Nikki Haley’s victory Tuesday in the Republican primary battle for the South Carolina Governor’s mansion is symbolic of the huge strides that South Asian Americans have made in the past six years. I say this completely agnostic as to what kind of person or leader she will be or which policies she supports. You don’t have to support her politics one bit to pause and appreciate the demographic and historical significance of Tuesday’s victory. 2010 is a year in which a “raghead” is a few months away from being elected the chief executive of South Carolina. Something has fundamentally shifted. In 2004 when I wrote about Nikki on SM I did so in a post which cited Dalip Singh Saund in the title. He was the lone anomaly in Indian-American history.
So like, what’s up with South Carolina? Not widely recognized (at least by this blogger) as being a bastion of minority politics, all of a sudden South Carolina is the place to be if you are South Asian and have your eyes on the prize. Earlier this year, you may recall that Nikki Randhawa-Haley, 32, won the Republican Primary in South Carolina?s House District 87 and was to run unopposed in the November election. [SM]
Today Saund is no longer an anomaly but a harbinger:
The Republican Party stepped away from its long and uncomfortable history of racial and ethnic politics in South Carolina on Tuesday, nominating an Indian American woman for governor and an African American man for the House…<
p>Nikki Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, overwhelmingly captured the GOP gubernatorial nomination over Rep. J. Gresham Barrett — despite a whisper campaign insinuating that she is not really a Christian, as she says she is. And in the 1st Congressional District, Tim Scott, a black state lawmaker from Charleston, convincingly defeated Charleston County Council member Paul Thurmond, a son of the late senator Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.). Barrett and Thurmond are white. [WaPo]
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p>A commentator in the Baltimore Sun was exultant this afternoon. He even invoked spelling bees, ivy league schools, and Kal Penn:
… the next decade is set to be the Indian-American decade. Second generation Indian-Americans are building on their parents’ success and achieving in diverse fields. From Ms. Haley’s political success (she is the likely Republican nominee for governor of South Carolina) to prime-time TV, its hard to miss the rise of Indian-Americans.
As late as the 1990s, there was only one notable Indian-American character on TV, a cartoon character, Apu on “The Simpsons.” From the lovable, Slurpee-peddling Apu, we now have an Indian-American on a major TV show each night of the week. From Mindy Kaling on “The Office” to Naveen Andrews on “Lost” to Aziz Ansari on “Parks and Recreation” to Kunal Nayyar on “Big Bang Theory,” Indian-Americans are suddenly everywhere.Indian-Americans don’t just win elections; they win national spelling bees, including 9 of the last 25. Indian-Americans have also taken home three Nobel Prizes. At any Ivy League school, more than 5 of the population is Indian-American, quadruple the share of the national population. [BaltSun]
And this on the heels of Nina Shen Rastogi article in Slate in which she writes about a tipping point of another kind:
Here’s a little secret about me: I like to count Indians. Ever since I was little, I’ve kept a running tally of the South Asian people I’ve seen on American television or in the movies. In the ’80s and ’90s, the pickings were slim. I remember being deeply disappointed to learn that Fisher Stevens was not, in fact, Indian, despite the fact that his head-wagging, malaprop-laden turn in Short Circuit was a blitzkrieg of cringe-inducing clichés. But did you know that the pretty bald woman in Star Trek: The Motion Picture was born in Mumbai?…According to my count, primetime TV now has about a dozen South Asians in regular or recurring roles–and that’s after the loss of Kal Penn on House, Parminder Nagra on ER, Naveen Andrews on Lost, and Sendhil Ramamurthy on Heroes. Meanwhile, a handful of new South Asian faces are waiting to make their debut next fall, and NBC is about to out-Indian everyone with its new sitcom Outsourced, based on a low-budget 2006 film about an American novelty company whose call center gets relocated to India. Why are there so many Indians on TV all of a sudden?
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p>In part, it’s a simple matter of demographics. Immigration from the subcontinent didn’t begin in earnest until the late 1960s. So it’s only now that U.S.-born Indians–who make up about half of the current crop of South Asian performers–are starting to gain a critical mass both in front of and behind the camera. [Slate]
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p>But back to Haley for a second. Don’t anyone forget the huge importance that South Carolina has in Presidential primaries. You can decide to skip Iowa, you can get crushed in New Hampshire, but if you win in SC you have life. Every single Republican candidate will want to be Haley’s best friend now. I doubt Palin will run in 2012, but she endorsed Haley. Mitt Romney will run without a doubt, and he has donated a small fortune (~$42,000) to her already. This means that Haley’s place on the national stage is secured in a way that even Jindal’s isn’t.
