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"The idea that someone who looks like me might become the president of the United States is unbelievable."
The five million-strong Indian community in the US, which so far was mostly resigned in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election, has come into the spotlight with renewed vigour and aspirations. The reason is clear: Kamala Harris.
The excitement is palpable among the community following Harris' elevation as the Democratic Party's pick to take on Republican juggernaut Donald Trump in the 5 November election, as Indians are hopeful that the 'glass ceiling' may finally be shattered.
'Never Thought This Day Would Come'
After President Joe Biden announced his exit from the presidential race and endorsed Harris to take on the role, a significant portion of the Indian community, though not involved in the Harris campaign officially, initiated efforts to do their part in promoting her standing in their towns and cities.
"As long as Joe Biden was running for president, I feel there was a general apathy among Democrat-supporting Indian Americans – they were not really eager to vote," 56-year-old Anjali Mehrotra, a resident of New Jersey, said while speaking to The Quint.
"But Harris' candidature has changed everything," she adds. "What I have seen in the last 10 days in this country, I truly feel the energy is palpable – you can feel it in the air."
Mehrotra, who grew up in Kolkata and came to the US at the age of 19 as a student, says that Harris' nomination is not just a big deal for Indians but for US immigrants in general.
"It's an amazing moment of representation. As an immigrant you are always searching for that sense of belonging. This moment is significant especially for young immigrants, who are now seeing their own reflection in Kamala Harris' image. And I think most Indian Americans – whether they are Democrats or Republicans – can at least acknowledge that."Anjali Mehrotra
Similarly, North Carolina resident Sonal Singh, who came to the US from Uttar Pradesh in 1999, says that Harris' candidature has not only inspired him to become a volunteer in the campaign but his children as well.
"While I was involved in promoting the Democratic Party in the 2020 election as well, this time, with Harris on the ticket, my daughter has becoming involved in phonebanking – which helps with recruiting volunteers for the campaign, and my son has applied to become an official part of Harris' team," he says.
The Indian-origin product manager adds that while the desi community can take great pride in one of their own being up for the top job, the opportunity is particularly an emotional one for women of mixed ethnicity.
"There are two women in my extended family who are of a similar heritage as Kamala Harris – they are black Indians. So for people like them, it is particularly exciting," Singh tells The Quint.
However, overwhelming support for Harris among Indians is not just owing to her ethnicity. While that undeniably does play a role, Indians are batting for her because of the policies that she endorses.
"Mrs Harris believes in the ideals that I, too, stand by – such as unity and bestowing honour on people of all cultures and ethnicities," says Texas resident Geeta Das, who has been conducting postcard parties and raising issues in her neighbourhood that she believes are pivotal in this year's election.
"I support Kamala for a variety of reasons. I am a paediatrician and I'm extremely concerned about the gun culture that we have in the US. Violence against children and children themselves using guns is of grave concern, and I don't think Donald Trump cares at all about that. Kamala, being a prosecutor herself, understands the law well and I believe she will do what is best for the US."Geeta Das
'Tables Have Turned on Trump': Harris Campaign Official
Ajay Bhutoria, Deputy National Finance Chair for 'Harris for President, 2024', has been working day and night to accumulate enough resources to run ground operations and recruit volunteers to propel the Democratic Party's chances in the crucial polls.
"Kamala Harris has created huge enthusiasm among all segments of supporters of the Democratic Party. For the first time Indian Americans feel that the glass ceiling can be shattered and that perhaps one day even their kids can become president," says Bhutoria, who has been a close advisor to Harris since she was elected as California's Attorney General in 2010.
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Ajay Bhutoria with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
(Photo Courtesy: Ajay Bhutoria)
Bhutoria says that his team has been organising phonebanks and ensuring that around 3,000-5,000 volunteers are of South Asian origin, who can reach out to people belonging to their own ethnicities and hopefully create an instant connection with them.
