Shiwani Srivastava

I found your article very interesting and accurate in terms of prevailing Indian-American sentiments. I’m a huge fan of Bobby Jindal, as are my in-laws and wife (who are all Indian-Americans). We do believe that Jindal is the future of the Republican party and the next Obama, in terms of generating excitement, in 4 or 8 years. I have a few comments:

1) I agree that Jindal’s support of creationism in schools is very troubling, but it would be incorrect to add his opposition to stem cell research as part of some outlying “religious” sentiment. People oppose stem cell research (an issue I myself am not sure about) for the same reason they oppose abortion–a belief that human life begins at conception. I don’t think you can say that everyone who is pro-life is acting through some extreme religious sentiment. Also, since many members of the Indian-American community are pro-life and generally socially conservative, I don’t believe it’s his conservative stances that have led some to question his “Indianness.” Also, Indians tend to be more religious than not, in my estimation.

2) I think the complexity surrounding Indian support for Jindal is two-fold. First, while India is a very socially/religiously complex society, most Indian-Americans are Hindu (as are obviously most Indians in India). In the Indian communities with which I’ve been associated (NJ, PA, NYC, Houston), I’ve generally found a strong dislike for Mother Theresa and Christianity’s influence in India. Jindal’s decision to convert to Christianity (which seems legit, not a political decision) rubs many Indians the wrong way.

3) Second, and more importantly, Indians in this country do not have the same community-based support structure that the black community has. For better or worse, when there is even a rumor of racist behavior, the black community mobilizes in support of its own. My experience generally with the Indian community is that this structure does not exist. Instead, there seems to be a natural reaction to blame and hush the victim of racist actions. This lack of unity may be another reason we don’t see the same outpouring of support for Jindal that Obama has received from the black community.

4) You give excellent reasons why most Indians are Democratic. I think you are wrong on the foreign policy/immigration issue though. Bush, despite all his other faults and mistakes, has strengthened relations with India (hello mangoes!)and increased the number of visas, much more so than under the Clinton Administration. I would add that many first-generation Indian-Americans may lean Democratic because of India’s much more liberal economic regime. Though Indian-Americans blast India’s corruption, I think many immigrants still share the economic values in which they were born and raised.

5) Finally, I think it’s interesting that many liberal Indians support Obama unwaveringly, despite his non-reaction to his staffer’s memo last year listing Hillary as Sen. Clinton (D, Punjab), and his running mate Biden’s very inappropriate comment about Indians and 711. Not sure why this is (whether do to partisan politics or this lack of community unification, as I mentioned above, or something else).

I too am an NYU grad–’02–Go Violets!

I am an Indian Orthodox Christian from Kerala, the non-proelytizing section of Christians. I am always suspicious of anyone, Indian or otherwise making a religious conversion until I am convinced that the conversion is not for some personal gain. In Jindal’s case, there have been allegations in the Indian press that his conversion to Roman Catholicism, his allegedly forced conversion of his wife, and his attempts to force his Hindu parents, were more politically motivated than owing to a true commitment to the tenets of Jesus.

As an Indian-American, I have no respect for Jindal, nor Dinesh D’Souza who are nothing but mouthpieces for the Republican-right. Their beliefs in creationism, denial of women’s rights to make a choice about abortions, opposition to stem cell research etc., make them so ante-deluvian!

As far as I am concerned India represents pluralism, tolerance and religious diversity. Jindal represents just the opposite.

As a desi who has watched Jindal’s rise with despair, I have to say that I find it sad that we seem to analyze him in a historical and political vacuum. In fact, Jindal is simply the latest avatar of the right wing’s successful strategy against identity politics. They have consistently used non-whites and women to carry forward ultra-conservative policies. Those most impacted by these policies blunt their criticism because they don’t want to attack a fellow brown/black/female person. Jindal should not be compared to Obama but to Condoleeza Rice, Colin Powell, Clarence Thomas, Sarah Palin, Ward Connerly and Sandra Day O’Connor. Americans do a poor job of seeing past symbolism to substance in general; conservative political strategies are built around that fact, and increasingly are using our own narratives against us.

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