Abstract
Indo-US relations have come a long way since India’s Independence. From estranged democracies, during the cold war, they became engaging democracies in the post-cold war period. In the 21st Century, various changing internal and external factors have contributed immensely to strengthening this relationship. One of those catalyst instruments has been the Indian Diaspora. Indo-US relations have been significantly shaped and reshaped over the years by the Indian-Americans. Prime Minister Narendra Modi since 2014 has capitalized on the Indian diaspora as a link between India and America to its core. Narendra Modi has kept the Indian diaspora at the forefront to recalibrate India-US relations through open public engagements in Silicon Valley, election rallies, cultural outreach, political lobbies, economic engagement through Make in India, ease of doing business policies and Philanthropy, etc. Not only the Indian government but also the US government have benefitted from these economically and politically elite sections of Indian-Americans, hence, boosting Indo-US ties to an unprecedented height under Modi’s government.
Keywords: India-US, Indian Diaspora, Indian-American, Pravasi Bharatiya, Narendra Modi, Public Engagement, Soft power
Introduction
India and the US were estranged democracies during the Cold War period. The end of the Cold War gave the two nations the opportunity to engage extensively. Since then the Indian-American diaspora has played a significant role in shaping the India-US relationship. The 4.4 million overseas Indians in the United States of America are the rare example of an incredible journey of Indian-Americans from being “Coolie” “Snake-charmer” to the “Vice – President of USA” (Kamala Harris an Indian-American, became the Vice-President of USA in 2021). At present the Indian diaspora is the second-largest immigrant group in the US. The Indian-Americans have been called a “model minority” that through careers in high-skill occupations and entrepreneurship has emerged as the richest and economically successful group in the US (Chakravorty, Kapur, and Singh, 2017, preface p.10).
The Indian-American community has become a major instrument of India’s soft power in the 21st century. Indians who landed either as students in the American universities or went on H-1B visa as software engineers or techies through their hard work, discipline, peaceful and accommodative nature not only built a special identity and respect for themselves in the American society but as well constructed a positive image of India.
India’s relationship with its diaspora that is largest and most widespread across the world has oscillated through ups and downs. In the post-Independence era, the Indian government's policies towards Indian diaspora were limited to cultural and humanitarian contacts hence overseas Indians were considered as the forgotten children of motherland India (Lal et al., 2006, p.84). The shift in the diaspora policy can be observed in the 21st century with the Indian government forging socio, economic and political connections with its long-lost powerful community. This change can be largely credited to the economic reforms undertaken by the Indian government in the decade of 1990s. The liberalised economy opened for the diasporic community the Indian markets for investment and trade. The Overseas Indians who were till then accused of “brain-drain” were now recognised as a source of “brain-circulation” (means the return migration that started from 1990’s wherein skilled Indian diaspora came back with their knowledge to serve India) thus helping India in its growth and development.
The Report of the High-Level Committee on Indian Diaspora 2001 initiated by Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Government led to the coinage of the term “Indian Diaspora” (High Level Committee on the Indian Diaspora, 2001). This report then opened the door for a more robust diaspora policy by the Indian government. India thus later introduced the Person of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card scheme.
Both PIO and OCI cards were merged in 2015 and gradually brought a person of Indian origin to an extent on par with Non- Residential Indian’s (NRI’s). The ‘Indian Diaspora’ is a generic term used for Indians residing in a foreign land while the PIO means a foreign citizen who at any time held an Indian passport or whose ancestors were born and permanently resided in India, or who is a spouse of a citizen of India. On the other hand, OCI are those sections of the Indian diaspora who were eligible to become citizens of India on or were citizens of India on or at any time after January 26, 1950 or belonged to a territory that became part of India after August 15, 1947(“PIO/OCI,” n.d.). OCI card scheme was introduced by the Indian government to address the dual nationality issue for those Indians who have given up their citizenship to take in exchange for the citizenship of another country. While, NRI’s are those citizens of Indians holding Indian passports but are not residing in India.
The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 lifted the quota/restriction on the immigrants arriving in the US (Lal et al., 2006, p.316). The fallout was that the number of Indian migrants significantly increased in the following decades in the US. The new Indian migrants to the US mostly comprised engineers, doctors, nurses, hoteliers, teachers, students, the business community, etc. The skilled white-collar Indians migrated to the US to make a fortune. The hyphenated ethnic identity of these Indians led them to emotionally oscillate between their host land and their homeland. The untapped potential of the forgotten children who have exploited the migration opportunity to its fullest during 70’s and 80’s was acknowledged as an asset by the Indian government from the 90's. The US government also benefited from these skilled migrants who contributed to America’s growth.
