Written by Abhinav Cheruttamadathil Gangadharan, the first entry in the column The Subaltern Speaks.
Pardeep Singh found himself among the 104 undocumented Indian migrants deported from the U.S. on a military aircraft in early February—handcuffed and shackled like a criminal. While the disenfranchised migrants were being forced out, a small but influential group of Indian Americans was gaining power in U.S. politics, pushing it further to the right. As Kamala Harris vacated Number One Observatory Circle, Usha Vance, the wife of Vice President J.D. Vance, moved in. Though no longer officially part of ‘DOGE,’ Vivek Ramaswamy remains a dominant figure in the Trump administration— an influential powerbroker shaping its decisions without holding elected office. As this article is being written, it is rumoured that Kash Patel is closing in on the top position at the FBI.
Despite being one of the largest immigrant groups in the country, Indian Americans had little political representation until 2016. Nearly a decade later, they have held the vice presidency, the position of Second Lady, leadership roles in key U.S. departments, and have even mounted a serious presidential campaign.
This rise to power is not accidental. “It’s amazing. Indian – of descent – Americans are taking over the country: you, my vice-president [Kamala Harris], my speechwriter, Vinay … You guys are incredible … We bring the best out of every single solitary culture in the world here in the United States of America, and we give people an opportunity to let their dreams run forward”, Joe Biden said while talking to a Nasa Engineer of Indian descent.
For years, the Indian diaspora in the U.S. was seen as a monolithic Democratic bloc—one that would never jeopardise its survival by supporting anti-immigration policies or rhetoric targeting minorities. While deportation and anti-immigration policies were not unique to Trump—having also existed under Obama and Biden— Indian Americans maintained a long-standing loyalty to the Democrats. That said, under the first Trump administration, this dynamic began to shift dramatically. A 2024 survey by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace found that the percentage of Indian Americans identifying as Democrats declined by 7% since 2020. Under the new Trump administration, Indian Americans—who make up less than 2% of the U.S. population—are disproportionately represented compared to other communities of colour, according to Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder of AAPI Data. At first glance, it may seem paradoxical for a minority group, largely composed of Hindu immigrants, to support a party known for its advocacy of white supremacy, anti-immigration policies, and Christian evangelicalism. Yet, this moment should be unsurprising to anyone familiar with the immigration patterns of Indians who migrated to the U.S. in the 1960s and ’70s.
According to Madhavi Murthy, a feminist studies scholar at the University of California, in an interview with NBC News, the majority of Indians who migrated to the U.S. in the 20th century came from privileged caste and class backgrounds in India, which facilitated their migration. This narrative aligns with figures like Vance, Patel, and Ramaswamy, whose parents worked in fields such as engineering and finance and came from upper-caste backgrounds. The growth of conservative politics in the US parallels the growth of Hindu Nationalism in India under the right wing government led by Narendra Modi, who claims to be a close ally of Trump. Tulsi Gabbard, Director of Director of National Intelligence under Trump, reiterated the rise of ‘Hindu phobia’ in the US in 2019 and the need to protect Hindus in the US from ‘Jihadist forces’ in a post on her X account (Formerly Twitter). This speaks of an overlapping interest between conservative Indian descendants and traditional Republicans; Islamophobia!
Narendra Modi and his ruling party have faced several controversies over policies and rhetoric targeting India’s Muslim minority while promoting Hindu nationalism. During his recent visit to the U.S., Modi reiterated Trump’s “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) slogan, fitting it into his version: “Make India Great Again” (MIGA). He further added; "Maga plus Miga...[is a] Mega partnership for prosperity". The Trump-Modi alliance has played a significant role in shaping Indian American political preferences. Many in the community also approve of Trump’s cabinet choices. "And certainly, Vivek Ramaswamy falls into that category. He talked about what it meant for him to be a Hindu, which is quite different from Bobby Jindal, Nikki Haley—even Kamala Harris," said Sara Sadhwani, a political science professor at Pomona College who studies Asian American voting. Ramaswamy boasts about his high-caste roots in his books Woke Inc. and Kings Were Below Us, explicitly upholding the caste hierarchy—an ideology long promoted by Hindu nationalists in India. Privileges might open up the possibility of adopting a conservative viewpoint about the world. This might hold for many Indian-Americans who show a growing affluence to the Republican party.
This growing trend of Indian immigrants towards conservative politics has been called out as concerning by ‘The Nation’, primarily when they start to produce xenophobes and racists, a trajectory that can be interpreted as a movement from victim to victimiser. Nevertheless, many Indian immigrants, particularly those who are not citizens yet and who have not yet assimilated into the white supremacist conservative system, are concerned by this shift. The ascent of figures like Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley, and Kash Patel is not merely an isolated phenomenon but part of a broader movement that upholds neo-Nazi and neo-Confederate historical mythology while openly advocating for white supremacy. While the majority of Indian Americans are still loyal to the technocratic liberalism of Biden and Harris that claims to build a country based on multiculturalism, right-wing Indians under the Trump administration are not outliers but rather a representation of the minority group moving towards conservatism under the same liberalisation.
On the whole, the rapid rise of Indian Americans in U.S. politics has been one of the most striking yet unsurprising developments of the past decade. As they continue to widen their impact, it goes well beyond domestic issues and even shapes global geopolitics. This can be contemplated with key figures like Tulsi Gabbard and Patel occupying top positions in the U.S. government while aligning with India’s far-right movement and the global rise of Islamophobic right-wing politics. The influence of this small yet potent group is building a congruence of right-wing leadership in both the U.S. and India, potentially reframing U.S.-India relations and even extending its impact to the broader South Asian American community. Although the precise nature of this rightward movement and its far-reaching effects are still unclear, its broader ramifications may reshape world politics in ways that we have not yet completely understood.
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