I agree with @mundanewarrior , a counselor is useless in India. If there are any questions you have about the application process, you could either ask here on CC or email universities about your doubt.
Your class 11% is pretty low and if you have an explanation for that, you could mention that in the supplement portion of the application. If there isn’t any explanation really, just leave it - you can’t do anything about it. (On that note, UIUC does not require class 11 marks). How much do you expect in class 12?
I wouldn’t recommend completely neglecting JEE, unless you are very certain you want to go to the US (which I’m not sure you are seeing your concerns).
Yea, ECs relate more to your major would be better - it really helps since it shows your interest in the subject and especially since you’re applying to top universities. Leadership positions are good too. Volunteer work/community work is also a good idea since it is a reflection of your personality.
A novel may or may not make an impact - it varies. Unlike mundanewarrior, I don’t think it makes much of a difference whether it sells a lot of copies or not though.
Universities do try to maintain cultural diversity, but keep in mind that hey have a large pool of competitive international applicants to choose from. Unfortunately, there has been a lot of recent racism towards muslims from other countries too, not just people from arab countries. It’s hard to judge the situation, I’m not sure if it’ll be a boon.
With a little bit of time management, you can almost definitely be able to carry out everything you’ve planned. I would love to help you out with your timeline.
CalTech and Harvard are already really hard to get into. Safeties you could choose are Purdue, UC Davis, Penn State (these are more between match and safeties).