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.
The usernames politics and political are being used by two different users.
instead of repeating this ad nauseum, why not modify the handle? i used to add “the atheist” to my handle to indicate to people i wasn’t a muslim.
the name calling purely on partisan lines shows that indian americans are quite the assimilators. there’s nothing particular brown about this; the anti-christian stance can even be found among secular white liberals.
also, granting the truth to the southern strategy, it’s kind of historically illiterate to bring up reconstruction. the GOP was pro-civil rights back then before they caved (look at the biographies of charles sumner and thaddeus stevens). additionally, the democrats were losing the black vote as late as 1956 on the presidential level, when adlai stevenson ran on a ticket with a segregationist and accommodated the dixiecrats. the current alignment of racial politics dates from the 1960s. that’s a long time in my book, but let’s not back-project it inordinately.
Meaning we all are the same and anyone who, say professes a different faith in the same region of the world is misguided at best and to bw treated as inferior? I can you someone else might think that but not me
The point of repeating that is to draw attention to the idea of identity on the internets. Will stop as it would be absurd to claim rights to an abstract concept
you — see
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.
Look at where most of them run. In Toronto and Vancouver they run for office in parts where there is a big punjabi populations. Last year I was driving through Surrey and all 3 major political parties were running a punjabi canidate for office. But after they get elected most of them are beyond useless[other then Ujjal Dosanjh]. The only role they really have is when it time for a Diwali or Vaisakhi event. They take there party leaders to get votes and act like big shots in front of there own community.
In Canada Sikhs are following in some ways the ethnic community model of the Irish, and actually in some ways may end up more integrated than south Asian Americans
In 2007, when 358 Christian, Jewish and Muslim members of the U.S. House passed a non-binding resolution recognizing the historical significance of the Hindu and Sikh festival of Diwali, Jindal, then a member of the House, was one of only a handful of legislators that publicly abstained.
This bothers me and I’m not sure that Haley would have acted differently.
To take your logic further, then the second gen is now neither political nor lunatic but brainwashed/innocent in believing the fairytale. Why can’t that be the case for the person who is converting? Unless you think that anyone following any particular faith is a lunatic.
I really liked the last paragraph as well. As a Gen-Xer member of the North American desispora, I will always carry a bit of a grudge against Mr. “chilled monkey brains” Spielberg (no really, that film worked wonders for our social status). It’s nice to know that the desi ethnic background is no longer an automatic disqualification for many fields (whether because of family, community or societal factors). Yes, in certain jurisdictions it may be necessary to be desi and present/have other attributes (Christian, Palin-worshipper etc.) but even that is an improvement over “people will never elect a brown man”.
I remember the saying in feminist circles along the lines that true equality will have been achieved when a mediocre woman has the same opportunities for success and advancement as a mediocre man and I think there is some merit to that metric. Here’s to brown mediocrity!
I think some Sikhs celebrate diwali to join in a.great celebration but others celebrate bandhi chor nowas I think….highlight that some sikhs consider themselves a distinct community within south Asia.
Harbinger Singh Saund?
and actually in some ways may end up more integrated than south Asian Americans
…meanwhile, in bizarro world an ethnic group which manages to create its own community and political structures semi-independent of the mainstream is in “some ways” “more integrated” than a community whose political bright lights are criticized for being sellouts and has intermarriage rates in the neighbor of 1/3 for those born or raised in the states.
Thanks for keeping it respectful. Maybe yoga fire can point out that we tend to assume everyone thinks the world is exactly the way we think it is. A real intolerance those who do not see measure things in the right manner. You are that sure of yourself and the ways you measure and assess the experiences and whole histories of others? Commenting here can be drag because of that
Among other typos, see and measure
huh? who doesn’t think they are a distinct community in South Asia, at least in India. some sikhs consider themselves a distinct community within south Asia
Check the rate of what may be a preoccupation, intermarriage, in a few generations, and see what it is like. My guess is there will be robust intermarriage and also still a discernable Punjabi culture, and Punjabis will be found in a.range of occupations and so thus integration. Meanwhile Punjabi names, food, culture is familiar and increasingly not considered foreign in Canada. This is a phase.
PS, guess you’re right, my bad
What are these in reference to and what the hell do they mean?
What are these in reference to and what the hell do they mean?
lol.
Why are desis so much more accepted in America/Canada than in S-E Asia? Here in Hong Kong, they won’t even take us in the police force. I’m moving to the USA, c’mon, baby!
