Tag: Kamala Harris

Can Kamala Harris Turn Euphoria Into Votes?

Can Kamala Harris Turn Euphoria Into Votes?

By Sanjoy Narayan

To see how sharply politics has polarised America, you only need to compare the highlights of the national conventions by each of the nation’s two political parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Unlike in many other countries, these two parties have dominated US politics since the mid-1880s. At their national conventions, held recently, each party officially confirmed its nominees who are contesting this Presidential election. On the Democratic ticket, it is Kamala Harris, the sitting US vice-president, and on the Republican ticket, it is former President Donald Trump. 

The main purpose of the conventions, held every four years (which is the term of a US President), is to officially nominate a candidate but the larger effect that these usually splashy, multi-day affairs have is the demonstration of strength, power, and the popularity that the optics of these events provide. The Republican convention was held in July at Milwaukee in the middle-American state of Wisconsin; the Democratic convention was held last week in Chicago.

The contrast between the two couldn’t be starker.

To Indian voters, the US’ two-party system as well as the way the US elects its President (it is determined by a popular vote as well as an electoral college) can seem counter-intuitive. After all, India has six national political parties, 57 regional state parties, and 2,764 unrecognised but registered political parties. All registered parties contesting elections need to choose a symbol from a list of available symbols offered by India’s election commission. Americans would likely have as much trouble wrapping their heads around that system as Indians have to do so with theirs!

Yet, in some ways, the US two-party system can make it easier to discern the growing divisiveness and political polarisation in the US. To get a sense of that, the events, speeches, and, importantly, the mood at each of the conventions can be good indicators.

Jubilation and Accusations

At the four-day Democratic national convention, the mood was palpably upbeat. That is significant because till recently, the mood among Democrats was markedly low. Earlier this year, when the campaigning by both sides began, the Democratic candidate was sitting President Joe Biden and his Republican opponent was Trump. Most polls then showed Trump leading Biden, albeit by a small margin. 

Things changed on July 21 when Biden decided to drop out of the race and endorsed vice-president Harris instead. Since then Harris, a woman with Indian and Jamaican ancestry, has clawed back in the approval ratings and now enjoys a small lead over Trump. 

At her party’s convention, attended by 7000 delegates and telecast to millions nationally, a spirit of overwhelming euphoria prevailed. Speeches endorsing Harris were made by Biden, and two former Presidents, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, as well as a star-studded list of politicians and celebrities. Many who attended or watched found the speakers to be articulate, powerful, and inspiring. Harris’ own speech, as well as that of her running mate, Tim Walz, talked of hope and change and a more just and egalitarian future that would enhance the lives of all men and women without discrimination.

Showbiz and Hollywood has usually backed the Democratic Party and, at the event, personalities such as talk show host Oprah Winfrey spoke, and singers such as Stevie Wonder, John Legend, and Pink performed. There was a strong emphasis on race and gender equality, especially by former first lady Michelle Obama, and several other black and women speakers.

In contrast, at the earlier held Republican convention, which was equally well-attended, it was more form than substance. Trump and his running mate delivered speeches that often seemed like rants and personal attacks. Guest speakers were mainly white and included Hulk Hogan, a retired professional wrestler who indulged in raucous histrionics that included tearing off his shirt to reveal a Trump tank top that he was wearing underneath, and singer Kid Rock who has publicly affirmed his support for Trump and his policies.

At the Republican convention, which was held while Biden was still the nominee for Democrats, the focus was on inflation, immigration, and America’s role in ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. The general line was that the Biden administration had failed to check what, according to Trump, in the influx of millions of illegal immigrants who are mostly criminals and stealers of American jobs; that it had allowed inflation to soar; and that it was spending billions of dollars on international crises that the US should keep out of. In other words, garden variety xenophobia and nationalist populism. 

Mainstream Media Bias

To outside observers who glean their information from the US mainstream media to form their impressions and opinions, it could seem as if the US is heading for a Harris regime and that hope, optimism, and joy (an emotion that is associated with Harris’ bubbly personality) will prevail.

Conditioned by a predominantly pro-Democratic (and more particularly, anti-Trump) mainstream media, many Americans appear to believe that too. They think voters will choose Harris’ promises of delivering a government that treats all Americans equally and looks at issues such as abortion laws and women’s rights from a liberal point of view. And that they will reject Trump’s promises of deporting millions of immigrants, slashing taxes, and levying big tariffs on imports from countries such as China. 

The problem is that this is a view conditioned by the kind of coverage that the election campaign is getting from traditional media. In the US, most leading media outlets, newspapers as well as TV channels, are pro-Democrat. In a two-party system, this sort of a bias can have adverse consequences. First, it can constrain objective reportage or analysis. But more importantly, it can provide an inaccurate picture where readers and viewers find themselves in a silo where contrarian views, opinions and perceptions are largely missing. Thirdly, it can create a bubble with the perceptions of the people who are within it quite at odds with the actual reality. 

It’s a folly that is not new. In the run-up to the 2016 election, the discourse in US mainstream media had largely dismissed the possibility of a Trump victory. Yet, he defeated the Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton and became the 45th President. 