The Indian-American community has effectively mobilized on issues ranging from the nuclear tests in 1998 to Kargil, played a crucial role in generating a favourable climate of opinion in US Congress and defeating anti-India legislation there, and lobbied effectively on other issues of concern to the Indian community (Gupta, 2004). The Indian-American lobby pressurized the American government to lift the sanctions and also supported India economically by raising a fund of 4 billion dollars through Resurgent India Bond (Bhure & Singh, 2017). The Indian government realized the significance of this hyphenated community and brought a notable shift in its policy towards them. The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Non-Resident Indian Day) was initiated in 2003 by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to celebrate the success story of Indians abroad and later the creation of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) in 2004 (it was later merged with the Ministry of External Affairs) under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh these were definite steps taken in the direction of institutionalising India’s diaspora policy.
The diasporic community also played a commendable role by lobbying to push the India-US Civil-Nuclear agreement through the US Congress in 2008 that ended India’s decades long nuclear isolation (“Invest in a new India, Manmohan urges diaspora,” 2007). The increasing political influence of the Indian diaspora in the US and the political support given by them to pursue the nuclear deal was of great value for India.
PM Narendra Modi’s special connect with Diaspora
With a historic landslide victory, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in the elections with Narendra Modi as Prime Minister of India in 2014. Many were initially apprehensive that the US visa ban on Narendra Modi would become a hurdle in furthering India-US ties and the warmth in the relationship which was attained earlier during the Vajpayee government will be missing. In a short while, these anxieties got settled and Prime Minister Modi and US President Barack Obama struck a personal chord that helped in resetting India-US relations. Since then, the Indian-American community has played an immense role in connecting the two democracies. Prime Minister Modi always walked the extra mile to develop a special bond with the diaspora. Even the BJP election manifesto of 2014 states the need to harness a reservoir of NRIs, PIOs, and professionals settled abroad for strengthening ‘Brand India’ (BJP Election Manifesto, 2014).
The manifesto reflects that BJP recognises the potential of the diaspora and looks forward to their proactive role in leveraging its domestic and foreign policy interests. Obviously in line with the BJP manifesto, once elected Prime Minister Modi enthusiastically met the Indian diaspora in his foreign visits. Even at times, he broke the protocol to reach out to them. PM Modi’s engagement with the diaspora was not new as when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2003, he took the initiative to organise the ‘Vibrant Gujarat Summit’ to attract investment for the growth and development of Gujarat State from the diasporic community (Vibrant Gujarat Summit, n.d.).
In his first visit to the US, PM Narendra Modi received a warm welcome from the 18,000 Indian Diasporic community in Madison Square in September 2014. The chants, cheers, and euphoria by the Indian-Americans were the first of its kind for any Indian leader on the foreign land. In his address, he announced that his government will make efforts to ease the visa process for PIO’s (“PM’s address to Indian Community at Madison Square Garden, New York,” 2014). The Madison square meet revealed first the increasing influence and strength of the Indian diaspora in the US and secondly the popularity of PM Narendra Modi among the overseas population. The event created a snowball effect for such public engagements to be organized by the Indian diaspora community in various countries. The event helped in restoring the Indian-American communities' confidence in their hyphenated identity.
The strength of the Indian diaspora was reiterated in 2015 with Modi’s visit to Silicon Valley to meet the tech giants of MNC’s. The visit though was not directly targeting the Indian diaspora but subtly the message of having a strong diasporic community was sent across to the world as most of these big giant companies of Silicon Valley were run by the Indians (“Modi Meets Silicon Valley Tech Honchos,”2015). The Madison Square experience was re-lived through a similar kind of gathering in SAP Center Arena in Silicon Valley.
Various initiatives of the government also brought the diaspora closer to India. The merging of OCI and PIO cards along with the lifelong visa for PIO (Foreigners Division, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, 2015) and the use of media and social media channels to connect with the diaspora along with creating more business-friendly policies boosted the confidence of the Indian-Americans in the stable and positive future of India.
Post-2019 Continuity in Diaspora Engagement
Narendra Modi was re-elected in the 2019 elections this was appreciated by the larger section of the Indian diaspora community. They had faith in the Modi government’s policies and hoped for more diaspora-friendly policies to be introduced like dual citizenship and e-voting rights etc.