“Why are desis so much more accepted in America/Canada than in S-E Asia? Here in Hong Kong, they won’t even take us in the police force.”
both depend heavily on immigrants to grow the economy, always have. does HK?
haha
Yes–30% of HK’s population is from the mainland of China–they are real simpletons (in the main), so I’m not at all sure why they look down on us desis here–simple racism, I guess.
I got he impression that desis in HK are quite wealthy…
simple racism, I guess.
i’ve mentioned this before and run up against some skepticism, but a lot of east asians perceive themselves as white-skinned and south asians as black and ugly. also, south asian societies are perceived to be primitive and undeveloped. observe:
For Mr. Hussain, subtle discrimination has been part of daily life for the two and half years he has lived here as a student and then research professor at Sungkonghoe University in Seoul. He says that, even in crowded subways, people tend not sit next to him. In June, he said, he fell asleep on a bus and when it reached the terminal, the driver woke him up by poking him in the thigh with his foot, an extremely offensive gesture in South Korea.
…
Ms. Hahn said that after the incident in the bus last July, her family was “turned upside down.†Her father and other relatives grilled her as to whether she was dating Mr. Hussain. But when a cousin recently married a German, “all my relatives envied her, as if her marriage was a boon to our family,†she said.
Without adjusting for purchasing power parity I think everyone in HK is quite wealthy. The monthly rent on a cardboard box under a bridge there probably runs more than an entire rowhouse in DC.
China is a pretty racist society against any minority. In most western societies minorities do better than else where, be it mideast, India, China, or South East Asia. In the US and Canada minorities do better than in Europe. I guess it has to do with a better standard of living, better education and the way the country was built, especially US compared to Europe. My theory doesn’t explain Japan’s unwillingness to accept immigrants, but their demography will bite them, well deserved I guess.
The article about mr Hussain and the Korean woman made me think of my family. They have “allowed” me to marry an non-Indian if I want. Not that I would have asked them, I grew up in Sweden and later moved to New York. My parents never had any opinions about who I dated and they have told my uncles to forget any arranged marriages. So after both my parents passed a couple of years ago, my uncle told me I can bring a “non Indian” to Kolkata if I want.
No one ever told me about what they mean with a “non Indian”, but it would be very interesting if this means everyone or just a white european or american. I am not so sure some one from Nigeria or an arab woman would be greeted to my uncles house in Kolkata.
When it comes to my mothers side, I already know they wouldn’t accept any non-Indians.
China is a pretty racist society against any minority. In most western societies minorities do better than else where, be it mideast, India, China, or South East Asia
in general i agree. one thing that i wonder: are chinese indians treated better than indian hong kongers are? half-white media media personalities exist more plentifully in both east and south asia than chindians from what i gather (since supply is an issue, singapore would be a good test case since there are large numbers of chindians there).
Vanquished, to leave the field defeated.
razib
India is a more multi racial society than China, so my guess would be yes, people of chinese decent are better treated than indians in China. Let’s face it, it is not so much about nationality as it is about morphological features, and there are plenty of persons with mongolian features that have done well in India.
with last few breaths….the username San has been used by at least two different users….
A Chinese Indian Meiyang Chang (from Dhanbad) did very well in Indian Idol 4. One may look him up in youtube. See for example, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcILrWSrpNE
that’s a. a pretty stupid statement, and b. besides the point. i think the average indian in hk is quite wealthy to answer puliogre’s point. and, importantly, that is what other hk’ers believe too.
Ben Jahrvi was not an Indian? He made Johnny 5, beat bad boys, started a business, became US Citizen, maybe even got the white gal in the end, I cant remember. Darn. My childhood shattered.
Tipping point for what? At best, she supports the same crap policies as all the other moderate (i.e. center-right to right) politicians running or winning office today – in this case with identity politics as a cover for the crap policies. At worst, she ranges into the tea-party type politics, which is the political equivalent of supporting creationism in schools.
Nikki Haley on economics:
This is exactly the same kind of center-right supply side economics that politicians have been spouting (for the last 15 years on both sides of the aisle) for a while. It refuses to recognize that the overall macro problem for the economy is lack of demand, not lack of supply, which means more support for eliminating crap laws that make it difficult to impossible to organize labor unions, not less. At minimum, some attention to the reality of home foreclosures would be nice.
Not that I care – it’s their own interests they’re damaging in the long run. But it’s going to cause a lot of pain for the people of South Carolina if she gets elected, regardless of her ethnicity, and that’s sad.