Observers often form their impression about America from what is happening in the big cities of the east and the west coast: the political buzz and the people’s pulse in cosmopolitan cities such as New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles and other major urban centres. Yet, what happens between the coasts in what is sometimes referred to as Middle America goes unobserved. Trumpmania is most prevalent there. 

Then again there are questions of values. America has come a long way from an age where racial discrimination or gender bias was widespread but has it traversed enough ground? Many wouldn’t be so sure. In some of his speeches, ostensibly trying to woo the Black American voters, Trump has referred to how illegal immigrants are stealing “Black jobs”. 

That statement itself can be seen to reek of racism. In her speech at the Democratic convention, Michelle Obama pointedly referred to it when she asked: “Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those ‘Black jobs?’”

Yet, among Trump’s traditional supporters as well as among some of his new supporters, including Black working class voters unhappy with the establishment, “Black jobs” can resonate, particularly when immigration is widely seen as a big problem affecting their lives.

Likewise, among many American voters, the idea of having a woman from an ethnic minority community as President could still be too radical despite the fact that 51-53% of registered voters are women.

Traditionally, national conventions are believed to have little impact on how the average American votes. Typically, they are congregations of the loyal. The real grind begins after the conventions are over when both sides have to drive their campaigns to get popular votes as well as that of the electoral college. How things go in some swing states also determine who could eventually win. This year, a handful of America’s 50 states, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan and North Carolina, will be the decisive states where the contest is likely to be close.

Last weekend, the average of several polls showed Harris leading with 48.4% support of those surveyed, while Trump trailed with 45.3%. That is still quite close. With around 70 days left for the election on November 5, things could indeed change but what is most likely is a contest that will eventually go down to the wire.

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A Guide to the US Elections

A Foreigner’s (Bizarre) Guide to the US Elections

By Sanjoy Narayan

To a foreign observer with little or no skin in the game, the events that are unfolding during the countdown to the US presidential elections can seem absurd, surreal, or apocalyptic, depending on an individual’s sensitivities and perception. Those responses mainly have to do with the dramatis personae in the upcoming fray. Rarely has a political event of such significance–for the US as well as the world–have had politicians of the kind of calibre demonstrated by Donald Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance (the Republican nominees for President and Vice-President) and Kamala Harris and Tim Walz (the Democratic nominees).

Let’s take Trump first, mainly because he is a more known entity than the others and he was the 45th President of the US who served from 2017 to 2021. A real estate agent and reality TV celebrity, Trump’s tenure was marked by controversy and his presidency was sharply polarising.

Yet, he achieved much. He cut taxes for corporations and individuals; he reformed the US criminal justice system, including prisons and sentencing laws; he brokered normalisation agreements between Israel and several Arab states; and he presided over low unemployment rates, low inflation, and pre-pandemic stock market gains.

These were sullied by the negatives, though. Trump faced criticism for downplaying the pandemic’s severity and mixed messaging on public health measures; his measures to counter immigration, such as the travel ban and family separation policy at the southern border, significantly reduced both legal and illegal immigration but critics said it was unnecessarily harsh and damaged America’s image as a welcoming nation.

On other issues such as climate change, Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement and rolled back environmental regulations. The US’ foreign relationships with traditional allies and international organisations such as NATO got strained as Trump’s policies were more domestic-focused.

Trump was also the first president to be impeached twice by the House of Representatives, and he was criticised for his role in the events leading up to the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021, the day Congress was set to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. Trump, who was the President then, had been claiming, without evidence, that the election was “stolen” due to widespread fraud, and he held a rally near the White House where he encouraged supporters to march to the Capitol.

As Trump campaigns for the presidency, he faces several court cases, including charges of making hush money payments to an adult film actress; for retaining classified documents at his residence; for interfering in the 2020 elections; and for inciting the Capitol riots.

If that sort of a track record and baggage of legal problems makes Trump look like a particularly bad actor in the dramatis personae in the presidential election fray, let’s take a look at Harris.

Surprisingly, Trump, actually, might look better in comparison to his main rival, Vice-President Harris, the presidential candidate for the Democrats

Harris, who is expected to be confirmed as candidate at her party’s national convention in Chicago (August 19-22), is a late entrant to the race. She was endorsed by incumbent President Joe Biden on July 21 after he withdrew from the race. Biden, 81, was showing distinct signs of cognitive disabilities, most likely related to his advanced age, and his late-stage withdrawal from the contest was prompted by his party’s leaders. The spectacle of his pathetic performance at a televised debate with Trump was the final blow to his ambition of winning a second term.

Harris has a few things going for her. She will be 60 in October and, therefore, is much younger than Trump, who is 78 and, although visibly less infirm than Biden, he shows definite signs that betray age-related debilities. Being a woman of mixed ethnicity (she is of half-Indian and half-Jamaican ancestry), Harris enjoys a cachet of support from some voter groups, particularly Black women.

A lawyer who has been a former California attorney general, and a senator from that state, Harris, who was picked by Biden as his running mate in 2020, also has liberal credentials and is known for her progressive political stances. She is pro-abortion, and an upholder of women’s rights and gender equality; also, she is a big votary of civil rights and equality for all.

