Kerry will
tango, US Indians believe
By Indrajit Basu
KOLKATA - Indians in India generally see Democratic presidential nominee John
Kerry as a thorn in India's side. Many more in India's money-spinning
outsourcing industry see him as a business process outsourcing (BPO) party
pooper. Even New Delhi - seat of the Indian government - sees greater advantage
in a second term for George W Bush in terms of strategic partnership. But a
huge number of Indians based in the US believe that Kerry may bode well for
India. And remarkably, though Kerry's strong anti-outsourcing stand has emerged
as one of the biggest sources of discomfort for India, many Indian Americans
support Kerry for that very reason.
"Outsourcing is a major issue that has to be dealt with," says Selma D'Souza,
president of the Indo-American Democratic Organization, a lobby for the Indian
American community on social issues and hate crimes. "Most Americans, including
Indians, don't like outsourcing because many of them are concerned their
children's jobs are being outsourced, especially in the IT field. I don't think
this is an India-US issue, it's an issue about employment in the US."
Some also hold that India's concerns are narrow and partisan. "It seems to be
foreign policy-focused and not people-focused," says Tanzila Taz Ahmed,
director of the South Asian American Voting Youth (SAAVY), another US-based
lobby that's trying to push South Asian American issues to the forefront of US
politics. "Sure, Indians in India may want Bush because of his more liberal
stand on outsourcing, but that view doesn't take into consideration the
persecution their fellow Indians have to suffer living with him."
The reality is that many Indian Americans not only consider Kerry to be a much
better alternative than Bush, they even hold a grouse against the president.
"The Bush administration has treated the South Asian community with prejudice
and disrespect," says Washington DC-based Gautam Dutta, a former Securities
Exchange Council lawyer and now a fund-raiser with the Kerry campaign.
Complaints against Bush are serious. The South Asian American Leaders of
Tomorrow (SAALT), a New York-based outfit that says it ensures equal
participation of South Asians in the civic and political life of the US, has
even published a White Paper called "American Backlash: Terrorists Bring War
Home in More Ways Than One", in which it alleges that following September 11,
the backlash (which resulted in 645 hate crimes) against Americans of South
Asian and Middle Eastern descent, has made "America less free".
"The key difference between Bush and Kerry when it comes to South Asia and
India is that Kerry views India as a critical partner with whom the US can
share core values such as democracy and a commitment to respecting diversity,"
says Dutta. "As far as what I have seen with Bush over the last two years, if
South Asia is on his radar at all, it is merely as a means to combat terrorism
and nothing more. When he pays attention to the region, it is simply out of
concern for Pakistan and Afghanistan. To deal with al-Qaeda, he is supporting a
dictator [Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf]."
According to Rushab Doshi of South Asians for Kerry (SAKI), speaking to Asia
Times Online in a personal capacity, even as New Delhi may feel that Bush's
"war on terror" has helped India by putting a squeeze on Pakistan, despite
Washington's support to a military dictatorship, Kerry's stance on terrorism is
far more beneficial to India. "His focus is on more intelligence gathering,
rather than military-based wars," says Doshi. "This means strong cooperation
with allies throughout the world. Bush has adopted a unilateral, preemptive
philosophy that will only create greater hatred and violence across the world."
India feels the US has not played a significant role in the Kashmir dispute and
has funded Pakistan's military post-September 11, even though there are grave
terrorist threats in Pakistan as well. "Kerry, on the other hand, sees the
problems with the US aligning too closely with Pakistan," says Doshi. "He could
therefore adopt a more multilateral and favorable policy toward India in terms
of cooperation in the war on terror, which could have a greater impact in
reducing terrorism and dissuading nuclear nations from preemptive action."
There are many other areas, feel pro-Democrat Indian Americans, in which Kerry
is on the right side of India. These are:
AIDS
: Doshi feels Kerry realizes the seriousness of this disease and is
committed to the US playing a more significant role in reducing its spread. He
is expected to increase US contributions towards AIDS in a secular way, which
means that unlike the present pattern, funding would not be limited to
educational programs focused on abstinence. "Family planning education needs to
be funded across the world, and Kerry will support it," says Doshi. "This is
crucial to India because of the spread of the disease there."
Stem cell research: Indirectly helps India. The US is one of the
leaders in developing breakthrough cures for serious ailments. But the Bush
administration had restricted the use of federal funds for embryonic stem cell
research, succumbing to pressures of anti-abortion groups. India, which owns 10
of the 78 embryonic stem cell research lines with the US's National Institute
of Health is suffering as a result. "India needs to find a cure for cancer,"
says Doshi. "John Kerry supports stem cell research, George Bush does not."
Culture of fear and hate: In India, few can comprehend the new
culture spreading through American society, say Indian Americans - a culture
that hates those who are different from native Americans. "But Bush and the
Republicans have not passed the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which would ensure
punishment for the perpetrators of such crimes," says Doshi. "As president,
Kerry will see to it that the Hate Crimes Act becomes a law and we-are-the-best
approach comes to an end."
Student visas: The Bush administration has made it more difficult
for Indians and other foreign students to obtain student visas. This policy,
say experts, has hurt both India and the US, but especially the US because it
has been deprived of a great talent pool. "Currently, the US justice department
is run by [Attorney-General] John Ashcroft, perhaps the most despised man in
the free world. If Kerry comes, he will be replaced and the tradition of
foreign students restored. Kerry realizes just how much these students
contribute to the country and the world," says Doshi.
Outsourcing: Many feel that for all his posturing,
"ultimately" Kerry wouldn't adopt a protectionist policy. Kerry is a free-trade
proponent, they say, and though outsourcing is a serious concern, it's
difficult to point at a particular nation for those job losses.
In a way it is not difficult to understand why a large number of Indian
Americans prefer to throw their weight behind the Democrats. Traditionally,
Indian-Americans have always been attracted toward the Democrats because of
their "more inclusive approach to governance". This time, pro-Democrats include
not just the Indian Americans on the street, but also scores of prominent
Indian Americans, such as Hotmail founder Sameer Bhatia, former McKinsey
managing director Rajat Gupta, San Francisco district-attorney Kamala Harris
and newly appointed Asia Society president Vishaka Desai.
However, a sizeable support for the Republicans has also emerged lately from a
section of the influential Indian American community. Bobby Jindal, who ran for
governor of Louisiana, is prominent among them. Sudhakar Shenoy, a tech
entrepreneur who founded Information Management Consultants, is yet another
avid Republican supporter who feels "Democrats do only lip service". The other
prominent ones are Florida-based cardiologist Zach Zachariah and Raj Vattikuti,
founder chairman of software company Covansys.
This section of Indian Americans vehemently counters pro-Democrats by pointing
that Bush is not obsessed with nuclear issues, something that could emerge as a
major sticking point for India if Kerry makes it. Democrats find it harder to
accept the informal nuclear status for India because they go by the stated
past, says Anupam Srivastava, director of South Asia Studies at University of
Georgia in an interview to Indian newspaper The Times of India. On the other
hand, "Republicans are willing to create a paradigm shift in international
alliances."
A recent international poll by an American think-tank has found Kerry has 34%
support among Indians, with Bush almost deadlocked with 33% (the rest were
undecided.)
Indrajit Basu is a Kolkata-based equity-analyst-turned-journalist with
more than 12 years of experience in business/finance and technology journalism.
Besides writing for Asia Times Online, he also writes for US-based
publications, as well as IT companies.
(Copyright 2004 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact
content@atimes.com for information on our
sales and syndication policies.)
