Indian-American presidential candidates at war

– Of the many attacks between this year’s US presidential candidates, some of the harshest have pitted Vivek Ramaswamy against Nikki Haley.

Ramaswamy went so far as to hold up a sign at a debate calling the South Carolina former governor and UN ambassador corrupt over her corporate work – and she hit back hard, calling him untrustworthy and berating him for mentioning her children.

Both Haley and Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur who has never held elected office, are facing uphill climbs to wrest the Republican nomination from former president Donald Trump.

But the two have something in common – they are children of Indian immigrants. Also expected on this year’s ballot is Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris, whose mother came from India and father from Jamaica.

Indian-Americans are split on whether the Ramaswamy versus Haley feud channels larger community tensions, but what is uncontestable is that Indian-Americans are more politically prominent than ever before – and wearing their identity proudly.

It is another sign of success for the community, whose average household income is the highest of any US ethnic group.

Raj Goyle, a former state lawmaker in Kansas and cofounder of Indian American Impact, a South Asian American political group, said that ethnic groups in the US historically have waited for a greater critical mass before entering politics.

“Indian-Americans have had a quicker journey than other immigrant communities in terms of political success,” he said.

He noted that Indian-Americans are unusual as an immigrant group in that many arrived as educated professionals.

“When the first wave of us were elected, we had to think about how voters would react to our ethnicity,” Goyle said. While racism still exists, “now there’s a very good argument to make that it’s a huge plus”.

While few give Ramaswamy much chance of winning the presidency, his candidacy marks a watershed in his embrace of his religion. Asked about his religion, he said: “I am Hindu.”

Ramaswamy, who has made his name as a Trump-style rabble-rouser denouncing “woke” politics, has cast his Hinduism as in line with conservative Christian beliefs and opposes gay marriage.

Haley, born Nimarata Nikki Randhawa in South Carolina, has spoken of converting to Christianity, and took her husband’s surname.

Maina Chawla Singh, a scholar at American University who has studied Indian-Americans in politics, traces the political rise of the community to the presidency of Barack Obama, who hired a number of Indian-American staffers.

Dipka Bhambhani, an Indian-American writer in Washington, said the feud between Haley and Ramaswamy showed a divide within the community. “There are wealthy Indians out there who malign other Indians for deviating, exercising American choice in who they marry, how they worship and the like.” –