However, Harris is an unproven entity. A US Vice-President’s role is of little consequence. Of course, the VP is first in line of succession to the presidency and in the Senate, the upper house of Congress, has the power to cast a tie-breaking vote. Yet, while the President might delegate some responsibilities to his VP, in effect, the role is more symbolic than of consequence.

In public meetings since she was endorsed by Biden, Harris’ speeches and statements seem to be more form than substance. In contrast to Trump who, at rallies, bangs on about how America is doomed on a path to destruction and only he can save the country, Harris is bubbly and effusive with an infectious laughter and a folksy, “I’m one of you” spirit.

American mainstream media is notoriously biased and anti-Trump. In fact, in a practice that might seem quite strange in other countries, leading newspapers and magazines openly endorse a candidate before the elections. For example, since it was founded in 1851, the New York Times has endorsed a candidate for President of the US in every election held during its history. In 2012, it endorsed Barack Obama who won, in 2016, it endorsed Hillary Clinton who lost; in 2020, it endorsed Joe Biden who won; and in 2024, once Harris is officially nominated, it will likely endorse her.

It is not surprising, therefore, that America’s media are exulting over Harris. When Biden showed signs of debility (even before the disastrous debate), few in the media called him out for that. Now, even when Harris backtracks on the views she held in the past, it rarely raises an eyebrow. A green energy champion, Harris has for long been against fracking to extract oil and gas. Recently, however, after Trump pledged that as President he was all for oil drilling to boost the economy, she backtracked on her stance and said she wouldn’t ban fracking. When Trump announced at his rallies that he would abolish tax on tips, a major source of income in the low-salary service industry, Harris soon picked up the cue and began saying the same thing. The media didn’t blink an eye.

Recently, when a well-known media personality, Alex Wagner, who hosts her own show on the MSNBC network, appeared on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, a popular late night talk fixture, and was asked about Harris’ main strength, she said it was the “joy” that Harris embraced. Others in the media have counted among Harris’ strengths her loud and infectious laughter and her ability to dance well! Few have pointed out that her speeches are largely absent of any references to economic or foreign policy. 

Her past stance on subjects such as immigration (she supports a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and opposes aggressive deportation policies), gun control (she wants tougher laws), and taxation (she wants progressive taxation) are totally at odds with what Trump promises–he wants to deport illegal aliens; favours existing gun laws; and promises to cut taxes.

In fact, Harris and her running mate Walz, a former football coach, appear, at least to an outsiders such as a foreigner, as homebodies more suited to smalltime local politics, as in a city’s mayoral contest, rather than in a race for the presidency of the world’s most powerful nation whose head of state is a position that affects not only the US but the entire globe.

That is why to many the race for America’s presidency could seem bizarrely surreal. There is Trump who is acutely divisive and stands for an America that wants to look inwards, deport millions of immigrants, and pursue a policy that pays little heed to issues such as climate change. On the other side, there is Harris whose lack of experience and down-home jokiness is almost akin to naivete.

There are less than 80 days remaining before the elections and the process is not a simple one. There are two components to the US Presidential elections. First, there is the popular vote.

This is the total number of votes cast by individual citizens across the country. Second, there is the electoral college. Each of the USA’s 50 states has a number of electors based on its population. In most states, the candidate who wins the popular vote in that state receives all of its electoral votes. 

To win the presidency, a candidate needs to secure a majority of electoral votes (at least 270 out of 538), not necessarily the national popular vote. This means it’s possible to win the presidency while losing the national popular vote. In 2020, Biden won the election with 306 electoral votes and 51.3% of the national popular vote, compared to Trump’s 232 electoral votes and 46.9% of the popular vote. But, in 2016 Trump won with 304 of the 538 electoral votes, although the Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, won the popular vote by a margin of 2.1%.

In the latest polls, Harris is leading Trump by a couple of percentage points–this is significant because when Biden was still in the race, he trailed Trump in the polls. Yet, as everywhere in the world, the US elections can be dashedly difficult things to predict. No one knows what will eventually happen in November. One thing, though: For those looking at the race from outside, it’s like an American sitcom on Netflix, probably with a much darker touch of comedy.

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Indians Are Going Crazy Over Kamala Harris

Why Indians Are Going Crazy Over Kamala Harris

By Sanjoy Narayan

The day after US President Joe Biden withdrew from the race to contest for a second term and endorsed his Vice-President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s candidate in the coming elections in November, in Thulasendrapuram, a tiny village In Tamil Nadu around 300 km away from Chennai, community prayers began, with the head priest at the village temple paying homage to Dharmasastha, also known as LoTrd Ayyappan, the Hindu deity of truth and righteousness. The prayers, expected to to continue till election day, November 5, are being organised to wish Harris success in the elections.

Thulasendrapuram, which even many Indians will likely have difficulty in pronouncing correctly, leave alone finding on a map, is roughly 14,000 km from Washington D.C. Yet, it is the village from where Harris’ ancestors–at least one half of them–originate. Harris, 59, is half Indian. Her late mother Shyamala, a biologist, migrated to the US in her teens and her family originally is from that tiny village (population: around 350). 