"We have been calling different voters in multiple languages, ranging from Punjabi and Gujarati to Tamil and Telugu," he tells The Quint. "When someone hears their mother tongue on the other line, they feel more attached and are far more likely to come out and vote."
While Bhutoria was involved in the Biden-Harris campaign until the president announced his withdrawal, he concedes that the age factor was a major detriment for them – a factor consistently used by Trump to attack his 81-year-old rival, especially after the latter's dismal performance in the 28 June presidential debate.
Several surveys had also revealed dwindling support for Biden following the debate. The Asian American Voter Survey released in July had shown a massive 19 percent drop in the number of Indian Americans supporting Biden in the 2024 elections, as compared to the 2020 polls.
However, with a much younger candidate running against him, Bhutoria says that the "tables have turned" on Trump.
"This is making Trump extremely nervous because his own campaign was centred around Biden's age. Since that is now out the window, the tables have turned on him as he is now the oldest candidate running for president in US history."Ajay Bhutoria
Bhutoria's sentiments are shared by Sarah Shah, whose organisation Indian American Impact (IAI) endorsed Harris for president shortly after Biden withdrew from the race and started a campaign for her called 'Kamala Ke Saath'.
"We have definitely seen in polling and focus groups that there has been renewed enthusiasm for Harris. We've had lots of first-time donors and volunteers. People are really fired up to support her," she told The Quint.
On 30 July the IAI also published a letter signed by 63 South Asian American state and local elected officials across the country endorsing Harris for the post.
"We've been recruiting volunteers and taking donations, and hoping to build a community within the South Asian diaspora that can help deliver the White House to Kamala," Shah says.
The importance of Indian American voters cannot possibly be overstated for the upcoming elections. At five million, they comprise the largest Asian diaspora group in the US and one of the largest overall. In swing states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, the Indian American vote may determine the difference between winning and losing.
Indian Americans have traditionally voted Democrat over the years, as the party takes a liberal stance on several divisive issues like immigration, work visas, and abortion. A survey conducted ahead of the 2020 US presidential election had shown that a staggering 72 percent of registered Indian-origin voters were likely to vote for the Democratic Party as compared to a mere 22 percent for the GOP.
A recent poll conducted by Reuters and Ipsos revealed that Harris had taken a five-point lead over Trump in the race for the November election. The survey, which was conducted from 2-7 August, showed Harris ahead with 42 percent and Trump falling behind with 37 percent. It also stated that Harris is ahead of the former president in seven key swing states – which saw a nail-biting finish in the 2020 polls.
"Kamala Harris' candidacy has not only reinvigorated people’s faith in the political process, but has also inspired many within the South Asian community to engage in it – some for the first time ever. It’s more personal this time. How could it not be?" Simi Shah, New York resident and founder of South Asian Trailblazers, said while speaking to The Quint.
Debate Over Harris' Ethnicity Rages On
While on the one hand there has been an outpouring of support from the immigrant community towards Harris, on the other Trump has been attacking the former with fresh ammunition of late over her ethnicity.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, 8 August, Trump said that Harris' behaviour was "disrespectful" to both Indian and African American communities.
This came after the former president recently claimed that Harris has always maintained that she is an Indian-origin individual and not an African American, but was now using the latter identity to garner votes.
At an event organised by the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago on 2 August, the former president had said:
"I've known her a long time, indirectly, not directly very much, and she was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as black."
Despite receiving criticism for his racially charged attacks, Trump doubled down on his statement and even shared a social media post on the Truth Social platform highlighting Harris' "Indian heritage". The picture shows Harris with her mother and a few other Indian relatives.
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Harris, however, slammed Trump's remarks as the "same old show" of "divisiveness" and "disrespect".
"Let me just say. The American people deserve better. The American people deserve better than that," she said while addressing an African American sorority convention in Houston, Texas.
Harris' mother Shyamala Gopalan hails from Chennai and her father Donald Jasper Harris is Jamaican. Both of them came to the US as immigrants.
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