[Global Times Report Reporter Bai Yunyi] Editor's Note: During this US election, there was a "coincidence" that was particularly eye-catching: Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, had an Indian background, and the Republican Party's vice presidential candidate, James Vance, is from an Indian immigrant family. Not only that, in the Republican presidential primary election, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy, who performed well, were both of Indian descent. More and more Indians are taking the "front desk" of American politics. What are the phenomena worthy of attention behind it, and what impact will it have on the domestic and foreign policies and political landscape of the United States?
The number of Indians serving as MPs is the largest among all Asians
"Vance's appointment as Trump's running mate marks the first opportunity for Usha Vance, an Indian-American and devout Hindu, to become the vice president's spouse.This also establishes a remarkable reality: based on the current situation, either the United States will have an Indian female president or an Indian second lady."This is the latest milestone in the rise of Indian-Americans as a political force in the past decade," The New York Times wrote in a report recently.
At the same time, more and more Indians are becoming senior civil servants and legislators in the United States. According to AAPI Data, an organization that focuses on Asian-American data, as of July this year, there were five Indians in the US Congress, in addition to 40 Indian-Americans serving as state legislators, which is the largest number of any Asian-American group in the United States. According to a report released two months ago by the Indian diaspora organization "Indiaspora", in 2023, more than 150 senior federal government positions in the United States were held by Indians, accounting for about 4.4% of the total number of senior federal government positions. In 2013, the number was only more than 60, accounting for only 1.7%.
Behind the bright presence of Indians in American politics is the rapid growth of this group in the United States in recent years. NBC reported that according to the 2020 US Census report, the number of people who identify as "pure Indian" has exceeded the number of people who identify as "pure Chinese". The Hindu reported that in 2023, the number of Indian Americans has exceeded 5 million.
The New York Times believes that the growth of the Indian-American community is related to the era in which the group immigrated to the United States, which has also made Indians the wealthier and more educated Asian group in the United States.In 1965, the United States promulgated a new immigration law to remove restrictions on immigration from Asia, Africa and other regions, and a large number of Indians began to immigrate to the United States. In recent years, the vigorous development of the U.S. technology industry has created a demand for software engineers and computer programmers in a large number of companies, which has in turn attracted many Indians with higher education backgrounds and increased the Indian population in the United States. Today, 60% of Indians in the United States immigrated to the United States after 2000.
"In some ways, Indians are now the most economically successful group in the United States, a far cry from the situation a century ago, when they were sparse, lived in poverty, and were at the bottom of American society." An article published in February this year by the American magazine "The Nation" said that today, Indian Americans are successful in many fields, such as Microsoft CEO Nadella, Google CEO Pichai, Nobel Prize winner Ramakrishnan (Indian-born British structural biologist with American citizenship-Editor's note), Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jupa Rahiri, famous singer Nora Jones, etc., are all of Indian descent.
Economic success also laid the foundation for Indians to enter politics.India's "Business Standard" quoted the latest report released by "Indiaspora" in August as saying thatIn recent years, Indian Americans have contributed $300 billion a year to the U.S. federal budget.Of the 648 unicorn startups in the United States, about 72 are led by Indian-American founders, accounting for 11% of unicorn companies in the United States, and these companies employ more than 55,000 people in the United States. In addition, Indian expatriates also own about 60% of hotels in the United States, which brings in $700 billion in hotel revenue and creates 4 million jobs.
In September last year, Nila Tanton, director of the U.S. Domestic Policy Council, said at an event that Indian Americans have achieved good results in the United States, especially during Biden's presidency. "When I first arrived in Washington, there were only a handful of Indian Americans in the Clinton administration," she said. Today, almost all government departments have Indian descent. For example, when we talk about artificial intelligence, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is managed by Indian-American Araati Prabaka."
"The differences in political opinions among Indians are related to their immigration history."
"Indian Americans rank among the top Asian group on almost all indicators related to political and civic participation." The New York Times said experts generally believe that this is because India is an English-speaking country and has a "strong democratic tradition."
"Indians are an awakening group that is realizing their power in the electoral field." NBC quoted Patel, executive director of the nonprofit organization Indian American Influence, as saying thatHarris' presence on the national stage as vice president has also encouraged more Indians to launch their own campaigns."I think it inspired a lot of South Asian volunteers and activists. Previously, although they had been involved in (politics), they never thought of running for election themselves."
Patel also added that winning a large number of Indian votes in the general election could have a significant impact on a candidate's victory.For example, in Arizona, the number of Indian Americans is more than Biden won over Trump in 2020, which further highlights the importance of votes in the Indian community.
A report published in the Seattle Times in July stated that Indians are one of the fastest-growing electoral groups in the United States. According to statistics, more than 2.1 million adults among Indians are eligible to vote, and in the past four years, 235,000 Indians have newly become citizens in the United States. In the 2020 general election, Indian voter turnout was 71%, the highest among Asian Americans and the same as non-Hispanic white voter turnout (71%), which was also the highest voter turnout by ethnicity in 2020. group.