Harris’ other half is Jamaican. Her father, Donald, an economist, migrated to the US in 1961. Although Harris was raised by her mother after her parents divorced, she identifies more with the African-American community than with Indians. 

Harris has occasionally visited India with her mother but her links to Thulasendrapuram are remote. That hasn’t stopped villagers there from swelling with pride. Who becomes the President of the US is certainly not going to affect their fortunes but the village is already festooned with huge posters and banners of Harris’s image and congratulatory messages in Tamil.

The spirit of celebration has spread across India, especially in the media as well as among citizens who see the possibility of an Indian origin person in the White House as a win. The phenomenon is not an isolated one. Every time a person of Indian origin–no matter how removed in reality he or she is from the country or how inconsequential their links with India might be–Indians appear to get excited and proud.

When Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 2022, there was similar jubilation. In Sunak’s case, it was heightened by the fact that he is married to the daughter of one of India’s leading infotech tycoons, N.R. Narayana Murthy, the billionaire founder of Infosys. Sunak demitted office this year after his Conservative Party lost in the elections but media interest in him and his popularity among Indians continues.

Back in 2015, when Bobby Jindal, a son of Indian immigrants from Punjab, and former Governor of Louisiana, became a candidate for the presidency of the US, there was similar hype around him in Indian media, although Jindal, a Republican known for his conservatism, never really highlighted his origins nor any affinity for the country. More recently, when Nikki Haley (birth name: Nimarata), a daughter of Sikh immigrants, made an eventually unsuccessful bid for becoming the Republican candidate for the upcoming elections, interest in her campaign spiked in India.

Even if political leaders of Indian origins have little to do with their country of origin or ethnicity, Indians tend to get excited, sometimes irrationally. Such as in the case of Vivek Ramaswamy, a rich young technocrat and Republican who, like Haley, ran for candidacy of his party before Donald Trump was chosen as its candidate. Although the son of Indian immigrants, Ramswamy is a hardliner when it comes to immigration and is a vocal proponent of mass deportation and tighter rules for anyone, including Indians, who want to migrate to the US. Yet, when it was speculated that he could have a chance at winning the candidacy, the interest in his campaign was disproportionately high in India.

Why is it that Indians get so upbeat when anyone with ethnic roots to their country is seen to be successful in the politics of another country, particularly in the West?

Cultural Pride and Visibility

The excitement is part of a broader pattern in India, where achievements of people of Indian origin in other countries are often celebrated as a point of national and cultural pride. There are several reasons why they feel excited and proud when global leaders of Indian origin rise to prominent positions, even if those leaders don’t actively emphasise their Indian heritage.

For one, it’s a source of national and cultural pride to see someone with shared roots achieving success on a global stage. It is to many a validation of Indian potential and capabilities. It also provides a sense of representation and visibility for Indians in global affairs, which can be inspiring, especially for younger generations. 

For many decades, India’s place on the global scene was not prominent. There were few Indian success stories, particularly in global politics. That has changed. India’s importance in geopolitics has grown; there is a high visibility that Prime Minister Narendra Modi enjoys in the world; and India is strategically more important in geopolitics, particularly for the US-led Western bloc.

In that context, success stories of Indian-origin political leaders in the West, who are considered as part of the Indian diaspora, can further burnish the country’s image. Such stories can also serve as motivation for Indians, showing that people with similar backgrounds can reach the highest levels of leadership in developed nations. Many Indians have family members or friends who have emigrated, so there’s often a sense of connection to the diaspora’s achievements. In the US, with a population of more than 4.9 million, Indian Americans make up approximately 1.35% of the country’s population and the biggest South Asian community.

Busting Stereotypes and Perceptions

Some Indians may also feel that having leaders of Indian origin in powerful positions could potentially benefit India indirectly through more favorable policies or increased cultural understanding, although there has been little evidence of such correlation between leaders and policies. 

Yet, these success stories can help challenge the stereotypes about Indians and South Asians. An Indian origin candidate in the US Presidential elections is likely to influence the perception of Indians in general and change existing narratives about the country and its citizens. 

Moreover, even if people of second and third-generation Indian origin do not actively promote their Indian heritage, many still relate to the challenges that their parents or even grandparents might have faced as immigrants. Kamala Harris rarely invokes her Indian heritage but her mother’s struggles and achievements in an alien land where she came as a teenager in the 1950s does influence her enough to talk about what she learnt while growing up. 

Why Indians Do Well in the West

Not everyone is over the top about the success of people such as Harris or Sunak. Some Indians are critical of this fandom. They argue that it reflects a colonised mentality, which tends to internalise ethnic, linguistic, or a cultural inferiority complex. India has suffered colonialism under the British for more than 200 years and that has had the effect on many into believing that the language and culture of the West are superior to one’s own. So if someone of Indian origin is seen to succeed in Western society, it is celebrated as a win even if such leaders themselves distance themselves from their own Indian heritage–for example, even though Nimarata became Nikki, or Piyush is known as Bobby. 