Witness:
I hate the Obama health bill, but mainly because it focuses minimally on expanding and improving coverage that hands a captive market to the insurance industry, not because it is an ‘unconstitutional takeover of healthcare’ or prevents insurance companies from aggregating into larger organisations with even more power.
The fact that anyone could support any policies like these in the current context of American economics and politics is reflective of what can only be called ideological blindness or political opportunism or just plain insanity.
The only reason ethnicity even enters this issue is, like Obama, her ethnicity gives her cover for supporting corporate change while appealing to another constituency that actually wants relief from the class war by the rich.
Thank you Dr. Amonymous.
All this talk about her race belies the fact that her politics seem skewed. Although, to be fair, her politics seem to have taken a back seat in all the mess over her affair(s). Whether or not she’s beholden to corporate interests or that she believes corporations have the best interest of the people in mind (like many Republicans do believe) is yet to be seen.
Her site doesn’t seem to have much in the way of what could be considered controversial topics. Just some basic information about “job growth” and 2nd amendment rights.
dr.,
i’m sorry but Aggregate Demand is not determined by the feasibility of forming public-sector unions. That is unless you believe the macro theory they sell in bookstores that also carry Dayan Jayatilleke’s apologia for Fidel.
HK much less wealthy than you think, Yoga Fire–1/2 of our population lives in public housing, for a few hundred US$/month. Wages for most are very low.
Not sure why anyone would be surprised by Nikki Haley’s stance on the economy. From what I read on her wikipedia page, her family is in the millionaires club. Anyone who elects a wealthy person with an assumption that they will “help the economy” or their own economic situation is an idiot.
55 · Suki Dillon on June 24, 2010 5:52 AM · Direct link
Look at where most of them run. In Toronto and Vancouver they run for office in parts where there is a big punjabi populations. Last year I was driving through Surrey and all 3 major political parties were running a punjabi canidate for office. But after they get elected most of them are beyond useless[other then Ujjal Dosanjh]. The only role they really have is when it time for a Diwali or Vaisakhi event. They take there party leaders to get votes and act like big shots in front of there own community.
So whats the problem? All three political parties have figured out that even though we are a minority, we are a politically important community. Most politicians at the lower level are useless, only those who have a cabinet position make any important decisions, everyone else are seat warmers for when the party needs votes.
Also, the reason why allot of Punjabi politicians get full of themselves is because unfortunately its something they bring back from the old country. Politicians in Punjab are little Raja’s and I’m sure most Punjabi politicians of Indian origin have the same assumption of themselves because that’s the political atmosphere they were raised in. Regardless, their arrogance doesn’t negate the fact that its easier to be yourself in Canada and get a political career rather than appealing to the majority.
Firstly, organizing labor unions makes labor more expensive. Expensive labor disincentivizes investment in labor intensive fields. Being as how the big problem we have right now is massive unemployment, inflating the wages of the employed is just going to make it harder for the unemployed to get a job.
Secondly, this isn’t 1942. The problem isn’t lack of demand, it’s a lack of jobs. The reason we lack jobs is because there is nothing to invest in. Hedge funds are sitting on billions in cash reserves because they have no clue what to do with it now that real estate has gone bust. If you want to spur demand you need to get people jobs. If you want to get people jobs you need to have something worth doing. What exactly is worth doing out there right now? We can plug the dam by putting people to work on pharonic infrastructure projects, but eventually we’re going to have to come to terms with the fact that an economy based entirely on producing more and more stuff, whether it makes anyone happy or not, is not a sustainable system over the long term.
Yea I know. That was meant to be a joke illustrating that anyone who would voluntarily move to Hong Kong is likely of some means. My impression is that an immigrant would be unlikely to get a slot in coveted public housing tracts after all.
Yeah just like that patrician enemy of the working man, Franklin Roosevelt.
Haley would be good for the economy and the fiscal solvency of her state due to her accounting background and her work with her mom’s company (which they built from the ground up). It’s alot better than life-long gov’t wonks, or just having a law background but not knowing anything about business.
Thank you for proving the veracity of Churchill’s old maxim: “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”
i will have a daughter. she will be cute. she will dress well. she will meet the president. she will size him up. she will eat him.
oops. wrong story i posted that last comment under. delete if you want.
Oh, no. Wouldn’t dream of it. It was too cute. 😉
Probably more appropriate for this post anyway.
PindaUSA, glad you are still around and reading comments. Hoping you will post comments more often.