On October 7, Democratic Party’s Kamala Harris will be participating in the Vice- Presidential debate against her opponent, the incumbent and Republican candidate, Mike Pence. This is the highest position that a person of Indian origin has so far aspired to in the United States.
The visible presence of Indian Americans has changed dramatically over the past two decades. Their number, according to US Census data, is now estimated to be around 4.1 million, rising to 4.5 million if mixed heritage is also included. This is a two-fold rise since 2000. This year 1.8 million are eligible to vote.
Till 2016, there were a total of three Indian Americans ever elected to the US Congress. Since then, there have been five simultaneously, through two election cycles, and the number could increase this November.
More than 100,000 Indian-origin doctors look after one out of seven patients. Around 40 percent of hotel rooms are owned and managed by Indian Americans, generating more than $10 billion of revenue, and contributing significantly to taxes and social security. CEOs of leading companies, including Microsoft, Google, Adobe, IBM, Mastercard, Pepsi, etc. are or have been of Indian origin.
Reports also suggest that there are six billionaires, achieving this status through innovation and enterprise. One-third of startups by foreign-origin persons in Silicon Valley are by Indian-origin entrepreneurs. Indian Americans are now the highest median income ethnic group, and the highest in terms of educational attainment.
The first-generation migrants from India normally focus on getting themselves economically and socially moored, and only recently have begun to get more active politically through campaign contributions, and advocacy on policy issues. The second-, US-born generation feels itself as more rooted in the US, and is actively involved in campaign teams, engagement in policy debates, and fund-raising.
The first sign of this shift came in the Obama presidency, starting 2009, when many more persons of Indian heritage found positions in the administration, and in staff positions in US Congress. Raj Shah as USAID administrator was the highest-level appointee, a sub-Cabinet position. The trend continued under Trump, with Nikki Haley in a Cabinet position as US Permanent Representative to UN, and Seema Verma as the senior official on healthcare issues.
Beyond active engagement in US policy debates, the second generation also goes beyond nation-of-origin identity, to identify with South Asia- or Asia-based groups for electoral fund raising, or professional community such as journalists or lawyers, feeling that these added numbers give them greater salience.
The Donald Trump and Joe Biden campaigns have both made determined efforts to reach out to the Indian American voter. President Trump had joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a 50,000 strong rally in Houston in September last year, and addressed a 100,000-strong crowd in Ahmedabad in February. His campaign has released a video highlighting these events and his friendship with Modi.
The Biden team released special messages from both Biden and Harris on India’s Independence Day, and a special message to the Indian American community. As a minority group in the US, Indian Americans tend Democratic, which espouses pluralism and inclusion. More than 80 percent voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. According to latest sample data, however, support for Biden is at 66 percent, and for Trump around 28 percent, reflecting an enhanced support from the community.
The Indian American vote now, no doubt, matters, since the community has a potential swing presence in some of the battleground states.
This does not mean, however, that the Indian government’s policies will receive unqualified support through community advocacy. Harris and Representative Pramila Jayapal have been critical of the Indian government on Kashmir, the Citizenship Amendment Act, the National Register of Citizens, etc. Earlier, including before 2014, sections of the community, Sikhs, Muslims, Dalits, Christians, on occasion, made submissions to US Congress on one or more aspects of the Indian government’s actions or policies.
On emigration to the US, there is search for cultural rootedness and connect. People normally tend to their regional, linguistic or religious groups for such connectedness, which becomes their primary new cultural identity, despite an overall sense of the Indian heritage. The trend appears to be exacerbated this year with formation of Hindu Americans, Muslim Americans, Sikh Americans for Biden and Trump separately. It is only occasionally that the community comes together for a focused over-arching effort, as for the US India Civil Nuclear Cooperation agreement over 2005-08. India, unlike Israel, is not seen as facing an existential challenge, so an overall unifying theme is absent.
The enhanced numbers, role and influence of the community in the US will be both a challenge and an opportunity. Policy-makers and elected representatives will be more mindful of Indian concerns, and supportive of advancing India-US relations. However, the community advocacy will also be a reflection of India’s diversity. The second generation and beyond will also be defining an identity different from the first.
Arun K Singh is former Indian Ambassador to the United States. Views are personal.
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