Yet, there are reasons why Indians, rather than other South Asians seem to be more successful in Western societies. For one, India has the world’s largest population and, therefore, sizably more immigrants who settle abroad, notably to the West. Second, India’s history as a British colony has left a linguistic legacy: widespread usage of English, which is an advantage in the English-speaking world.

Unlike China, India’s long-standing system of democracy makes it easier for Indian immigrants to adapt to and participate in political systems in other democracies such as the US. There is also a strong stress on higher education in many Indian families, often in fields valued in global leadership roles, such as law, business, and technology. 

Rise of Indian Global CEOs

The rise of Indians has been a bigger phenomenon in the global business scene than it has in western politics. According to one estimate, more than 35 global billion-dollar corporations have Indian origin CEOs. The trend has been a notable phenomenon. Consider, for instance, just a few of them: at Microsoft, Satya Nadella is the CEO; at Google/Alphabet, it is Sundar Pichai; at Adobe, it is Shantanu Narayen; at IBM, it is Arvind Krishna; at Chanel, it is Leena Nair; and at Starbucks, it is Laxman Narasimhan. The list, which is longer, is impressive.

It highlights the stress on education. Many Indian families prioritise higher education, often in fields like engineering, computer science, and business. It also demonstrates that many Indian professionals are able to adapt to different work cultures and have a strong work ethic, and showcases the leadership skills that Indians are able to inculcate.

The growing list of Indian origin executives is a matter of pride for many Indians. However, it is also a fact that many of these executives made it big because they chose to leave India. India has very few global corporations that dominate the world’s markets on the scale and extent to which the companies headed by some of these Indian CEOs do. An Indian Google, or an Indian Microsoft simply doesn’t exist. India’s infotech companies, including the one that Sunak’s father-in-law started, is, basically, an outfit that offers cheap offshore services and not high value-added infotech products. 

This has given rise to the perception that talented Indians do really well when they choose to leave their country and move to the West. That probably shouldn’t fire up the pride among the millions of those who live in India as much as it does.

Back in Thulasendrapuram, though, the festivities and prayers are believed to be continuing. Yet, even as many villagers are feeling proud about their connection to such a prominent global figure, it is worth noting that Harris has never visited their village and likely never will.

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The Rise Of Indian Americans

By Mahendra Ved

Christopher Columbus who failed to reach India, but discovered America instead, would be happy if he were to visit the United States today. He would find Indians, if not India, in every walk of American life. And he would learn that its Vice President Kamala Devi Harris was born of a woman from Chennai that he never visited and a man from Jamaica, barely 800 km from the Bahamas where he had first landed.

At one percent of the population, Indians certainly do not overwhelm the US. But history dictates that the US Census Bureau call them “Asian Indian” to differentiate from the indigenous peoples, commonly called “American Indians”, the ones Columbus had encountered.

At 4,459,999 (Indian Ministry of External Affairs’ 2018 figures), they are the largest Indian diaspora. Their “Westward-ho”, began in the 1890s, trickled into the last century, but really picked up in its second half. The graph has risen since.

Indian Americans are a ‘success’ story for both India and America. They are America’s “modern minority” that also earned notoriety, being targeted during recent presidential campaigns for being ‘snatcher’ of jobs meant for the locals. Actually, they have been job-givers.

Moving gradually from education to employment to enterprise and now, into public life, they are among America’s most educated and prosperous. Learning or having witnessed democracy at work in independent India, the community confidently talks of sending its elected representatives from City Halls across the US to the White House. The trend caught on with governors (Bobby Piyush Jindal, Namrata Niki Randhawa Haley), several lawmakers and now, Kamala has lit the fire.

The buzz begun when Harris became Joe Biden’s running mate in 2019, has since become a popular political lore: an ageing Biden, not seeking re-election, may anoint her instead for the presidency-2024.

It is tempting to speculate outcome of the 2019 election had Biden-Harris “dream team” clashed with rival “dream team” of Donald Trump and Haley. Also whether Haley’s Sikh-Indian-Christian combination would have matched Harris’ Asian-African, Indian-Caribbean, and a Jewish husband’s ethnic credentials. Although Trump is not about to give up the next fight, a future ‘dream’ line-up could be Harris versus Haley. Only time can tell.

Of immediate interest is the growing confidence of this diverse community that traditionally extends bipartisan support to both the Republicans and the Democrats, and is in turn wooed by them. And all this is occurring amidst burgeoning of India-US relations for over two decades now, no matter which party is governing in the two democracies.

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Millions of words spoken and published over this multi-layered phenomenon has the world taking note, approvingly by some, gingerly by others. It has been discussed in a book appropriately titled Kamala Harris and the Rise of Indian Americans (Wisdom Tree). It differs from others being a combined effort of Indian Americans and Indians, for them and by them. Edited by media veteran Tarun Basu who has observed the Indo-US and Indian American scene for long years, it is the first such book published in India.

Their combined target is ambitious. San Francisco-based IT entrepreneur M R Rangaswami sees the book as the medium to transform the success of the Indian diaspora as a whole “into meaningful impact worldwide.” He would like the Diasporas elsewhere to replicate his own journey, calling it “a roller-coaster ride of big wins, heart-breaking losses and exciting comebacks.”

