Indian Americans rise in US politics, navigate identity

Ramaswamy went so far as to hold up a sign at a debate calling the SouthCarolina former governor and UN ambassador corrupt over her corporate work --and she has hit back hard, calling him untrustworthy and berating him formentioning her children.
Personal attacks are routine in US politics, and both Haley and Ramaswamy, a38-year-old entrepreneur who has never held elected office, are facing uphillclimbs to wrest the Republican nomination from former president Donald Trump, reports BSS.
But the two have something in common -- they are children of Indianimmigrants. Also expected on this year's ballot is Democratic Vice PresidentKamala Harris, whose mother came from India and whose father was born inJamaica.
Indian Americans are split on whether the Ramaswamy versus Haley feudchannels larger community tensions, but what is uncontestable is that IndianAmericans are more politically prominent than ever before -- and increasinglywearing their identity proudly.
It is another sign of success for the community, whose average householdincome is the highest of any US ethnic group.
Raj Goyle, a former state lawmaker in Kansas and co-founder of IndianAmerican Impact, a South Asian American political group, said that ethnicgroups in the United States historically have waited for a greater comfortlevel and critical mass before entering politics.
"Indian Americans actually have had a quicker journey than other immigrantcommunities in terms of political success," he said.
He noted that Indian Americans are unusual as an immigrant group in that manyarrived as educated professionals, highly regarded by other Americans.
"When the first wave of us were elected, we had to think about how voterswould react to our ethnicity," Goyle said.
While racism still exists, "Now, I think there's a very good argument to makethat it's a huge plus."
- 'I am a Hindu' -
While few give Ramaswamy much chance of winning the presidency, his candidacymarks a watershed in his embrace of his religion.
Asked at a debate in Iowa about his religion, Ramaswamy said: "I am a Hindu.I won't fake my identity."
Ramaswamy, who has made his name as a Trump-style rabble-rouser denouncing"woke" politics, has cast his Hinduism as in line with conservative Christianbeliefs and has voiced opposition to gay marriage.
He also explained to voters in farm state Iowa, which holds the nation'sfirst caucus, how he is a vegetarian due to his religion.
Meanwhile, a Trump campaign aide, Chris LaCivita, told voters to "beware" ofRamaswamy's diet, also calling him a "fraud."
Haley, born Nimarata Nikki Randhawa in South Carolina, has spoken ofconverting to Christianity, and took her husband's surname.
A previous Indian American who nursed higher ambitions, former Louisianagovernor Bobby Jindal, similarly described his embrace of Christianity.
Harris has spoken at length of her Black identity but has also identifiedwith India, recording a video during the 2020 election showing her cooking amasala dosa, a staple food for Tamils like her mother.
Maina Chawla Singh, a scholar at American University who has studied IndianAmericans in politics, said the candidates were all "navigating" how to weartheir identity.
She traces the political rise of the community to the presidency of BarackObama, who hired a number of Indian American staffers.
"Indian Americans have established themselves in many domains, and this isprobably the last stretch to conquer," she said.
Despite the prominence of Republicans like Haley, Ramaswamy and Jindal, thecommunity has overwhelmingly voted Democratic.
- Subtle dividing lines -
Dipka Bhambhani, an Indian American writer based in Washington, said the feudbetween Haley and Ramaswamy showed a divide within the community.
Haley grew up helping with the bookkeeping at her parents' clothing store,while Ramaswamy, an Ivy League graduate, was born in Ohio to an engineerfather and psychiatrist mother and later married an Indian American doctor.
"When I first saw the animus from Ramaswamy toward Haley, I knew what it wasabout. There are wealthy Indians out there who malign other Indians fordeviating, exercising American choice in who they marry, how they worship andthe like," Bhambhani said.
"Ramaswamy criticizing Haley has been (a source of) anguish for so many of usin the Indian community. There are enough spears thrown at people of color inthis country. Do we really need an Indian man to take up arms against hisIndian sister?"
But she said the Indian American candidates at the end of the day wereAmericans, even as they brought Indian values such as commitment to family.
"It would be nice to see someone in the presidency who embodies those Indianvalues," she said.