After re-election, the first time PM Modi addressed the Indian diaspora at Huston in 2019. Once again, the strength of the diaspora was showcased by organising the “Howdy Modi” event which was attended by PM Modi and by the then US President Donald Trump. This mega summit was attended by approximately 50,000 Indian- Americans and was funded by the overseas Indian volunteers mainly by the Texas India Forum (TIF) (“'Howdy, Modi' event in Houston to showcase the influence of Indian-American community,” 2019). The Indian-Americans are not just an educated and wealthy community today but have fast become an organised, powerful voting bloc with a unified voice, and national political and policy aspirations.
Understanding this, President Trump took the option to address the influential Indian-American voters and garner more voters on his side for the upcoming Presidential elections. The personal chemistry between President Trump and PM Modi was seen during the event, the PM gave an endorsement to Trump for the next elections by chanting the slogan “Abki Baar Trump Sarkar” (“Abki baar, Trump Sarkar, says PM Modi at Howdy, Modi event,” 2019). PM Modi in his address also blamed Pakistan for both the 9/11 and 26/11 terrorist attacks. Trump and Modi connected well with each other in the fight against terrorism. He tried to gather the support of Indian-Americans for the abrogation of Article 370 by stating that “Article 370 had deprived the people of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh of development and equal rights. Forces of terrorism and separatism were taking advantage of the situation.” (“Answer to Howdy Modi is ‘Everything is Fine in India’: PM,” 2019) It was earlier in 2016 while giving an inaugural address at the Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra for Indian Diaspora in New Delhi at the background of the Pathankot and URI attack by Pakistan PM Modi tried to gain support from the diaspora by stating that India has never attacked another nation (“India has never coveted any country’s land: Narendra Modi,” 2016).
It was enthralling to see that during the US Presidential elections in 2020 both the Democrats and Republicans aggressively tried to woo the Indian-Americans. Donald Trump used the “Howdy Modi” event which was later followed by his visit to India in 2020 where he addressed the gathering in Ahmedabad dubbed “Namaste Trump” (Frayer, 2020). On the other side, the Democrats used the ethnic identity of Kamala Harris, an Indian-American, and also released digital graphics for campaigns in 14 Indian languages to woo African-American and South Asian diaspora in general and in particular Indian Diaspora (“Democrats release digital ads in 14 Indian languages to woo,” 2020).
After the outbreak of Covid-19 first time in September 2021 PM Modi visited the US where he had formal meetings with newly elected President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris (“PM Modi to address UNGA, meet Biden, Harris in US,” 2021). The meeting came during a very crucial moment in the aftermath of the Pandemic and the Afghan-Taliban crisis. The meeting also focused on strengthening the India-US strategic partnership and further the point of discussion was the common concern of China’s growing assertiveness in the region. Another agenda of this trip was to meet the Indian-American CEOs along with other leading CEOs from five key sectors such as defence technology, solar energy, etc. to apprise them about the huge economic opportunities while encouraging them to invest in India. This approach of turning ‘brain drain into brain gain’ has been the key pillar of Indian government’s diaspora policy today. It was during the 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held at Bengaluru in 2017, PM in his speech before the diasporic community had said for him FDI means First Develop India and appealed to them to participate in governments flagship programmes like ‘Make in India’ or ‘Digital India’ (“PM Modi asks diaspora to invest in India, work towards its development,” 2017). Due to business-friendly policies, India received the highest FDI amid pandemic in 2020-21 which stood around USD 81.72 billion as against 2019-20 which was USD 74.39 billion and America became the second-largest contributor in the FDI replacing Mauritius (“US pips Mauritius as second-largest source of FDI in India in 2020-21: DPIIT data,” 2021). India is also the highest remittance-receiving country in the world for over a decade. As per World Bank Report in 2021, India received approximately $87 billion, and over 20% of it has been received from the US which is the highest source of remittance for India in 2021. (“India, world’s largest recipient of remittances, received USD 87 bn in 2021: World Bank,” 2021).
