Why do Indians stand out in many national politics? This is a thought-provoking reason

Source: Global Times New Media

On October 25, Sunak made history by becoming Britain's first Indian prime minister and the youngest prime minister since 1812. His success has brought attention back to the attention of Indians as a special group.

In addition to the United Kingdom, Indians in the United States, Canada, New Zealand and other countries are also constantly entering the center of power, including US Vice President Harris, Canadian Defense Minister Anand and his predecessor Sajan, former Irish Prime Minister Varadkar and other dignitaries have Indian ancestry, not to mention that more and more grassroots officials in these countries are also Indian. This group has become a rapidly rising political force in some Western countries, with Indians valued by people from presidential and prime minister candidates to candidates for district councillors.

So, what is the reason why this group can break through the "racial restrictions" of Western countries and constantly amplify their political voice?

Access to the Multinational Center of Power

Sunak's election as head of Britain's ruling party on October 24 coincided with the start of Diwali, a traditional Indian holiday. The news that he will become British Prime Minister makes the holiday even more festive. In the southwest London town where the Global Times reporter lives, the population is less than 20,000, and the proportion of Indian residents is not high, but on this day, the reporter can clearly feel the excitement of the Indian residents "joy and joy", and the only two Indian restaurants on the commercial street in the town are full at 4 p.m. Through the window, many diners can be seen holding up their mobile phones, showing off photos of themselves and Sunak.

The reporter's Indian neighbor, Naz, believes that Sunak's success in career is the accumulation of generations of Indian immigrants after World War II. The computer software engineer revealed that both of his older brothers work in local government. In fact, there are many Indian families in a similar situation to Naz, and more and more Indians, like Naz's brothers, start as local officials, gradually rise to the central government, and even take up important positions. In addition to Sunak, Britain's current home secretary Braverman, former home secretary Patel, senior climate change official Sharma, and Northern Ireland minister Heaton Harris are all Indians. In the 650-seat House of Commons, there are already 15 Indian MPs.

"It is likely that before there is an Indian president, there will be an Indian-American president." In 2019, the British magazine The Economist predicted so. Since then, Harris has made history by becoming the first Indian-American vice president of the United States. In the United States, Indians have long infiltrated traditional bastions of power that were previously difficult for minorities to penetrate. At the beginning of US President Joe Biden's presidency, his administration appointed 20 senior Indian-American officials, 17 of whom held key positions in the White House. Unlike Vice President Harris, who is half African and half Indian, former U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Nikki Haley is from India. Former Louisiana Governor Jindal and former U.S. Attorney Bharala for the Southern District of New York are also Indians. According to incomplete statistics, there are more than 150 Indians engaged in politics in the United States. In addition to working in the government sector, the U.S. Congress has a four-member Indian caucus known as the Samosa Caucus Meeting, which is heavily funded by Indian business people. Some analysts predict that after the midterm elections in the United States in November, the "Samosa caucus meeting" is likely to be expanded by one person, and Detroit Democratic House candidate Tanedal has a high chance of winning.

The script of the rise of Indians is also playing out in Canadian politics. Since his election as Prime Minister of Canada in 2015, Trudeau has appointed 3 or 4 senior Indian officials to each cabinet formation, including Minister of Defence and Minister of Infrastructure. The number of Indians elected to the Canadian Parliament is also increasing, such as 17 Sikhs elected in 2015 and 20 Indians in 2019. Canada's third largest party, the New Democratic Party, has been led for five years by Indian-Canadian Jagmet Singh.

In other Western politics, Indians have also entered the center of power: in 2015, Costa of Indian descent became prime minister of Portugal; In 2017, his father, Varadkar, from Mumbai, was elected Prime Minister of Ireland; In 2020, Indian-born Priyanka Radhakrishnan was appointed New Zealand's Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities. Although there are no Indian politicians in Australia, like in countries such as Canada, Indians are becoming one of the most politically influential people. In various elections in some Western countries, candidates have competed for the support of Indians.

On April 9, 2022, the day before then-Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the general election, he posted photos of himself cooking curry on social media. In November 2021, then-Australian Labour Party leader Albanese said it was "unthinkable" to have Australia without Indians during a visit to a Hindu temple. During the 2020 election, both Biden and Trump placed campaign ads in various Indian languages on major U.S. television channels, and Biden also used the Hindu holiday of Gannish to attract Indian-American voters. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has participated in the celebration of Indian holidays such as Diwali on several occasions. During his visit to the United States in 2016, he joked: "I have more Sikhs in my cabinet than in the cabinet of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi." ”

Enthusiasm for political participation is much higher than among other groups

"Sunak's rise should not be seen in isolation." Jolia, dean of the School of International Affairs at Jindal University in India, believes that in the past few decades, Indians have achieved a lot of success in the political arena of many countries, from Portugal, Singapore, Suriname, Guyana to Mauritius and Seychelles, and now there are seven Indians serving as the leaders of relevant countries, and many people hold senior positions in the executive, legislative, judicial and other institutions of various countries.

An important factor is "numbers" – the UAE's Gulf Times analysis of the reasons for the continuous "splash" of Indians in the political arena of various countries, saying that India, with a population of about 1.4 billion, is one of the largest exporters of immigrants. There are currently more than 32 million Indian or Indian diasporas living abroad, of which nearly 18 million have acquired citizenship from other countries. UN documents show that from 2000 to 2020, the size of the expatriate population has increased in almost all countries and regions in the world, with the largest increase in the population of overseas Indians, reaching nearly 10 million. From the Gulf to North America to Australia and the United Kingdom, the Indian and Indian diaspora is located all over the world.

