The Indian community in the United States is organizing to take on a larger political role,
Politico reported.
The community's potential clout was demonstrated during the recent visit to the U.S. by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Some 20,000 Indian-Americans attended a welcoming rally at New York City's Madison Square Garden that was spearheaded by Chicago-area cardiologist Bharat Barai.
The 3 million member Indian-American community, which is overwhelmingly Hindu, is trying to organize using the Jewish community as its template.
Out of a U.S. population of 316 million, there are an
estimated 6.7 million Jews. Both Jews and Indians are
affluent relative to the general population. Both communities place
high value on learning. Some 25 percent of Indians in the labor force work in information science or mathematics.
Indians hope to emulate Jewish political power, which is a mostly post-WWII phenomenon and tied to the community's concern for Israel, established in 1948, Politico reports.
American Jews have never been uniformly pro-Zionist and today peace groups such as
J-Street and powerful donors like
George Soros take positions decidedly at odds with the Israeli government.
Indians are looking for a similar unifying cause. The well-being of India and its relations with the U.S. could serve as a
point of unity for Indian-Americans, said Anand Shah of the Indian American Community Foundation, which helped organize the New York rally.
Indians must also be willing to contribute financially to political causes in the same way Jews have, said MR Rangaswami, who made his money in Silicon Valley, Politico reported.
For now, there is just one Indian-American who is a member of the House, California Democratic Rep. Ami Bera, who is a physician.
Other prominent Indian-Americans include two women, California Attorney General Kamala Harris, who was re-elected in November, and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and Dr. Vivek Murthy, the newly confirmed U.S. surgeon general.
Other up and coming Indian-Americans on the political scene are Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Republican Neel Kashkari, who lost to incumbent California Gov. Jerry Brown in November, while capturing a respectable 40 percent of the vote. Kashkari is a social liberal who identifies as Hindu, Politico reported.
Outgoing Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has less traction in the community because of the socially conservative positions he takes. Raised a Hindu, Jindal converted to Christianity.
Haley is also a convert to Christianity, having been born into a Sikh family.
Like U.S. Jews, Indian-Americans lean heavily Democratic, with 65 percent identifying with the party. Though just as Jews are
trending in the GOP direction, the Indian community is not locked into the Democratic Party.
Indian-Americans embrace certain liberal values, while leading generally conservative private lives, Politico said.
Many will find it hard to support Republicans who question the science of climate change or deny evolution, it said.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.