As the pandemic struck the world India through its vaccine diplomacy distributed vaccines to its neighbouring countries. India also came to be popularly known as the pharmacy of the world. But India faced a crisis in vaccine production when the Biden administration invoked the Defense Production Act because of which the supply chain of raw materials was affected (Sirohi, 2021). Though this decision was taken in the interest of the American people it created trouble for India. Another issue that cropped up during the early phase of the pandemic was that the Indian make vaccine was not recognised by the US for travel purposes. Indian diaspora through social media created continued pressure on the Biden administration to lift the ban on the supply of raw material and help India by providing with the extra vaccines that the US was holding. The Indian government’s initiative together with Diaspora led to the positive policy shift by the Biden administration. Indian Diaspora in America also started the Covid relief fund to help India’s limited healthcare infrastructure. The prominent among them being “American Indian Foundation (AIF)” that successfully raised USD 25 Million (“American India Foundation raises $25 million for COVID-19 assistance to India,”2021) and “The American Association of Physicians of Indian-Origin (AAPI)” raised approximately USD 5 million (“Indian-American doctors raise $5 million for COVID-19 relief to India,” 2021). Various other Indian-American associations like “Indiaspora”, “Sewa International” etc. have also contributed millions towards India’s effort to fight against the pandemic.
The Indian-American community has always been a stronghold of India in the 21st Century and has consistently stood by India during its difficult phase and so does India. India is increasing its ambit of diaspora policy to reflect the needs and demands of the Indian-American diaspora.
Diaspora as India’s Soft Power in the US
In the 21st century India considers its diaspora as an Indian goodwill ambassador on foreign land. They play a vital role in deconstructing and reconstructing India’s image to accomplish its national interests while nurturing India’s culture across the globe. The diasporic community is using various sources of soft power such as Ayurveda, Bollywood, cuisine, dance, Indian heritage and culture, music, spirituality, and yoga. Indian-Americans have popularized Indian Cuisine in the US. Recognising this incredible work recently on the 73rd Republic Day the Indian government conferred the highest civilian honor Padma Bhushan to the Indian-American culinary expert Madhur Jaffery. Besides that, Indian films and television shows have also garnered a lot of attention in the overseas market in general due to the presence of overseas Indians thus the US has also become a popular destination for the Indian entertainment industry. The celebration of International Yoga Day and the festivities of Diwali in the White House are some examples of India’s soft power projection.
Conclusion
Indian Diaspora in America has played a vital role in acting as a link between the respective governments of India and the US. Their active participation during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government and later during Manmohan Singh’s government is still considered as one of the exemplary contributions of the diaspora towards their homeland. This legacy continued even under Modi’s government. The Public engagement strategy of the Modi government has fostered the relations to the next level.
It’s also important to note that the Indian -Americans are a diverse community reflecting almost similar social fabric of homeland India in America. The religious, linguistic, regional, caste-based identities are still very commonly found among the Indian diaspora that also shapes their community-based organizations and social relationships. The diversity is also visible at the political level wherein PM Modi on various occasions has received the rock star welcome and at the same time, there is a backlash by the members of the diaspora community at the same venue in the form of protest on certain government policies.
The other area that needs attention and has tremendous scope for expansion is the investment by the Indian-Americans in India’s flagship programmes. Having an economically and politically influential diaspora India needs to tap the potential of the diasporic community members to the fullest.
The divided loyalty of Indian-Americans as a result of their hyphenated identity especially among the second and third generation is another issue to be looked at. The divided loyalty of this community is also a result of the lack of dual nationality. Rather the introduction of OCI cards and their associated privileges have enabled Indian-Americans to instead give up their Indian nationality completely in return for American citizenship.
In a nutshell, the Modi government has transformed India’s engagement strategy with the Indian diaspora in the US which has given a boost to India-US relations. But definitely, there is further a wide scope for engaging with diaspora at multiple levels.
Reference
1. Abki baar, Trump Sarkar, says PM Modi at Howdy, Modi event. (2019, September 22). India Today. https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/abki-baar-trump-sarkar-says-pm-modi-at-howdy-modi-event-1602043-2019-09-22
2. American India Foundation raises $25 million for COVID-19 assistance to India. (2021, May 13). The Hindu. https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/american-india-foundation-raises-25-million-for-covid-19-assistance-to-india/article34547181.ece
3. Answer to Howdy Modi is ‘Everything is Fine in India’: PM. (2019, September 22). Narendra Modi. https://www.narendramodi.in/text-of-pm-modi-s-speech-at-indian-community-event-in-houston-texas-546587)
4. Basu, N. (2020, August 17).India ‘overwhelmingly’ reaches out to Democrats as Biden and Harris woo Indian Americans. The Print. https://theprint.in/diplomacy/india-overwhelmingly-reaches-out-to-democrats-as-biden-and-harris-woo-indian-americans/483428/
5. Bhure, R., & Singh, S. (2017). Connecting with Diaspora: BJP’s foreign policy mantra in the twenty-first century. in R. Kothari & E. Khan(Eds.), India Becoming a Global Power in the Twenty-First Century (pp. 125- 140). New Delhi: Atlantic.