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p>And what about the religion question that SM readers are so focused on? I was happy to hear that NPR touched on her Sikh roots on Morning Edition Tuesday:
Haley does still occasionally attend Sikh services. The Rev. Ray Popham, in the small town of Aiken, says he gets questions about that from his congregation.
Noting that Sikhs and Christians have their own ideas and paths, Popham says, “Religiously-wise, you can’t be both — and it sounds like someone is trying to be political if they’re trying to be both.” [Link]
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p>CNN’s Belief blog took the time to give its readers a little primer on Sikhism. Regardless of whether Haley is Christian or not, this potential new post of hers could provide an opportunity for Sikhs to educate Americans and fight general ignorance about Sikhism, especially post 2001.
A lot has changed in six years since I first started writing about politics at Sepia Mutiny. Most of you know that I gravitate to the left of center. I am not asking you to jump for joy and be blind to her politics just because Haley is Indian American. I am not asking you whether she is real or fake as has been debated ad nauseum on some comment threads. I am asking some of you old timers, the Gen-Xers, to take a breath and see how far things have come. When we were kids our parents forced us to be doctors or engineers. When I have a kid I am going to force him/her to be a governor.
Why are you setting the bar so low? I dont want your slacker kid distracting mine from his/mine goals.
we’re old.
it’s him/her. i guess english champ you ain’t. no spelling bee for the future rugrats then?
Although I am not american, it is nice to see Indians in such high positions in many fields. Where I am from, Indians are treated practically like slumdogs despite our commitment to hardwork and obeying the law.
the next decade is set to be the Indian-American decade
???????????
I would sort-of agree with this. Given that the baby boomer generation is retiring, their replacements as CEOs/CIOs/CTOs are often Indians. What other minority is so driven by mummy and daddy pushing them to be better than the Joneses ?
What’s up with that Baltimore-Sun article and all the chest thumping?
There is some point to Nina Shen Rastogi’s piece in Slate about marvelling how far we have come from Apu jokes of the early 90s and rural/suburban isolation of the 70s/80s.
Projecting into future saying we are the next best thing could often be counter-productive.
Abhi: Wait just a minute. Excuse me, but I don’t remember – ever – pushing you to be a Rocket Scientist. You yourself were just fascinated by watching too many Star Trek episodes decided to be an Astronaut some day. By the way forget about becoming Governor, no Grandson/Granddaughter of mine will ever settle for anything less than POTUS. You got that? Humm;-)
The usernames politics and political are being used by different users. Sorry shallowthinker you were the object of a driveby pedanting
Sorry, meant Abhi. Btw auto correct suggested Angus when I typed Abhi, one day hopefully it won’t
Despite the recent prominence of public figures such as Haley and Jindal, Indian-Americans, and South Asians, are still a small enough group that relying on old-fashioned ethnic voting blocks is not an option. Blacks, Latinos, Poles and Irish (for Chicago) can still throw enough weight behind one candidate of the same tribe. Indians will probably have to follow the Jewish example, where Jewish candidates can win even in places where there are not a lot of Jews, like Wisconsin and Minnesota – both of which have Jewish members in the U.S. Senate.
Good luck to Nikki Haley – and tell the national media to back off, and let you get to work.
Congratulations kudos to her. She rose above the nastiness to win the primary against some real troglodytes. That said, she has an insane political philosophy and I hope she loses the general election.
Indian-American politicians = Jewish politicians? Are you serious? Jewish American politicians advance the common interests of Israel and their Jewish heritage. Neither Piyush nor Niky cares for US-India interests or Hindu/Sikh (respectively) interests. Indians – by which you mean IAs – and Hindu Americans have quite a few legislators to represent their interests; Frank Pallone, Gary Ackerman, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Sharad Brown notably.
