Howdy, Modi…..and Trump?
- In Foreign Policy
- 06:41 AM, Sep 21, 2019
- Vamsee Kiran Vedula
In the United States, Indian Americans are sometimes referred as “model minority”. It is obvious why that tag is applied to Indian Americans. They have the highest household income of any ethnic group, they have the highest percentage of people with graduate degree or above, lower crime rate than average and lower rates of divorce. From socio-economic stand point they stand in the top quintile of US population. But when it comes to social and political influence, Indian Americans punch way below their weight.
Due to a verity of historical reasons Indian Americans overwhelmingly vote for Democrats. Getting votes and donations from Indian Americans is very easy for Democrats. All they have to do is to focus on optics. Democrats are very good in “optics” when it comes to appeasing Indian Americans. The Democrat Governor of New Jersey will readily wear an Indian dress for Dussera celebrations and do Garba.
In an intensely competitive polity like US, even a few thousand votes matter. But any group which confines itself to just one party cannot wield any influence. It will just be taken for granted. Politicians put their maximum efforts in wooing the swing voters not committed voters.
This truth became clear recently from the reactions of Democrats post article 370. They decided to throw Indian American sentiments under the bus in order to appease Islamists. With rare exceptions like Tulsi Gabbard, none of them spoke about the human right abuses against Kashmiri Pandit community. None of them mentioned Pakistan sponsored terrorism. The fact that not a single right that was given to any other Indian citizen is deprived to residents of Jammu & Kashmir was not even mentioned.
This is the backdrop against which we need to analyze the unexpected news of President Trump joining Prime Minister Modi for Howdy, Modi even in Houston.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is immensely popular not just in India but among Indian diaspora all over the world. Since getting elected as Prime Minister in 2014, PM Modi has consciously cultivated Indian diaspora. During his trips abroad he would usually meet and speak with Indian diaspora. So, Howdy, Modi event on September 22nd is nothing unusual or unprecedented.
But President Trump joining Prime Minister Modi for this event is quite unusual. By attending Howdy Modi event along with the Prime Minister, President Trump has an opportunity to swing at least a section of Indian Americans away from Democrats. All he needs to do is avoid any obvious goof-ups. President Trump needs to do is avoid any mention of Kashmir or Pakistan. Just needs to keep the focus on Indo-US ties and contributions of Indian Americans to the United States.
As Indians, we are used to mega political rallies where lakhs of people gather to listen to their favorite politician. So, 50,000 people doesn’t sound like a big number. But in intensely competitive US political landscape, it is a very big number for a political rally. In fact, the number of American politicians who can bring 50,000 people to their meeting will probably be in single digits.To use a Trumpism, 50,000 people at a political rally is yuge. It will be noticed by both parties.
This event will deliver a much-needed wakeup call for the Democrats. It will tell them that Indian American vote cannot be taken for granted. That recognition will be first step for Indian Americans to start gaining political influence.
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