6. BJP Election Manifesto 2014. https://cdn.narendramodi.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Manifesto2014highlights.pdf
7. Chakravorty, S., Kapur, D., and Singh, N.(2017). The Other One Percent: Indians in America, NewYork: OUP.
8. Democrats release digital ads in 14 Indian languages to woo. (2020, September 22). The Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/democrats-release-digital-ads-in-14-indian-languages-to-woo-south-asian-voters-in-us/articleshow/78249102.cms
9. Foreigners Division, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. (2015). The Gazette of India : Extraordinary (Notification No. 11). https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in/UserGuide/Merge_PIO_OCI.pdf
10. Frayer, L., Pathak, S., Dwyer, C. & Chappell, B. (2020, February 24). 'Namaste Trump!' India's Modi Welcomes U.S. Leader With An Epic Party. npr. https://www.npr.org/2020/02/24/808096104/namaste-trump-india-greets-u-s-leader-with-epic-party-and-modest-policy-aims
11. Gupta, A. (2004). The Indian Diaspora’s Political Efforts in the United States. Observer Research Foundation. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://www.orfonline.org/research/the-indian-diasporas-political-efforts-in-the-united-states/
12. High Level Committee on the Indian Diaspora. (2001). Report of the High Level Committee on the Indian Diaspora. Indian Council of World Affairs.
13. 'Howdy, Modi' event in Houston to showcase influence of Indian-American community. (2019, August 28). The New Indian Express. https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2019/aug/28/howdy-modi-event-in-houston-to-showcase-influence-of-indian-american-community-2025646.html
14. Indian-American doctors raise $5 million for COVID-19 relief to India. (2021, August 4). The Hindu. https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/indian-american-doctors-raise-5-million-for-covid-19-relief-to-india/article35713913.ece
15. India has never coveted any country’s land: Narendra Modi. (2016, October 2). The Hindu. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/India-has-never-coveted-any-country%E2%80%99s-land-Narendra-Modi/article15041817.ece
16. Invest in a new India, Manmohan urges diaspora. (2007, January 7). The Indian Express. http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/invest-in-a-new-india-manmohan-urges-diaspora-/20359/
17. India, world’s largest recipient of remittances, received USD 87 bn in 2021: World Bank. (2021, November 18). Financial Express. https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/india-worlds-largest-recipient-of-remittances-received-usd-87-bn-in-2021-world-bank/2371516/
18. Lal, B. V., Reeves, P., & Rai, R. (Eds.). (2006). The Encyclopedia of the Indian Diaspora. Singapore: Editions Didier Millet
19. Modi Meets Silicon Valley Tech Honchos. (2015, September 27). The New Indian Express. https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2015/sep/27/Modi-Meets-Silicon-Valley-Tech-Honchos-821077.html
20. PIO/OCI. Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. https://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/CountryQuickLink/703_PIO-OCI.pdf
21. PM’s address to Indian Community at Madison Square Garden, New York. (2014, September 28). PMINDIA. https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/news_updates/pms-address-to-indian-community-at-madison-square-garden-new-york/
22. PM Modi asks diaspora to invest in India, work towards its development. (2017, January 8). Hindustan Times. https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/pm-modi-asks-diaspora-to-invest-in-india-work-towards-its-development/story-aMECWo9WWDqEcoMb9wI2LK.html
23. PM Modi to address UNGA, meet Biden, Harris in US. (2021, September 21). Hindustan Times. https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/pm-modi-to-address-unga-meet-biden-harris-in-us-101632168762175.html
24. Sirohi, S. (2021, April 21). ‘We understand India’s pharmaceutical requirements’:Biden admin on Covid-19 vaccine’s raw material supply issues.The Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/healthcare/ biotech/pharmaceuticals/we-understand-indias-pharmaceutical-requirements- biden-admin-on-covid-19-vaccines-raw-material-supply- issues/articleshow/82157593.cms?from=mdr
25. US pips Mauritius as second largest source of FDI in India in 2020-21: DPIIT data. (2021, May 28). The Economic Times https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/finance/us-pips-mauritius-as-second-largest-source-of-fdi-in-india-in-2020-21-dpiit-data/articleshow/83035777.cms
26. Vibrant Gujarat Summit. (n.d.). Retrieved March, 2, 2022, from https://www.vibrantgujarat.com/about-us