Of the IT sector alone, he says, having founded one out of seven, and running one out of 12 start-ups in California’s Silicon Valley, Indians have actually engineered the predominant position the Valley enjoys globally.  

The Indian Americans’ collective effort stands out with their forming large profession-based bodies. The doctors’ for instance, represents a whopping 100,000, so is the hospitality sector – “hotels, motels and Patels”. Facilitating it is the Global Organisation of the People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), the earliest of the community mobilizers with global following.

The book notes how Indians have adapted to the multi-faith and multi-cultural American mores. US-based journalist Aziz Haniffa writes that Haley’s conversion to Christianity while retaining her Sikh roots or Jindal’s conversion did not prevent the community from adopting them. If they took a while accepting Harris it was because, one: she initially projected her African roots, as a black, while not really giving up the Indian one. And two: the general Indian aversion to Africans, “a kind of reverse racism,” as brought out by Mira Nair in Mississippi Masala (1991). Hardly surprising considering the average Indian’s “fair and lovely’ preference.

Basu records Harris’ little-known private journey to Chennai to immerse the ashes of her mother in the Bay of Bengal, where Ganga, the river held sacred by the Hindus, merges. Haniffa, after interviewing Harris finds her “tough yet vivacious, supremely confident yet unassuming, laser-focused on issues, mischievous yet non-malicious.”

The book’s USP is that its contributors are achievers themselves. They include scholars Pradeep K Khosla, Maina Chawla Singh, Sujata Warrier, Shamita Das Dasgupta, corporate leaders Raj L Gupta and Deepak Raj, industry observers Ajay Ghosh, Vikrum Mathur and Bijal Patel and journalists Arun Kumar, Mayank Chhaya, Suman Guha Mazumdar and Laxmi Parthasarthy.

Former United Nations official and Indian lawmaker Shashi Tharoor recalls: “A generation ago, when I first travelled to the US as a graduate student in 1975, India was widely seen as a land of snake charmers and begging bowls – poverty marginally leavened by exotica. Today, if there is a stereotypical view of India, it is that of a country of fast-talking high achievers who are wizards at math, and who are capable of doing most Americans’ jobs better, faster and more cheaply in Bengaluru. Today ‘IIT’ is a brand name as respected in certain American circles as ‘MIT’ or ‘Caltech’. If Indians are treated with more respect as a result, so is India, as the land that produces them. Let us not underestimate the importance of such global respect in our globalizing world.’”

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How was, and is, India viewed? Actually, both Americans and Indian Americans changed their outlook after India launched economic reforms. They saw it shedding Cold War stance and socialism and joining the global economic mainstream. No longer condescending, some tracked back, looking for opportunities, as succinctly bought out by Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Swades (2004).

Notwithstanding the nuclear tests India undertook, successive US administrations, of both parties, have embraced it. Arguably, the tests gave India “nuclear notoriety”, but also respect that enabled Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh and now Narendra Modi, a place on the global high table.

Moving out of their professional comfort zones to join public affairs, many Indian Americans value giving and receiving political support. Many are engaging in philanthropy and in raising funds for parties and candidates of their choice. Harris was the first to support Barack Obama. In appreciation, Obama, as also Trump and Biden administrations, have appointed many Indian Americans to key positions that would be the envy of other diaspora.   

Noting their rise ‘From Struggling Immigrants to Political Influencers: How a Community came of Age’, Basu,  recounting  their “long and hardy road,” notes: “It was said that successful ethnic lobbies were those with an ‘elevated’ socio-economic profile like high education levels, good communicating skills, deep pockets with generous contributions to campaign funds, and Indian-Americans ticked on all these boxes as they grew in size, stature, and influence, becoming in effect the newest kid on the block.”

There are, and will be, critical voices when two diverse democracies are at work. But as Arun K. Singh, former Indian envoy to Washington DC, says, the relationship “is headed for further consolidation” and that the Indian community in the US is “well-placed to deepen them.”

The writer can be reached at mahendraved07@gmail.com

Kamala Harris Signifies Vibrancy Of US Polity

By Mahendra Ved

Being elected the first woman vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris signals the coming of age of the country that her parents migrated to six decades back. For, the USA, in its 230 years history as a democracy, has never elected a woman to the two top constitutional posts. To contrast this, one would have to trot out a very long list of women leaders who have adorned top offices across the world.

Born of a mother from India and a father from Jamaica, Harris is the first woman, first Indian American, first woman born of a Black father, first South Asian American and the first Asian ever elected as vice-president.

Come January, she will be sworn in in the second-most important post in the world’s most powerful nation. Otherwise, people with Indian roots have been presidents and prime ministers in a dozen countries across the world, from New Zealand and Singapore to the Caribbean, to Ireland and Portugal. Their number is growing.

Carrying forward the democratic tradition back in India or what they may have heard from their seniors, many have been elected to city mayors, lawmakers and ministers. Look at the US’ “Samosa Caucus.” Look at the two Indians holding key posts in Britain or four of them in Canada. These numbers, too, are bound to grow. A head count of the elected leaders conducted some years ago touched 45.