It’s funny to see the Indian media as well as IAs born here getting thrilled over the likes of Piyush and Niki – ignoring their politics. Even our resident GOPer apologist Manju, shouldn’t care isn’t it? Because it is just another American making it to higher office?
When we voted out Carter and voted in a senile buffoon with a buffon, we entered the lost years of drift passing the buck to the next generation. Thirty years later, Germany’ most popular woman in politics is a theoretical physicist. America’s most popular woman in politics is an inarticulate talking head who believes that Flintstones is a documentary, while another well schooled governor – a star no less – is an unabashed creationist.
The Louisiana lawmakers have unanimously resolved to pray for divine intervention to clear up the oil slick! While cleanup crews and technical teams continue efforts to stop crude gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana lawmakers are proposing a different approach: prayer. State senators designated Sunday as a day for citizens to ask for God’s help dealing with the oil disaster. “Thus far efforts made by mortals to try to solve the crisis have been to no avail,” state Sen. Robert Adley said in a statement released after last week’s unanimous vote for the day of prayer. “It is clearly time for a miracle for us.” http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/06/louisiana_gives_up_on_the_gulf.php
There is probably something to be said that her ‘Indian heritage’ (whatever that is defined as) contributed to making her (and Bobby) the people they are but that is subjective.
The other side of the coin is that she won ‘despite being’ Indian. She would not have won if she had embraced her Indianness and it almost seems like she had to lose that (or at least tone it down). If there is one thing this win tells me, it is that skin color matters less but cultural heritage matters just as much. Guys like the Baltimore Sun guy (who is also published in the WSJ) need to relax. Not to mention I am puzzled why these newspapers are publishing the views of one more guy with a management Consultancy background living in Mumbai, whose opinion matters as much or as little as mine or anyone else’s.
The one good thing that may come out of this upsurge in Indians in office is that they would be more open to hearing Indian’s concerns (despite India’s blundering diplomatic establishment) instead of throwing indiscriminate money at Pakistan.
May I predict a Hillary resurgence in the making just based on the way she’s conducted herself recently and is working her butt off in her new job. The latest McChrystal leaks are just one more thing to this story. Her relationship with the army, her star appeal, the way she’s reorganized her offices, her centrist policies and her work ethic and intelligence make me wonder. I was not a supporter but looking at the ineptitude of this administration and the loonies dominating the GOP I can’t help but wonder if 2016 is too late for her. Of course things are always unpredictable, but if one of the GOP buffoons currently on display wins in 2012, she has a good chance in 2016.
Lemme just say that her husband does not exactly look white. I actually thought he was desi until a month or so ago.
I am quite serious. Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) and Al Franken (D-Minnesota) won in states that do not have large Jewish populations, so Israel is not a major issue for those voters. Neither state has large evangelical communities, so cultural issues such as gay marriage or evolution do not become prominent. These two men benefited from the perception that since Jews are smart and capable, then Jewish senators should be smart and capable as well.
By comparison, both Jindal and Haley demonstrated their executive acumen. Jindal had extensive experience in reforming Louisiana’s state health care system and the University of Louisiana. Leaving aside Haley’s ethnicity, South Carolina is also notable for its lack of women politicians. So many middle-class white women can relate to her, seeing a woman put-upon by the ole-boys-club.
Neither Jindal nor Haley focus on the cultural issues which seem to be the focus of some lefties’ ire. Indeed, many immigrant Indians can be very socially conservative. Yet, that has not prevented them from being seen as capable administrators in government, business, or higher education. It is this perception of competence that will benefit aspiring Indian-American politicians, as it has for Jewish politicians.
Homeboy also wears what might be a kara in some pics. Sikhnis have been known to dictate before so it might not be so surprising. We don’t give that easy
I sure hope not. None of these Indian American candidates seem to care all that much about India (any more so than any other nation). Just how it should be.
True – India has its own government and foreign service to represent its interests. Indian-American politicians will only get elected if they can demonstrate they can address the concerns of their constituents.
I am not implying they would be going the extra step to favor another nation (India). They would just be in a better position to appreciate India’s sensitivities and concerns than someone who has 0 understanding of India.
You are mixing cause and effect, I am referring to the effect of their election not the cause.
