 Sambanthan, with the intention of creating a more cohesive and unified Indian community, organised the Perak United Indian Council in 1953, the same year he was elected Perak MIC chairman.However, the event that helped catapult Sambanthan to the forefront of MIC politics was a visit by Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, the younger sister of the then Indian prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.Sambanthan had befriended her when he was involved with the Indian National Congress while studying at Annamalai University.