Indian diaspora are growing. The Obama administration had sent out six Indian Americans as envoys. Look at the diplomatic staff in foreign missions, not just of the Commonwealth countries and not just New Delhi.

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Arguably though, this does excite Indians. They are learning, hopefully and gradually, that the loyalties of these persons lie, as they should, with the countries they, or their ancestors, adopted as home. No two things about it. If Niki Haley representing the Trump administration did convey some sour things to the people in the Government of India, Harris, or even President Biden, one whose forefathers married an Indian girl, will certainly do that. This is how it will be, and should be.

The Indian American community was electrified by Harris’ selection. Deeper study of the election results would be needed to know how many of those supporting the Republican Party switched sides. “Harris has mobilised Indian Americans, especially Democrats,” said a survey report by Carnegie. “Harris’ vice-presidential candidacy has galvanised a large section of the Indian American community to turn out to vote. But clearly, her candidacy galvanised the Democratic campaign and presumably helped in stemming any switch by pro-Democrat voters to Republican under the influence of the support Trump had received from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Kamala Harris nurtured the Indian ethos that typically speaks of the family. She spoke of mother Shyamala Gopalan Harris, who came to the United States from Chennai and was a breast cancer researcher, frequently while campaigning. “How I wish she were here tonight but I know she’s looking down on me from above,” she said at the Democratic Party convention while accepting her nomination.

“I keep thinking about that 25-year-old Indian woman—all of five feet tall—who gave birth to me at Kaiser Hospital in Oakland, California… On that day, she probably could have never imagined that I would be standing before you now speaking these words: I accept your nomination for Vice President of the United States of America,” Harris said.

Her pride for her mother, of her preferences for things Indian, not necessarily projected for the election, have been talked and written about in a big way, at times more than Biden who was a known person having been the vice president under Barack Obama.

Kamala had accepted Biden’s announcement of her selection with a shout-out to her Chithis (Tamil for a mother’s elder sister) connected with several constituencies at the same time: African Americans, Asian Americans, South Asian Americans and, of course, the 4.5 million Indian Americans, 1.9 million of them eligible to vote.

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Once her name was announced, lampooning bean. Her name was deliberately misspelt and mis-pronounced as a tactic usually employed to make Americans of different ethnicities feel unwelcome.

Trump soon realised that he was up against a tough woman who was at once articulate and popular. He had welcomed her as a “fine choice” as Biden’s running mate, but began to target her right away, calling her “nasty” and a “monster”.

One can look ahead, now that it is done and dusted. The redeeming feature, in a manner of speaking, is that Kamala Harris, age 56, is being billed as a potential President four years hence. This is mainly because of the advancing age of the winner, Joe Biden, who is not expected to seek re-election, but also because she has a proven record. Through her long career and through the rough and tumble of the election campaign, she was perceived as a woman of substance.

By comparison, her predecessors – women who contested for the vice president’s post but did not make it – had less to show. Sarah Louise Palin was Governor of Alaska in 2006, a post she quit in 2009 to contest as the running mate of Republican Senator John McCain. Before her was the first woman candidate for the vice president’s post who did not make it, Geraldine Farraro in 1984.

Kamala stood out for an added reason: the success of a vibrant America, despite warts and all. She displayed her multiple roots from a family that arrived in the US and grew by dint of hard work. Essentially a nation of immigrants, the US has in the recent years witnessed resentment against those coming from outside, something that Trump selectively but vociferously encouraged to consolidate his White American base.

Significantly, Kamala had herself sought to contest as the president and had been openly critical of Biden. The latter still thought her worthy of being the running mate and Kamala accepted as yet another point of distinction. Again, this shows the vibrancy of the American polity and its institutions.

Kamala Harris began as public attorney and was California’s Attorney General. As the vice president, she can still be expected to continue her career as champion of public causes.

(The writer may be reached at mahendraved07@gmail.com)

Trump Is Riding High On Negative Narrative

By Amit Sengupta

Donald Trump is yet again on a roll, however fake news it might seem in this post-truth media world. That is the funny and dark irony. Beleaguered, demonized, trolled, thoroughly exposed, caricatured, spoofed, pulped and pulverized, the old man with his thinning golden hair still seems to be on a roll.

So much so, like he did with what apparently and falsely seemed the formidable candidature of Hillary Clinton in the last presidential elections in the United States of America in 2016, by winning the polls despite having polled lesser number of votes, and polarizing the entire country on racist, white supremacist, misogynist and xenophobic lines, he might very well do it again. Indeed, the Democrats, often driven by the same deep pockets lobbies as before, even coinciding with the big bucks and hardline interest groups of the Republicans in terms of vested interests, have yet again seemingly opened the presidential electoral game in favour of Trump. With Joe Biden in the running, with running mate Indian-origin candidate Kamala Harris, there are serious speculations that Trump might yet again return to the White House.