Abhi, I loved the last paragraph of your essay. It neatly sums up my feelings on this day as well.
as i have said before, india is not israel. it would be analogous (though not quite) to a chinese american politician being more involved with china-usa issues. china and india are too geopolitically important for ethnic groups to distort the policy too much. re: jewish senators, before senators from wisconsin are jews http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jewish_American_politicians#Current_Senators
interestingly al franken replaced another jew in minnesota. outside of the south i doubt their religion is an issue (i’m from oregon and ron wyden’s jewishness is almost unknown among the electorate because it isn’t an issue).
btw, reality check: jews peaked at 4% of the population around 1950.’
What other minority is so driven by mummy and daddy pushing them to be better than the Joneses ?
go on a top-tier UC campus, close your eyes, and and point in a random direction. you’ll discover plenty of them.
I’m not sure how Nikki and Bobby are great examples of the Progress of Indian-Americans. They have both changed their names and religion, while doing everything possible to disassociate themselves form any sort of Indianess. They both have run for state parties that have long histories of trying to suppress minority rights, while doing nothing to change their Party’s stances. In fact, they both have embraced the Anti-Federal Government Libertarianism/Conservatism that the GOP has used to appeal to Southern Whites who used to vote for openly White Supremacist candidates.
Basically, Nikki and Bobby give shield to the racist Southern GOP to say “Look were not racist, we like Indians!” while they pass the same sorts of racist laws they have been pushing since the end of Reconstruction.
Fortunately, there are actually several Indian-Americans who are running for high public office this year, without running away from their Indian heritage or cozying up to the most racist elements in American politics. Unfortunately, Nikki and Bobby can’t be counted among this group.
btw, there’s been a strange tendency for jews to be overrepresented in the legislative vs. executive positions (senators, not governors). that’s one explanation why we haven’t had a jewish president as presidents disproportionately come form executives right now (current president being an exception). randomly turns out that indian americans aren’t following this playbook.
The guy who wrote the Baltimore Sun thing seems to have written a hugely hyperbolic stuff on WSJ blog. It has a ridiculous prediction about an Indian in white house this decade. Written by someone who is not even American and has ridiculous claims like
Hyperbole needs to be kept in check here. Remember how Jindal was going to be the star of the Republican party and then the Republican response to State of Union happened ….
The article though far fetched in its claims of the next decade being Indian American is also troubling on some accounts. The achievements of the younger generation of Indian American’s born and raised in the US is impressive and encompasses many diverse fields from medicine to finance, from journalism to performing arts. They have broken free of the constraints of their parents who could immigrate solely on their science and technology background. But in the political arena they are having to prove their “America-ness” by bailing out of their religious identity and in the case of Piyush Jindal being zealous in his embrace of Christianity.
Hopefully in the coming decade Indian Americans will make strides in politics without having to give up on their religion.
Thanks for visiting from Fire Dog Lake.
Yawn – Obama left the Trinity Church in Chicago and Rev. Wright behind. I don’t think there are too many people complaining about that.
[deleted by admin]
Don’t act ignorant. Leaving a faith and leaving a congregation are two entirely different things.
Comments from india and the indian press on Haley and Jindal, are pretty much as off-base as comments from US-folks on indian news and happenings..the WSJ piece is specially silly
KXB –
Yes, clearly it takes a crazy Lefty from Fire Dog Lake to point out that the GOP embraces racist policies in the Deep South. I mean, its not like a member of Haley’s own party called her and the President “ragheads” then repeatedly refused to apologize on the basis that he’s just a “redneck”.
Maybe – if you adopt the the notion that your religion is determined by how you choose your parents. If we are going to get into the business of unchanging characteristics, there are plenty of nonsensical theories on caste that you can read about.
Evidently, we can choose what jobs to pursue, what political party to join, what kind of person to marry (and there are plenty of Indians who can get just as upset by marrying someone from a different part of India), where to live – but your religion is stamped at birth, and cannot be changed. If it is changed, it must be due to considerations other than personal.
Jindal has not said one negative thing about Hinduism. Haley has not said one negative thing about Sikhism. Consequently, I don’t care about what set of fairy tales they wish to embrace.
And he was quickly and repeatedly rejected by the rest of the state’s Republican party.
Yet again, people are upset about conversion for political gain. I’ve said it before, conversion only makes sense for political reasons. Any other reason for conversion indicates that you actually believe in one fairy tale over another, and therefore are a certified lunatic who is uniquely unqualified for office.
