Several prominent Indian Americans on Sunday welcomed Vice President Kamala Harris becoming the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee. They described it as a historic moment for the Indian-American community.
Harris, 59, announced her candidacy after President Joe Biden said he would not seek re-election and endorsed her. She quickly received support from several top Democratic leaders.
“As an immigrant who came from India to America over four decades ago, it thrills me to see that an Indian-American is the presumptive nominee of one of the two political parties for United States president,” said MR Rangaswami, a diaspora leader in San Francisco. “The contribution of the Indian diaspora to American society, including politics and public service, is increasing in a big way. This shows the maturation and integration of our community,” he added.
There are over 150 Indian-origin leaders serving in senior roles in the Biden administration. On the Republican side, there have been two serious Indian-American contenders for the presidential nomination, Rangaswami noted.
Ronak D. Desai, a partner at Paul Hastings LLP and an expert on US-India relations, said Harris’ nomination is significant for US-India ties. “She has been a key architect of the current administration’s India policy. While Delhi can generally expect continuity in strategic ties should she prevail in November, there is no doubt she will shape bilateral ties in her own way,” he said.
Desai also noted that Harris’ rise reflects the power and promise of the Indian diaspora in the US. “With ties continuing on their upswing, Harris has played her own unique role in fostering closer US-India ties. She has forged close relationships with key Indian decision-makers and has been a central figure in nurturing Washington’s relationship with Delhi,” he said.
Jai Bhandari, a Democratic Party delegate from Virginia, expressed confidence that Harris would defeat Republican nominee Donald Trump. “This is really a good decision Biden has taken within a time frame and it will make a lot of things happen in favor of the Democratic Party as well as for the presidential post. Now it is much easier for Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris to win over Trump,” Bhandari said.
“I am 100 per cent positive that she is going to win. She can defeat Trump because many people did not like the way Trump acted like a dictator. He is not ready to accept the result if the result comes against him. This is a danger for a democratic country. I believe that Kamala Harris is the right choice for this position. She has a lot of experience being vice president. She knows foreign policy and how the president and administration work,” he added.
Sanjeev Joshipura, Executive Director of Indiaspora, noted that the Indian diaspora is about 1.5 percent of the US population. Yet, the Indiaspora Impact Report, published with the Boston Consulting Group, shows that just under 4.5 percent of senior public service positions in the US government are held by people of Indian origin. The number of senior Indian diaspora public servants has grown by 150 percent in just over 10 years.
“Three per cent of leadership roles in specific governmental agencies like the National Science Foundation, Centers for Disease Control and Environmental Protection Agency are held by the Indian diaspora.
Moreover, the Indiaspora Government Leaders list evidence of a global propensity to public service among the Indian diaspora across several countries. This speaks to the desire of the Indian diaspora to contribute positively to society, in the USA and around the world,” Joshipura said.
