Trump Tariff Attack: Indian Americans Missing In Action

Yet, nearly six million Indians in the US failed to deliver during the crisis period. Many of these Indian Americans have been contributing to election funding but have so far remained silent while the US President Donald Trump continues to target India and pamper Pakistan. Like in all democracies, voters in the constituency of any lawmaker are the ultimate deciding factor, but the Indian Americans have failed to deliver.

With approximately 5.2 million individuals of Indian descent describing the US as their home, Indian Americans comprise around 21 per cent of the Asian population in the nation, according to an analysis of US Census Bureau data and the American Community Survey by the Pew Research Centre. 

Lack Of Effective Lobbying  

The sudden rise of the Indian community in the US is due to sustained migration and population growth over the past 20 years. Since 2000, the Indian population in the US has increased by approximately 3.1 million, at a rate of 174 percent.

However, they are not organised and did not create a lobby group like Jews, Armenians, and Moroccans. Each of these communities has its own lobby groups powerful enough to influence decision-making in Washington. 

The Indian government, under such circumstances, has relied on the lobbying capacity of its diplomatic missions and lobby groups hired at a premium to lobby with the US government. While the Jews, Armenians, and Moroccans have been present in the US for decades, contributing in a big way to the US economy, Indian Americans have risen extremely fast due to their talent and command over English, and yet politically remain ineffective in lobbying with the Trump administration, which has been targeting India since May.

Leadership Vacuum

A study by the leading US think tank, Carnegie Endowment, released a report this July based on a survey of Indian Americans. The report noted that Indian Americans have been appointed to senior positions by the Trump administration.

“In the 2024 race for the White House, to the surprise of many observers, several prominent Americans of Indian origin occupied centre stage. At one point, there were three presidential candidates in the fray with Indian roots—then vice president Kamala Harris on the Democratic side and Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy on the Republican side. Although none of these candidates emerged victorious, several high-profile Indian Americans were appointed to senior positions in the second, current administration of the US President Donald Trump. Kash Patel was confirmed as the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Stanford University physician Jay Bhattacharya was named the director of the prestigious National Institutes of Health, and entrepreneur and venture capitalist Sriram Krishnan was named a senior White House adviser on artificial intelligence,” according to the Carnegie study.

Curiously, none of these high-ranking Indian American officials has so far been known to have impressed upon President Trump to pipe down his rhetoric against India and dilute his pro-Pakistan sentiments.

While second or third generation Indian Americans are said to be terrified of any action against them by the current administration if they indulge in any protests or raise their voices, the community has not been inspired enough by the Indian diplomatic missions in the US to lobby with the local Congressmen or Senators. Ironically, a few years back, Indian Americans, encouraged by the Indian diplomatic missions, played a critical role in lobbying with the local Congressmen and Senators in certain states. Given the funding provided by a section of Indian Americans, the US lawmakers are obligated to pay heed to their demands.

Need To Increase Political Might  

The Indian American community appears more focused on cultural activities and community functions rather than effective political lobbying. They remain divided along the lines of the States from where they migrated. Successful Indian American entrepreneurs do not want to play on the front foot rather focus on amassing fortunes. 

Indian American lawmakers, barring a few, have neither spoken against Trump’s pro-Pakistan views nor lobbied effectively with the Trump administration. Curiously, the rich Indian Americans have not even considered entering into business alliances with family members and friends of Trump. Pakistan, in comparison, has sold false promises of critical minerals and crypto to influence the President.

This brings into question the need for the Indian Americans to unite and organise on the lines of the Jews, Armenians, and Moroccans. All these three communities are favourably disposed towards Indians and will be willing to share best practices. The American Jewish Committee, or AJC, is an extremely successful lobby group that has worked to build policies that favour Israel. AJC had worked seamlessly with India to contribute to India-US ties that resulted in the India-US civil nuclear deal. A body on the lines of AJC backed by the economic heft of the Indian American entrepreneurs can go a long way to influence the views of the US administrations.

(Writer is a commentator on geopolitics. Views are personal.)