Yawn. Looks like another person of Indian origin in the states who had to shed their identity to be taken seriously.
Here in Canada about 90% of the South Asian politicians are Punjabi Sikhs who havent had to convert to gain votes and some even sport turbans.
When the states can elect an Indian who hasn’t anglicized his/her last name (first name is alright because it makes it easier for the goras to pronounce :)) then maybe it will be something worth talking about.
desis are a big viting block up there. not in the US… its a different game.
This is true.
But, if you look at people like Ujjahl Dosanjh (I know I spelt one of those wrong) and Wally Oppal, they had political careers before South Asians constituted a large voting group.
You mean like Jindal?
I fail to see you irrationale. Obama wasn’t “born” into Wright’s congregation anymore than his parents were, but he’s maintained the same christian faith from the get-go as far as I can tell. Unless you’re a freeper who swears he’s a cryptomuslim (in which case, you’re deranged), it’s a specious point
I fail to see you irrationale. Obama wasn’t “born” into Wright’s congregation anymore than his parents were, but he’s maintained the same christian faith from the get-go as far as I can tell. Unless you’re a freeper who swears he’s a cryptomuslim (in which case, you’re deranged), it’s a specious point
If you read what I wrote, I do not believe that the accident of birth determines what your religion is. It’s a specious point alright – one I did not make. But hey, keep up with random name-calling, you’ll fit in just fine with Jake Knotts’ crowd.
Outsourcing, strange gods and sikhism as a cult, not to mention Jim Crow. Now despite all of that, a desi can be a dem without having their identity attacked. I fail to see why a desi GOPer should be held to higher standards.
Do you hear that??? The national population contains one Indian American — ME, plus maybe an arm or a leg (probably some guy doing the hokey-pokey at the Canadian border). The rest of you — including Nikki Haley — are all fakes.
one pol is now party ideology.
while you’re at it, why don’t you say that old tripe about “abe lincoln was a republican”, so the republicans are the true defenders of the af ams. keep up the false eq of the dem party of then to the dem party of now. (ps. those dems fled to the republican party.).
then you turn a wilfully blind way to the gop’s tactics. tactics that atwater described in crystal clear terms. tactics that nixon initiated and go on to the current day.
then why cite the SC raghead guy?
Because I didn’t argue the repibs weren’t racist and even if I were its too far back. The enabling of Jim Crow goes all the way up til and including FDR, JFK, and LBJ who are part of the modern democratic parties identity…FDR agreed to overlook lynching in return for dixiecrat votes on the new deal. LBJ an JFK made sure voer suppresion of blacks was enforced,watering down the 1957 civil rights bill. Even Carter was a former sgertagtionist who blew dog whistles transcending the states-rights one XT references. Jim Webb too. Both Clintons have used race in brutal fashions. I could go on.
then why are yuou incabable of naming one besides strom thurmond? becase virtually all stayed democratic. PS, this is democratic propganda. I believe even jyotsana has quitely stopped assertng this, as I assume he looked into and saw I was actually right.
where did I deny the tactics? you’re projecting your behaviour on me.
Look at more recent matters. In those areas where Democrats have a near monopoly – big cities – look at the quality of services. I like Chicago, and I think Mayor Daley has done many good things, but the school system is a joke, an expensive joke. Most of the students are either black or Hispanic, two large Democratic constituencies – yet they are largely ignored in favor of public sector unions. We currently have a debate in town about WalMart wishing to open stores inside city limits, but the unions (all Democrat) are opposed. Considering that black and Hispanic residents in city neighborhoods do not enjoy the shopping choices suburbanites have, this would seem to be a no-brainer.
So while it is certainly true that Democrats are far more comfortable with minorities than Republicans – it is probably more accurate to say they seek minority votes more actively than Republicans. Once in office, they return to ignoring them. BTW – there are many economic conservatives who level the same charge against Republicans.
The usernames politics and political are being used by two different users. That said where does the idea come that someone concerned about racism would find a need above all else to defend a party over addressing the issue? Do you think most people are mindless party hacks? Pointless and obfucatory come to mind.
People do tend to assume the whole world thinks the way they do. . .