US-India warmth follows Indian-American successes

By Paul Eckert, Asia Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – When U.S. President George W. Bush
heads to India on Tuesday, few people in the United States will
be paying closer attention to the trip than the nearly 2
million Americans of Indian origin.

On the trip, Bush will try to work through differences on a
landmark accord to give India access to long-denied U.S.
nuclear equipment and fuel to meet its soaring energy needs. A
deal was reached in principle last July but has run into
trouble.

Bush also will meet Indian business leaders amid a surge of
U.S. job outsourcing to India and a 30 percent increase in U.S.
exports there in the past year.

These issues are of intense interest to Americans of Indian
origin, who are the country’s fastest-growing ethnic group,
according to the U.S. Census Bureau, whose data shows they are
far better educated and wealthier than the average U.S.
citizen.

Well before the thaw in U.S.-India ties that began under
Bush’s predecessor, Bill Clinton, American officials and
businesses recognized the importance of a community that
punched well above its weight in U.S. society.

“The contribution of the Indian diaspora to the American
technology revolution centered around Silicon Valley and
elsewhere has been profound,” said Josette Shiner,
undersecretary of state for economic, business and agricultural
affairs.

“Today Indian-American and Indian investors are a very
influential presence in Washington, on Wall Street and in the
media,” she told a forum on Bush’s upcoming India trip.

Indian-Americans are increasingly setting their sights on
the attractive Indian economy and “creating an additional push
on the Indian side for additional government reform there,”
said U.S.-India Business Council director Richard Rossow.

Many people he has worked with have taken advantage of the
opportunities and returned to India to start companies, he
said.

SPELLING BEE CHAMPS, MILLIONAIRES

According to figures compiled from census data by the
U.S.-India Political Action Committee, Indian-Americans own 15
percent of Silicon Valley start-up firms, constitute 10 percent
to 12 percent of U.S. medical doctors and control about 40
percent of the American hotel sector.

One in 10 Americans of Indian origin are millionaires,
while the $60,093 median income of Indian-American families in
2000 was far above the U.S. average of $38,885. They post
similarly striking educational statistics.

“Our children keep winning all the spelling bees and
science contests,” said Veena Merchant, a director of the
Indian American Center for Political Awareness in Washington.

“When you put this entire package together, it is a very
substantive community,” she said.

New York Democrat Gary Ackerman, who co-chairs the House of
Representatives U.S.-India Caucus, said he helped found the
group that now has some 180 members and is the largest caucus
in Congress in recognition of the growing importance of India
and its diaspora.

“Indian-Americans were becoming more prominent in their
success in various lines of endeavor and making themselves and
issues important to them known,” said Ackerman, whose district
ranks fourth in Congress in terms of number of Indian voters.

Key issues for Indian-Americans include immigration policy,
ensuring equal opportunities and fighting discrimination and
hate crimes. They also focus on budding U.S.-India ties.

Merchant, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in the
commercial capital Mumbai, said that back in India “most people
are expecting a lot to happen” during Bush’s visit.

“My identity is Indian-American so I’m pleased as an Indian
and I’m pleased as an American that there is a better
understanding of India in America,” she said.