How a beedi roller from Kerala became a district judge in Texas

It is the stuff of the American dream and Indian pride. A desi attorney in Texas has been appointed judge in a district court. But what’s more inspirational is Surendran K Pattel’s journey to the top.

Pattel was sworn in as the judge of the 240th Judicial District Court in Texas’ Fort Bend County on 1 January. He defeated Republican contender Edward Krenek in the election for the post on 8 November last year, according to a report in The Week magazine.

Born into poverty in Kerala, he has come a long long way.

The tough childhood days

Pattel grew up in Kerala’s Kasaragod, where his parents were daily wage workers. He had to take up odd jobs through school and college so that the family could make ends meet.

He worked as a labourer and also rolled beedis in a factory with his sister to earn some money. The situation was so grave that he dropped out of school in Class 10 and started working full-time. Yes, to roll beedis.

But in that year his “outlook on life” changed. He returned to school to continue his education and then joined college. His work as a beedi roller continued on the side.

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The law dream

Pattel started dreaming of becoming a lawyer but he did not know the way forward. He took up a political science course but had to miss classes because of work. His classmates helped him with the notes.

His dismal attendance annoyed his professors who thought he was lazy and decided that he should not be allowed to give the exam. “I did not want to reveal that I am a beedi roller and all, because I did not want them to feel sympathy for me. So, I pleaded with them to give me one chance and told them that if I do not score well, I will discontinue,” he told The Week.

Pattel believes that courts should be ‘as accessible and compassionate as they are fair and just’. Image courtesy: @surendran4judge/Twitter

Pattel topped the college and then joined a law university, borrowing money from his friends in the first year to fund his education. He knew he could not carry on like this and went to a businessman Uthupp for help. He took up a part-time housekeeping job while “Uthuppettan”, as Patel calls him, helped him with fees.

In 1995, Pattel received his law degree and began practising in Kerala’s Hosdurg a year on. His work earned him repute and after nearly a decade, he was working at the Supreme Court.

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America calling

In 2007, his wife, who was a nurse, got a job opportunity in a prominent American medical facility. They had a daughter and a second baby was on the way. The couple decided to move to Houston.

Pattel did not have a job then. As his wife worked the night shifts, he took care of the daughter. He took up a day job at a grocery store. But it wasn’t easy. “From being a successful lawyer in the Supreme Court of India to being a salesman… You can see the emotional issues involved in that transition. I went through a lot of emotional frustrations and a state of depression,” he recalled in the interview with The Week.

Today, he sees the good that came out of it. He moved to America only because of his wife. After working in the grocery store, he researched the possibility of practising law in the US. He needed to appear for a bar exam. He passed on the first attempt but his struggles did not end there. He applied for more than 100 jobs but did not get any calls for interviews.

However, Pattel was not the one to give up easily. He joined the University of Houston to study international law. He graduated in 2011 and took up contract work, handling cases related to family law, criminal defence, civil and commercial litigation, real estate and transactional matters.

The road to the top

It was a Texan attorney who suggested that Pattel should become a judge.

Pattel got American citizenship in 2017 and started getting involved in politics. His first attempt to become the district judge was in 2020 but he did not succeed. He wanted to run again in 2022 but was discouraged by many. Some felt it was his name that worked against him. “But I thought that America is a great democracy and that one’s country of origin or accent, culture or appearance should not be an issue to be elected here. So, I thought let people decide whether all these are issues in electing me,” he told The Week.

He was competing against a sitting judge in the Democratic Party primary. Hence, there was no support from the party. He launched a campaign and went on to become the Democratic nominee.

The US follows a two-party democratic system. Pattel was up against a Republican nominee in the main election. It was a tough fight, where the Indian-origin judge was attacked for his accent. But in the end, he came out as the winner.

His belief that courts should be “as accessible and compassionate as they are fair and just” is what America needs today.

With inputs from agencies

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