As part of her campaign for the Senate polls from New York later this year, Hillary Clinton has targeted the influential Indian community in her constituency.
As part of her campaign for the Senate polls from New York later this year, Hillary Clinton has targeted the influential Indian community in her constituency.
The first lady hasn't lost an opportunity to strike a rapport with Indians and apart from addressing the Indo-American physicians' association recently, she was the star billing at the International Punjabi Society's annual convention held at the NY Hilton early this month. Even a gaffe by evergreen Bollywood icon Dev Anand, who referred to her husband as "Mr Kennedy", failed to ruffle Hillary, who spoke with the studied ardour of a savvy politician and deftly manoeuvred around the room with confidence and aplomb after her speech.
The Democratic Party has been actively reaching out to the Indian community in recent years and as Hillary gathers speed - and funds - for her senatorial bid, she is no exception.
The reasons for it aren't hard to find. In the past 10 years, the number of Indians living in New York state has increased by more than 50 per cent, according to the Indian consulate general in New York. There are now 2,28,681 Indian Americans in the state. Which includes both legal and illegal residents and American and foreign-born. Many of them aren't citizens and don't enjoy voting rights. But the fact is that the Indian community gathers its strength from its unparalleled professional skills and a huge resource base and not necessarily its size. "We don't have numbers, but there's a lot of money," says Nirmal Mattoo, a former president of the Association of Indians in America and nephrologist with several New York city practices.
The association is predominantly a cultural group. But in the recent past, it has also held voting drives in Indian pockets of NY to mobilise the Indian electorate. "Previously, Indians in the US were mostly poor immigrants who didn't have voting rights. Now with Silicon Valley and the massive presence of Indian professionals, the scenario is changing," explains Mattoo. What the good doctor means is that Indians no longer need voting rights to effect changes. Sabeer Bhatia, founder of Hotmail, can't vote but he has managed to mobilise over half a million dollars for Al Gore at a fund-raiser held at his condo in San Francisco last month - much more powerful than a vote, howsoever sad it may sound.
Indians in the US are wealthier than they have ever been and Hillary Clinton knows this well. In her speech at a fund-raising dinner thrown by the Indian Friends of Hillary Clinton in March, the first lady praised Indians for how well they had done in the US and their leading role in Silicon Valley and in many of America's other prestigious professions. And she got handsome returns: the night raised $100,000. A previous fund-raiser thrown by the same group at Manhattan's Time Hotel had raised $50,000. The audience included San Singh Chatwal, NY president of the International Punjabi Society and owner of Manhattan's Bombay Palace restaurant, P. Severwal, former owner of Asia Online, and Deji Bindra, president of the Sikh Organisation of New York.
So when the International Punjabi Society asked her to headline their convention, Hillary was only too happy to oblige. "We have had special, targeted events for the Indian American community and reaching out to its members is important," says Rick Hess, a spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee (dnc), the party's nerve-centre in Washington. The panel has even set up specific 'ethnic outreach desks' to concentrate outreach and fund-raising efforts on specific communities. Computer programs will allow campaigners to identify ethnic enclaves and send them material on candidates and the poll. Indian residents of Jackson Heights, NY, may receive cards with a picture of an Indian overlaid with a Democratic slogan in the next few months.
"The Indian American community is definitely a big player," says Courtney Pugh, the dnc's director of Asia-Pacific American Outreach. "We're not taking this community's vote for granted," he says. One of Gore's campaigners, Sandip Bhajwa, is even discussing holding a specific South Asian event at the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles this summer, something which Pugh can't recall having happened before.
The issues being touted among Indians by the party and Hillary include Indo-American ties, immigration and support of small, minority-owned businesses, much the same as when the Democrats rallied the support of Indian and other Asian groups during the 1996 presidential polls.
During her speech on July 14 at the convention of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), Hillary talked about forging better ties between India and the US. "If you look at the challenges we face, particularly the subcontinent, it's important that Indian-Americans play a leading role in guiding the relationship between the US and India," she said.
She was equally appreciative of the roles the Indian professionals had played: "You have [made] such important contributions to our common life, whether we are talking high-tech industry, business, medicine, or academia. I am very grateful for your contributions and your examples."
At another fund-raiser just a week earlier, another Democrat with a political agenda talked about easing restrictions on immigration. Al Gore told over 50 people who had gathered at the fund-raiser for him at Sabeer Bhatia's house that he favoured increasing the number of H1B visas, provided the jobs of the US workers were protected.
Indian-Americans being targeted for all this fund-raising don't seem sceptical about the first lady's sincerity. "She has very high praise for Indians, and for India, and this was our way of saying thank you," says Punjabi Society head Chatwal of his fund-raiser.
Nobody denies that Hillary has learnt a great deal about India from her visit there and has a great chemistry with the place and its people. "She has the interests of Indians at heart and understands that we are part of the political process," says Mokunt Mukti, one of the members of the central committee which runs the AAPI.
Some others, though, believe politics is a game of give and take and that Hillary Clinton is no different from others of her ilk. Bhupendra Patel, who hosted the March fund-raiser for Hillary at his house in Long Island, says: "Politicians understand one thing - money is coming from Indians. We've been working for 10-15 years to make a mark in politics. The Senate is an important position for the Indian community and we have an important opportunity with Ms Clinton." The doctor, whose fund-raiser was attended by 120 Indians, further adds: "She brings a different level of visibility which really opens the door for us. Perhaps the goal down the line should be to put a young Indian man or woman up for office, but this is how it starts."
Mattoo feels Indians are becoming more pushy about their money and getting political return for financial help. "We used to have fund-raisers and just raise the money and not ask for much. Now we are asking for all kinds of things," he says.
Last August, Mattoo held a fund-raiser for Democrat Richard Gephardt. The Indians in the audience grilled Gephardt on issues concerning them and engaged him in discussions on his position regarding India's nuclear testing and immigration.
Vish Akella, who was CEO of Acclaim Communications when it was bought by Intel and now works on various Silicon Valley start-ups, was at the Gore fund-raiser in San Francisco. "We have had success in schools and in corporate America. There is no more glass ceiling. Next is politics. The question is, how do you influence America, and not just corporate America?" Akella asked the San Francisco Examiner.
Mattoo has the answer: "If the community gets together and gives, you get the returns. It's not that difficult to promote. The money is there, it's just a matter of making the effort."
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