Indians are not only the main immigrant group in many Western countries, but also one of the fastest growing groups in the number of immigrants. It is estimated that there are about 1.7 million Indians in the UK, or 2.5% of the country's total population; There are about 1.6 million people in Canada, accounting for more than 4% of its total population, making it the largest immigrant group in Canada. Indians are the second largest immigrant group in the United States and one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups in the country, with 4.6 million Indian-Americans representing 1.4 percent of the U.S. population. Australia's Indian population has exceeded 780,000, and this group has surpassed the Chinese to become Australia's second largest immigrant group after the British. Arunacharaam, a demographer at Monash University in Australia, recently said that Indians will easily become Australia's largest immigrant group within 5 years. The huge size of the population has made Indians a "vote bank" that politicians in many Western countries dare not despise.

If "large numbers" are the reason why Indians are valued in many countries, then economic affluence and the emphasis on education provide the basis for this group to participate in politics. High income and high education are common characteristics of Indians in Western countries. According to the Pew Research Center, the median annual income of Indian-American households is $119,000, nearly double the national median annual household income of $67,000. According to a study by Statistics Canada, 50 per cent of South Asian-Canadians (mostly from India) have a bachelor's degree or higher. Among South Asian women, that percentage rises to 62 per cent, well above the 24 per cent of white Canadian men and 38 per cent of white women.

Unlike other Asians, high enthusiasm for political participation is one of the important reasons why Indians can stand out in the political arena of many countries. Ramakrishnan, a scholar at the University of California who surveyed Asian-Americans, believes that Indians are far more likely to participate in politics as donors, voters and candidates than other immigrant groups. His view was confirmed in this year's midterm election campaign: Indian-American candidates in counties and territories across the United States are running in droves for office. The enthusiasm of Indians to participate in politics can also be seen in Canada's 2021 election. A record 49 Indian candidates were vying for seats in Parliament. Of these, 17 Indians were elected. Several Canadian statistics show that Indians are the most actively voted ethnic group in the country, even above whites. Active voting will not only discourage political parties and politicians from taking Indians' demands lightly, but will also lead to more Indian candidates being elected, creating a virtuous circle.

Why Politics? Anai, an Indian-British who started his own immigration more than 20 years ago, told the Global Times reporter that politics is the ultimate way to change the living environment of the Indian community, and "in parliament, we need our people to speak for us." He said that his generation of immigrants still seems to be a generation that serves British society, but in the next generation, he hopes to have more Sunak-like figures.

Indians also make it easier for them to succeed in politics. A number of scholars said that Indians are more likely to coexist with people in other countries and are more integrated. At the same time, Indian politicians will take the initiative to demonstrate their ethnic identity and actively speak for their own ethnic group. Yakubowitz, an expert on minority communities at the University of Technology Sydney, believes that proficient English skills and a shrewd way of running politics make Indians stand out among ethnic minorities. Keen politicians, they have also set up associations and lobbies to help other Indians run for election, canvassing for them and raising funds. Some analysts said that India's electoral system is far more complex than that of Western countries such as Canada, so Indians participating in elections in Western countries is like playing "passing home". In addition, the willingness to live in groups has also created the conditions for Indians to "win" under the Western electoral system, such as Keith Watts, an Indian-Briton who represented Leicester in the East End from 1987 to 2019. His 32-year record as an Asian MP is closely related to the gathering and unity of the Indian people in the constituency.

It is a double-edged sword for bilateral relations

Indians in various countries are not only gradually occupying a place in politics, but also in the economic and technological fields. Their rise in power has not only made the host country impress this group, but also made the Indian government pay special attention. Beginning in 2003, the Indian government designated 9 January, Mahatma Gandhi's return to India from South Africa in 1915, as the Day of the Indian Expatriate (PBD) to commemorate the contribution of the Indian diaspora and the Indian diaspora to India's development. PBD has become the flagship project of the Indian government to strengthen ties with Indians and the Indian diaspora, and New Delhi hopes to strengthen bilateral relations with their host countries by strengthening ties with Indians and the Indian diaspora.

The political rise of Indians has indeed fulfilled the above wishes of the Indian government to a certain extent. Jolia, dean of the School of International Affairs of Jindal University in India, said that associations and organizations established by Indians in various countries to lobby the governments of relevant countries will have a certain impact on the policies of these countries towards India, such as the member of the "Samosa Caucus" of the US Congress, California Congressman Rohit Khanna proposed in July this year to waive potential sanctions against India for purchasing advanced Russian weapons systems, which was later passed by the US House of Representatives. Jolia noted that members of the Samosa Caucus support each other and maintain ties with the Modi government.

But does the rise of Indian political power mean that India's relations with the host country will inevitably rise? Lin Minwang, a researcher at the Institute of International Studies of Fudan University, told the Global Times reporter that the rise to power of Indian politicians, including Sunak and Harris, in different countries will make Indians feel ethnically close, but this does not mean that India's development and bilateral relations between these countries will definitely gain impetus. After Sunak became British prime minister, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that the new British prime minister is a "living bridge" between the two countries, hoping to jointly transform the historical ties between India and Britain into a modern partnership. But Indian immigrants who become British citizens must first consider British political interests, and Indian dignitaries such as Sunak are no exception. India and the UK are at odds over the ownership of the Bright Mountain diamonds and immigration, but for the young British prime minister, his priority is to "bring stability and prosperity to Britain".

Lin Minwang said that the rise of Indians is actually a double-edged sword for the relationship between India and related countries, which may have both positive and negative effects. For example, he said, many Sikhs in Canada oppose the Indian government, and the more influence they have in Canadian politics, the more restrictions they are likely to have on Canada-India relations. In addition, many Indian Tamils want independence in their region, and many of them have difficulty in promoting closer ties between India and related countries after coming to Southeast Asian countries.

Ji Shuangcheng Zheng Ke, special correspondent of this newspaper in Britain, the United States, and Canada