Republican Relationships

With Republican George W. Bush on the threshold of the White House, there's speculation that the Indian diaspora's clout over US policy-makers could be waning. Indeed, Washington's changing perception about Delhi, and the warmth Clinton displayed for PM Vajpayee in September, was credited to the expat lobby's hard work at Capitol Hill. The thinking is that the Indian diaspora contributes heavily to the Democrat kitty as it's more favourably disposed towards minorities and is less hawkish on many immigrants' issues.

Intellectuals here, however, feel that more successful Indians tend to gravitate towards the Republicans. Says Anupam Srivastava, director, South Asia Program, Georgia University, "Traditionally, Indian-Americans, like most immigrant communities, have supported Democrats, but as they become successful, there's a growing stake in the system, maintaining the status quo, providing tax breaks to the rich, etc. Thus, over time, many turn Republican."

Says Kanti Bajpai, Visiting Fellow, Brookings Institution, "The general wisdom here is that Indians give more or less equally to Democrats and Republicans. So it may not matter altogether what the Indian contribution has been to the presidential candidates." Bajpai thinks there's no reason for Indians to feel paranoid because the next president might be a Republican. Says he, "The Republican foreign and security policy team is thought to be favourable to India and this perception is independent of Indian contributions and is related to strategic contributions."

Adds Srivastava, "With increasing wealth and ambitions, rich Indian-Americans are beginning to appreciate the value of coordinated efforts (with both parties) and lobbying to get bills passed in the Congress, many of which will improve US-India relations."

Bajpai says a realistic assessment requires Indians to reconcile themselves to realities in the US. "Those in Delhi have to get over two fantasies: first, the Republicans like us a lot more than the Democrats; second, that the Indian-American community can work miracles for us—it can't."