Indian-Americans stake their
political claim By Siddharth Srivastava
NEW DELHI - Recently L K Advani, leader of
India's opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, made a
near-turnaround in his and the party's virulent
criticism of the India-US nuclear deal. Some
reports suggested that the US-based non-resident
Indians (NRI) lobby, which has been active in
pushing for the pact, was instrumental in bringing
about the change.
Though the nuclear pact
faces a bigger challenge because of the opposition
of India's left-wing parties, the recent episode once
again
brought into focus the persuasive power of India's
diaspora, especially in the United States.
As the US is a democracy, has a vibrant
political system and promotes individual
enterprise, Indians continue to be one population
most positively inclined toward that country. This
is in contrast to the repeated negative polls of
people in other parts of the world who resent the
United States' hegemony as a military and economic
power.
India, known for overbearing
policies toward its immediate neighbors in South
Asia, has never found itself closer to the US for
strategic and business reasons. Indeed, the
economic connection of Indian-Americans to their
home country too remains strong.
The
2-million-strong Indian-American community,
already known to exercise its economic muscle in
US politics, has been known not to forget its
roots easily, its members pumping in money to
their alma maters or villages or towns of origin.
Remittances from Indians abroad continue
to create a big demand pool in the Indian economy.
According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI),
remittance inflows to India rose 25% to US$25
billion in 2005-06, the highest globally, from $20
billion the previous year. Of this, $13.5
billion was used by the migrants' families to meet
immediate needs of food, education and health, $5
billion was stashed in local bank accounts, and
$3.25 billion was invested in shares and property.
About 45% of the inflows came from North
America, followed by the Persian Gulf region and
East Asia, which contributed more than 30% of the
funds received. "The higher share from North
America could be attributed to the growing
strength of professionals in software and other
technology-related areas," said the RBI.
Remittances of $1,100 and above made up
more than 52% of the total.
India received
close to $16 billion in foreign direct investment
in 2006-07. According to the RBI, the figure on
acquisition of shares and property by NRIs has
risen quickly from $930 million in 2004-05 to $2.2
billion in 2005-06, to $6.3 billion in 2006-07.
Almost a quarter of the more than $10 million
worth of properties being purchased in India is by
NRIs. According to provisional figures released by
the RBI, this April alone, acquisition of shares
by NRIs was $868 million.
Bank stocks are
one favorite; in September-December 2006, NRIs
bought $3 billion in bank shares, including hot
picks such as private banks ICICI and HDFC. In
2000-01, such investments stood at $362 million.
Indian-Americans, who make up one of the
richest ethnic communities in the US, are doling
out the money to be counted in the future power
stakes of that country. It is estimated that
Indian-Americans could raise up to a total of $20
million for both main parties in the current US
presidential campaign.
Though Bobby Jindal
and Kumar Barve have played a direct role in US
politics, Indian-Americans traditionally have
exercised the most political influence as campaign
managers and contributors. The US Census Bureau
has pegged the Indian-American median family
annual income in 2005 at $74,000, almost 60%
higher than the national average.
Democratic Party presidential hopeful
Hillary Clinton remains the favorite to win
maximum favors from Indian-Americans, though the
current Republican president, George W Bush, is
perceived in very good light because of his
pro-India stance. Indians reached out to Bush as a
reaction to the virulent anti-outsourcing campaign
by his Democratic opponent John Kerry in the
run-up to the previous presidential election in
2004.
Clinton, looking to maintain the
momentum built earlier by her husband Bill, would
like to arrest any decisive turn by
Indian-Americans toward the Republicans. The
Indian connection to Bill Clinton goes back a long
way.
It was he who, as president, first
actively sought to build bridges with and
cultivate the Indian community in the US,
recognizing their numbers as US citizens as well
as their immense money power as global
information-technology pioneers and sources for
campaign funds.
Thus India's relations
with the US were by and large on the ascent under
Bill Clinton, who visited India as president in
2000. Such strategic aspects as backing India as a
counterweight to China in the region have,
however, only been fully formalized under Bush.
Since leaving office, Bill Clinton has
been closely associated with the American India
Foundation, and he visited the country in 2001 to
head a delegation to collect funds for victims of
the Gujarat earthquake. He has been to India on
various philanthropic trips related to the 2004
tsunami and AIDS. Some say he has kept his Indian
network warm all these year for his wife as he
makes her own bid for the White House.
New
York Senator Hillary Clinton visited India in
February 2005, meeting Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh and the all-powerful Congress party
president Sonia Gandhi. New Delhi hosted an
official reception in Hillary Clinton's honor.
Hillary Clinton has also been at the
forefront in defending free trade and outsourcing,
and that goes down well with Indians, though
lately she has been tempering her speeches with
the need to protect US jobs. This could be just
pandering to political exigency, as her real stand
is apparent.
During the height of the
anti-outsourcing backlash in the US in 2004, she
defended Indian software giant Tata Consultancy
Services' bid to open a center in Buffalo, New
York. "We are not against all outsourcing; we are
not in favor of putting up fences," she said
firmly, invoking the ire of the anti-free-trade
brigade.
She addressed via live video an
alumni meet of the vaunted Indian Institutes of
Technology, and reiterated her call for more H-1-B
visas for highly skilled immigrants. Recently, she
told a gathering of Indian-Americans: "We have so
many friends here ... It's certainly for me a
great honor to be the co-chair of the India Caucus
in the Senate and to work with so many of you on
matters of mutual interest."
Indian
hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal organized a
fundraising gala in New York that is reported to
have raised $2.5 million for Clinton's campaign.
"Deepening and strengthening of US relations with
India would be top of the agenda if I am elected,"
she is quoted as saying in her 15-minute speech.
Business baron S P Hinduja, Jet Airways'
Naresh Goyal, new-age guru Deepak Chopra, and
interestingly Indian Civil Aviation Minister
Praful Patel are reported as among the well-heeled
people who packed the Sheraton ballroom. Chatwal's
Indian-Americans for Hillary 2008 campaign is
aiming to raise $5 million.
Telugu
Indian-Americans originating from the southern
Indian state of Andhra Pradesh are also looking to
raise $1 million for Clinton.
Siddharth Srivastava is a New
Delhi-based journalist.
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2007 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved.
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