added, is that India is a peaceful
country, its people are non-vio-
lent and friendly.
It’s people also are smart and
loyal, something a company like
Caterpillar looks for when it re-
cruits from around the world.
“
The IT (information technol-
ogy) revolution is really what
caused the mass influx of people
from India because we are very
good at IT. We bring a lot of brain
power in that field, which is why
companies and organizations
recruit us. Y2K caused a large
influx because companies needed
us to come here and help them
get over that hump. And we did,”
he said.
Whereas the presence of Indi-
ans had always been strongest
on the two coasts, it has steadily
moved inland as the information
technology has grown. “We are
now much more visible through-
out the country. People accept us
because we are not controversial,
we tend to stay away from poli-
tics and we are very professional
people. That is our culture,” Vup-
puluri said. “That is also why we
grow here.”
The numbers bear that out,
Weck said. “There is a sizable
number of Asians in Peoria and it
is because of Caterpillar and the
medical community here, as well.
Indians, Pakistanis, Philippinos,
Chinese, Taiwanese. But also, our
Hispanic population has doubled
in the last decade and it may be
more than that because the new
immigration laws will make our
Hispanic immigrants less worried
about being counted,” she said.
The Present
Continued on page 16