This is not the first time that the Democrats have deliberately and systematically chosen a weak candidate. Even in the last elections, there was widespread opinion in the US, that stoic socialist Bernie Sanders from Vermont would have given a run for his money to Trump, floundering with shameful charges of sexual harassment, bad and abusive language, real estate blues and a colourful record of a reported debauched life with video evidence etc. Some of it was proved, some was not, other sleazy stories were buried in the information glut of charges and counter charges which the American media and local gossip factories celebrated in the run-up to the polls. It was also alleged that he was not mentally fit to hold this difficult and delicate position.

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At that time, as prime time television in America gloated and bloated on how disgusting was Trump, as the big papers destroyed whatever little credibility he had, no one could even imagine that he would finally become the president of the USA. Sociologists and media theorists would call it the boomerang effect, that those attacking Trump on grounds of high morality or Christian purity or gender justice, etc, were missing the wood from the trees, and were actually scoring a free self-goal. The more he was turned into a bad man, the more Trump seemed to be scoring his goals in the American hinterland, especially in the vast, empty and untouched landscape of rural America, especially among the white working class and jobless people living in the countryside, and including among the women.

The Democrats and their media and poll analysts just missed the smell of the wind blowin’ out there, so obsessed were they with their high moral ground, the low credibility TRP of a bad-mouthing and sexist Trump, the email leaks of Hillary Clinton, and the Russian factor looming large in the elections.

Two conspiracy theories were rampant during the 2016 elections and they might come back again in another avatar this time too. One was that Russia was managing the Trump campaign through its sinister and diabolical methods, especially proved by the Wikileaks email leaks of Hillary Clinton, which massively helped Trump. The second was that there was a huge white backlash from the ground, especially among the illiterate white working class in the cities and the countryside, including the huge number of jobless and impoverished sections, against Barack Obama, a black man, ruling for two terms, and becoming the first black man to become the president of the USA. Surely, both the theories seem to be hitting the nail on the coffin of the Democrats’ candidate.

In 2016, Bernie Sanders was riding a massive wave, a mass wave of solidarity and support, unprecedented in the history of capitalist USA. Almost the entire millennials, youngsters and students, across colours, status, campuses and class spectrum, were supporting Bernie: an incredible upsurge for the socialist and Left principles and values of equality, justice, egalitarian ethics and anti-war politics flooded the political mainstream consciousness, and the critique of capitalism post-recession acquired a new life not only in campuses, but across the media and middle class spectrum. ‘Bernie’ from Vermont, a die-hard socialist, won one battle after another. The old man became a river of redemption for the young in America, who wanted change, peace, no war, and a new society, with hope floating like a miracle. Bernie resurrected the spirit of the anti-capitalist Occupy Wall Street movement.

His candidature was unfortunately and predictably shattered by the Democrats belonging to the Rightwing lobbies, including the pro-Israeli hardliners. Once again Obama blocked his candidature. People were convinced in the US at that time that Bernie would have been a formidable opponent to Trump and the working class and the educated, especially the young, would have definitely voted for him. Indeed, many of the young supporters of Bernie refused to vote for Hillary Clinton, and chose to abstain. One big reason for the dislike for her was her crude and transparent happiness expressed after the gruesome roadside murder of Libyan president Muammar Gaddaffi, and her role in the escalation of war in Syria.

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The latest goof-ups by Trump, which otherwise seems so universally shameful and embarrassing, even for a thick-skinned man like him, might just not affect his credibility among his fanatic followers one bit. He has apparently called American soldiers ‘suckers’, that is, those who died in World War II. Besides, he has apparently come on tape with a top journalist declaring that the Corona pandemic might be disastrous etc, and that China might not be at all under control. However, in all his public utterances he has stated just the opposite, that all is well, that China is doing course correction, and that there is nothing to worry. Even while thousands were dying in America, especially in big cities like New York, especially Blacks and Latinos when compared to the White population, and the cases were rising like hell across the American landscape.

Rightwing hardliners including pro-gun lobbies and supremacists actually rejected the pandemic, chose to protest against restrictions, lockdown and quarantine in the name of individual freedom, dumped the mask into the garbage can, and chose to assemble and mingle in bars and public spaces in total disregard for the norms of social and physical distancing. Trump himself refused to wear the mask in the initial days.

With so many thousands dead, and the pandemic refusing to die down, the economy in a slump, and the American foreign policy in doldrums, and the promise of jobs an illusion, Trump is banking on various factors to push the mandate in his favour, including in the so-called swing states. He is banking on the white backlash against the Black Lives Matter movement, and the brutal use of armed mercenaries and Feds against peaceful protestors in democratic and liberal strongholds like Portland in Oregon. He is banking on the recent peace deal brokered by him between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, the first in a beginning foreseen across the Arab world which is aligned with Saudi Arabia and is opposed to Iran. And he is banking on his original ‘Make America Great Again’ constituency of white supremacists, racists, sexists, and anti-immigrants.

With Joe Biden appearing weak and indecisive, and with his history of being a pale shadow in the charismatic presence of Obama, Trump is pushing the negative discourse of his son’s links in Ukraine etc. A Bernie would have shown him his place. A Biden might just find himself on a sticky wicket as the race heats up.