HVK Archives: Indian-Americans are learning to be heard in Washington
Indian-Americans are learning to be heard in Washington - The Indian Express
Robert S. Greenberger
()
May 20, 1998
Title: Indian-Americans are learning to be heard in Washington
Author: Robert S. Greenberger
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: May 20, 1998
The audience for President Clinton's fund-raiser in September
1996 at the Mayflower Hotel here was somewhat unusual for such an
event: a group of prominent Indian-Americans. Mr. Clinton lauded
the ethnic group's achievements, and the promise of U. S. -India
relations. And he vowed to focus more on South Asia if re-
elected.
That won't be a problem now. India's nuclear weapons tests last
week have riveted attention on the volatile region and raised
fears of a nuclear spiral involving neighbouring Pakistan and
China. But by his appearance at the event at the Mayflower, Mr.
Clinton also was recognising a new reality, the rise of an
affluent ethnic community that increasingly wants to make its
influence felt in the policy arena.
A decade ago, Stephen Solarz, then a Democratic member of the
House of Representatives from New York, was the rare lawmaker
tapping into the Indian-American campaign funds. Now, there are
some 95 House members who belong to the Congressional Caucus on
India and Indian-Americans. The community is increasingly more
active in raising funds for national and local politicians. The
event at the Mayflower, for instance, raised about $400,000,
according to a dispatch in the newspaper India Abroad.
Questions From Critics
But this increased activism raises questions, too which President
Clinton's critics will quickly pose: Did the administration spell
out strongly enough to India's new pro-nuclear government. what
the consequences of nuclear testing would be? Will the prominence
of the community help smooth New Delhi's way back in Washington's
good graces? And is this another example of the Clinton
administration's troublesome mixing of international policy-
making and campaign fund-raising?
While the U.S. Justice Department continues to investigate
whether China funnelled money to the Democratic Party, there is
already one instance of the Indian government allegedly doing the
same. In August 1996, a federal judge here sentenced a Democratic
fund-raiser who emigrated from India, Lalit Gadhia, to three
months in prison for laundering $46,000 in congressional campaign
contributions that he asserted to prosecutors came from an Indian
diplomat in Washington.
The growth of the Indian-American lobby comes at a time when
broader forces are at work. Over the past few years, India,
which had been aligned with the Soviet Union during the Cold War,
began to reform its state-run economy and reach out to the West.
And for the U.S., India became a potential jewel in the crown of
the Clinton administration's policy of constructive engagement.
Former Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and his successor, William
Daley, brought major U.S. companies there on trade missions. And
President Clinton plans to travel to South Asia this year.
The recent nuclear explosions, however, could prompt criticism
over whether these policies of constructive engagement and
commercial diplomacy may have led the new Indian government to
believe the U.S. wasn't as concerned as it used to be about
nuclear proliferation.
U.S. officials always talk about the importance of halting
proliferation when they speak about the subcontinent. But, in
recent years, the remarks also include a heavy dose of the
importance of trade, and it isn't clear how that is read in New
Delhi. For instance, after talking about proliferation, Karl
Inderfurth, the assistant secretary of state for South Asia,
recently fold the U.S. Congress: "The economic and commercial
investment part of our relationship should be the centrepiece of
our relationship with India."
Samuel Berger, President Clinton's national security adviser said
over the weekend on a television interview programme that top
officials, including Mr. Clinton, "at least a dozen times"
expressed concern about proliferation to senior Indian officials.
And he blamed Indian deception when the U.S. was caught flat-
footed by the nuclear tests.
Whether Indian-American lobbying or fund-raising had any direct
effect on foreign policy is far from clear. Indian-Americans are
one of the country's most affluent ethnic groups, but they often
seem more interested in domestic issues that affect their
livelihoods than in Indo-American relations.
"My interest is in what happens in the U.S., not what India's
foreign policies are, what bombs they make," said Zachariah
Zachariah, a doctor in Florida and perhaps the most successful
Indian-American fund-raiser in the country. He raised more than
$500,000 for George Bush in 1992 from Indian-American doctors
because health care was such a hot issue.
Growing Presence
Dr. Zachariah is one of a handful of prominent Indian-American
fund-raisers. But their numbers are growing. The booming stock
market has spawned many wealthy Indian-Americans, many of whom
work for high-technology firms. And there are approximately
20,000 doctors who belong to the American Association of
Physicians of Indian Origin, says Vinod Sawhney, a doctor who
headed the group last year. Currently, the Indian American Forum
for Political Education, which has more than 20 state chapters of
as many as several hundred members, is rallying its members to
urge lawmakers to consider India's legitimate security interests
before condemning the nation for its nuclear ambitions. Last
week, Mr. Clinton invoked a law imposing mandatory economic
sanctions on India.
"We have started the process of contacting each and every
congressman and senator," says Nilesh Mehta, an official with the
group. Though the group isn't directly involved in fund-raising,
some members attended an event that raised $25,000 for the
Democrats on Friday in Edison, New Jersey, featuring House
Majority Leader Richard Gephardt. "We raised concerns about the
sanctions being imposed by the government - very loudly," Mr.
Mehta says. Last week, just after news of the tests broke, the
group also hosted its annual Washington reception for members of
Congress, and 26 members made appearances.
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