Speaking at an occasion in July, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi dubbed his fellow colleagues within the Congress, who shared his Indian heritage, because the “Samosa Caucus” — a nomenclature that the Illinois congressman facetiously got here up with, after which mentioned “we may be small, but we’re spicy”. Indian-Americans make up near 1.5 per cent of the inhabitants of the United States, and Krishmanoorthi provides that Indian-Americans make up one per cent of the US Congress.
There is a sure ubiquity of the Indian-American diaspora, from the Dr Patels, to the Indian-American spelling bee champion and the Silicon Valley high-tech CEOs, assume Satya Nadella at Microsoft or Google’s Sundar Pichai and former MasterCard CEO, Ajay Banga, now in line to be US President Joe Biden’s nominee for the top job at the World Bank. Yet for all of the personal sector prowess, there was restricted, albeit rising, public sector traction.
Five Blues
Krishnamoorthi makes up one of many five-Indian Americans within the House of Representatives. The Illinois congressman is joined by Ami Bera, and Ro Khanna from California, Pramila Jayapal from Washington state, and, after all, the latest addition is Shri Thanedar from Michigan. All 5 democrats, and apparently, no congressman from the East Coast, given how Edison, New Jersey has usually been seen because the ‘Little India’ for the ubiquity of the desi diaspora, and none from New York State regardless of New York City epitomising a globalised workforce.
Five perhaps a small quantity, nevertheless it’s nonetheless the most important illustration of Indian-American members of the Congress. In 2013, Bera was solely the third Indian-American Congressman—the primary being , Dalip Singh Saund (from 1957 to 1963), and the second being Bobby Jindal, the 2016 presidential hopeful, identified for his stint as Governor of Louisiana.
Little shock that each one the Indian-American illustration within the House exist on the blue facet of the aisle, reflective of the overarching narrative of Indian-Americans historically being Democrats.
Oh So Red!
Jindal and together with Nikki Haley, the previous Governor of South Carolina after which US President Donald Trump’s envoy to the United Nations had been among the many first and to this point, solely Indian-American Governors, and but, oh so purple!
Bobby Jindal was born Piyush Jindal, and transformed to Christianity, adopting the identify Bobby, as he identified with Bobby Brady, one of many Bradys from the seminal film and sitcom, the Brady Bunch. Nikki Haley, who threw her identify within the hat for the 2024 Republican primaries, was born Nimarata Nikki Randhawa. Her Punjabi nickname was Nikki and her final identify was from her husband, Michael Haley. But once you’re born in Bamberg, South Carolina (Haley), and Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Jindal), within the early Nineteen Seventies, it’s a little bit shock that they each transformed to Christianity, wax lyrical in southern twangs, and as politically purple because the Bible Belt, all of which in consonance with the conservative South.
Both Jindal and Haley have eschewed their Indianness, with Jindal excoriating the hyphen of Indian-American, and preferring to be often called American. Meanwhile Haley, in her guide and now in her marketing campaign video has nostalgically spoken about her background, saying “I was the proud daughter of Indian immigrants. Not Black, not white, but different.”
Whitewash
There is a distinction now, and none greater than tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy who announced his bid for the top job on conservative discuss present host Tucker Carlson’s present. Unlike Haley and Jindal, Ramaswamy isn’t from the South and didn’t must mollycoddle to the conservative evangelical views with a John/Bob/Joe identify. He’s a wise, educated, eloquent millennial, and but extra Trumpian in his ‘America First’ views.
Ramaswamy has made his identify and fame on the nationwide circuit attacking ‘wokeism’, and what he calls the work of the progressive Left, acerbic in the direction of political correctness, and what he’s referred to as ‘covidism’ (attacking former Chief Medical Advisor to the US President Antony Fauci), ‘climatism’ (insinuating local weather activist Greta Thunberg) and ‘genderism’ (alluding to non-gender binaries), and has mentioned “we’ve celebrated our diversity so much that we forgot all the ways we’re really the same as Americans”. Ramaswamy calls this “a national identity crisis” and makes a name to GOP speaking factors in “faith, patriotism and family”.
Meritocracy is his signature transfer, stating explicitly that he desires to eliminate ‘affirmative action’, and permit extra high-skilled immigrants into the US, whereas excluding DACAs and Dreamers. Of course, Ramaswamy misses the forest for the bushes, if he had been to take a look at his personal privilege and that of his mum or dad’s caste of their capability emigrate, however that’s a loaded matter for an additional day.
Not All Are Blue
Ramaswamy sarcastically quotes Martin Luther King Jr, saying “we need to judge not on the colour of your skin, but content of your character”— Ramaswamy, whereas being essential of the progressives sounded progressive by quoting Dr King Jr. Speaking of progressive, he additionally cites the Latin credo showing on the Great Seal, ‘e pluribus unum’, that means from many, one. Not only a message for range, however one which former US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton espoused on their respective marketing campaign trails.
Still Ramaswamy’s thumping messages of US exceptionalism and decoupling from China could have many takers; in some methods it’s from the Ron DeSantis faculty of thought, a MAGA message delivered by a non-MAGA figurehead.
Haley and Ramaswamy could have totally different experiences and totally different campaigns, however there’s one concerted effort they’re making with out essentially saying it: ‘not all Indian-Americans vote Democrat’.
(Akshobh Giridharadas is a Washington DC-based public coverage skilled, and visiting fellow, Observer Research Foundation.)
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the writer’s personal. They don’t essentially replicate the views of DH.
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