What issues do Indian-American voters pay the most attention to? NBC reported that Indian-American voters, like many other Asian-Americans, are most concerned about inflation, immigration policy, climate change and other issues. "This reflects shared South Asian values," Patel believes. However, the report by Spectrum News, a US media outlet, argued that while some Indians do support, fund and participate in activities related to Indian politics, for most Indian-Americans, domestic affairs are more important. Singh, a scholar at the School of International Service at American University, said Indian-American political positions were influenced by issues such as reproductive freedom, anti-immigrant policies, the economic recession, hate crimes and more. "These issues ultimately determine their vote because it is their future," she explained.
According to The New York Times, Indians have had the highest turnout among Asian Americans in US Presidential Elections since 2008, and they have been a reliable source of votes for the Democratic Party because most Indians see the party as more inclusive of different faiths and races, and more supportive of the social security policies they value. Over the years, the Democratic Party has also invested heavily in trying to attract Asian-American voters, but in recent years, more and more Indians have begun to identify themselves as independent voters.
However, many media analysts believe that Indian Americans are increasingly showing a trend of diversification and even division in terms of beliefs, economic background and education level. Their attitude towards Hindu nationalism promoted by Indian Prime Minister Modi is also different.
The New York Times cited the political tendencies of Usha Vance's family as an example and wrote that Usha Vance's parents do not often express political opinions, but according to voter registration records, they are Democratic supporters. In 2017, her mother also signed an open letter with 2300 California professors urging Trump not to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. Usha Vance herself is also politically mysterious. Although her husband is a Republican vice presidential candidate, an online database containing voter registration records shows that Usha Vance had been registered as a Democratic voter until 2014.
The National magazine published an analysis arguing that the internal political differences among Indian Americans are related to their immigration history.Most of the first Indian immigrants to benefit from the U.S. open immigration policy during the Cold War were elites in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. They usually had a high-caste background, received good higher education, and were integrated into the United States. The middle class, often has a liberal leaning and "values individual success rather than collective struggle." However, as the Indian community in the United States continues to grow, the background of new Indian immigrants has become more complex, including low caste, different religious beliefs, and different political inclinations."In particular, some Indians who grew up in a Hindu nationalist context are more sympathetic to right-wing views, emphasizing the superiority of Hinduism and opposing multiculturalism."
"Ramaswamy represents the new characteristics of right-wing Indian-Americans," according to analysis by The Nation magazine. They sided with whites and tried to pull the Indian-American community in that direction. Prashad, a left-wing Indian researcher, argues that in the 1960s, there was a neoconservative trend among American Jews, which was reflected in both the Democratic and Republican parties. Now, similar things are happening among Indians.
Faced with the uncertainty of the US election, India is "the most calm"
What does the rise of Indians in American politics mean for U.S. -Indian relations? Some media analysts believe that although Indian Americans can play an important role in advocating the development of U.S. -Indian people-to-people relations and state-to-state relations, in general, the expansion of Indian Americans 'voice in American politics is not related to U.S. -Indian relations. Very direct.
The Washington Post wrote in an article titled "Why India's Enthusiasm for Harris Becomes Cold" in July that when Harris joined the Democratic presidential campaign in 2020, Indian media excitedly reported on her Indian ancestry. They visited Harris's grandfather's village and told Harris's love for a traditional Indian rice cake. But not long after, the situation changed. Observers in India gradually cooled down on Harris and became very uncertain about her strategic stance on India."Harris is not moving any mountains in the U.S.-India relationship."The report quoted an analyst as saying.
Qian Feng, a researcher at the National Institute of Strategic Studies at Tsinghua University and an expert on India, said in an interview with a reporter from the Global Times thatMost Indians who are active in American politics are second- or third-generation immigrants. Although they have some feelings for their ancestral country, India, their identity is generally American, and American interests are naturally put first. Second, having an affinity for India does not necessarily mean having a good impression of Modi's government.During the Biden administration, although U.S. -India relations continued to develop in the general direction, the Democratic government has always been critical of the Modi administration on issues such as religion and human rights of ethnic minorities.
Qian Feng told reporters that Indian Americans are relatively diverse in religious beliefs, including Hinduism, Sikh religion, and Muslims. For example, Republican Haley comes from a Sikh family and is often critical of Modi's Hindu nationalism. Coupled with the fact that ethnic minorities in the United States often need to appear more "mainstream" than white people to emphasize their loyalty to the United States, they sometimes take a stricter attitude towards their ancestral country.
However, Qian Feng believes that developing U.S. -India relations is a general trend and the consensus of the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States. India is an important part of Washington's "Indo-Pacific Strategy"."Therefore, compared with Japan, South Korea and Europe's concerns about the uncertainty of the U.S. election, India's current attitude is the most calm.""No matter which party comes to power, no matter how many Indians are in the U.S. government, the general trend of U.S.-India relations moving forward is certain, and it is also determined by the international environment," he argued.
"Overall, India finds itself at a geopolitical 'sweet spot' when tensions between China and the United States intensify and the United States is looking for friends in Asia." The Washington Post quoted Hash Wadhan Slingra, India's former ambassador to Washington, as saying that no matter who wins the election in November, India's position is solid. "For India, it is a win-win situation no matter what."