After spending a few decades quietly settling into their new homeland, taking care of their families, nurturing successful businesses and gaining respect in medicine and academia, Indian Americans are now ready and eager to enter a new frontier - politics.

At last, Indians Americans have realized that they no longer need to obediently live by legislation created by seemingly more “american” Americans. They are here, they are American, and they have the power to change the country.

And what is the power? More and more, it is all about money.

This “model minority” has the highest per capita income of any ethnic group in the United States, and has been steadily contributing to local, state and federal campaigns over the past 20 years. Small in number but large in purchasing power, Indian Americans are increasingly realizing that money matters and can move politicians to take care of their interests.

In 2000, politicians around the country took notice as 8 million dollars rolled in from Indian Americans alone. From 1980 to 1995, Indian Americans steadily increased contributions from 0 to about 5 million dollars. The steep 60% increase to 8 million within 5 short years well exceeds the rate of population growth, and politicians everywhere have perked up.

Since 2000, politicos have been courting this powerful minority at every level, and Indians have organized into groups such as the Indian American Political Advocacy Council, the Indo-American Democratic Organization, and the Indian American Republican Council. These groups attempt to integrate Indian Americans into the political system in a variety of ways. They encourage voting, seek to put Indian Americans in the position to run for elected office, cultivate relationships with influential figures, and increasingly, contribute their ample funds to legislators who will support their interests.

So who are Indian Americans contributing to, and why?

Unlike other Asian minorities, Indian Americans have a tendency to contribute more to Democrats than to Republicans. American Politics Research, an academic journal, recently published a study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne entitled “Subcontinental Divide: Asian Indians and Asian American Politics”. The study attempted to divine trends of Asian Indian activity by looking at contribution data compiled by the Federal Election Commission. They found that Indian Americans were contributing to Democrats 2.5 times more than Republicans at all levels. The disparity has grown to become more Democratic over the past twenty years.

Indian Americans have so far shown the most interest in lower level campaign. They have been contributing more to local and state campaigns than to national ones, and more to congressional races than to presidential. This bottom up interest will likely spread to the upper levels as Indian Americans become more and more involved, and as their connections are elected to higher and higher offices.

What is the most likely indicator that Indian Americans will contribute? Well, it is … being Indian. Indians are extremely loyal to their countrymen, and are very willing to donate money to Indian American candidates whether or not their share political opinions. At this point, Indian Americans are eager to simply get a seat at the political table and will support their fellow immigrants almost regardless of policy and political agenda.

Dino Teppara, Rep. Joe Wilson’s (R-S.C.) Legislative Director, has seen contributions increase significantly in his 4 years on Capitol Hill. Teppara, a second generation Indian American, has been very involved with Republican fundraising and is the spokesperson of the Indian American Republican Council.

Teppara believes that the time has come for real Indian American political participation. “For the past 25 years, the primary focus of first generation Indian Americans was establishing themselves financially for their children.” Indian Americans, Teppara feels, are finally feeling settled. “Being involved politically indicates complete assimilation into American society.”

“We know contributions have gone up a lot since the 2000 election”, Teppara says. In 2004, for the first time, 5 individuals reached the contribution level of Pioneer or Ranger, which means that they were able to individually raise 100,000 to 200,000 dollars from contributors for the Bush-Cheney campaign. As citizens are only able to personally contribute 2,000 dollars, the high numbers illustrate the mass of connections that were built throughout the Indian community by these individuals. One of them was Dr. Raghavendra Vijayanagar, chair of the Indian American Republican Council and known popularly as “Dr. Vijay”.

Republicans weren’t the only ones raising money. South Asians for Kerry hosted the most successful fundraising event of its kind thus far. John Kerry, John Edwards and Hillary Clinton joined 500 Indian Americans and high profile figures like Ismail Merchant for a breakfast in New York City, and together raised 1 million dollars for the campaign. Indian American advocacy groups were able to raise as yet unheard of amounts for the Senator’s presidential campaign.

As Indian Americans have started their tentative first steps towards participation, politicians are in turn reaching out to them in record numbers. AAHOA, the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, has hosted Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich as the keynote speakers at their yearly convention. Ash Patel, secretary of AAHOA, feels that politicians are beginning to notice that though Indians don’t vote in large numbers, they have enough money to really make a difference.

Patel, who arrived in the US in 1984 as a student, is also the chair of both the Government Affairs and Political Action Committees for AAHOA. He has held leadership roles at AAHOA for 3 years and has seen tremendous change even in that time. The Board of AAHOA, which represents the 40% of the lodging industry that is controlled by Indian Americans, has recently been filled with second and third generation Indians who have shifted the focus from financial success to political participation.

“We were working 18 hours a day with our heads in the ground” says Patel. Many new immigrants, Patel says, were focused for too long on simply succeeding in business and taking care of their families. They found they were spending all their energy doing what they needed to do to run their own lives and businesses successfully.

“We have achieved the American Dream, now what is the next frontier?” The next frontier, Patel believes, is political participation.

Too often, Patel has noticed Indian Americans who “don’t want to rock the boat”, and were slightly uncomfortable negotiating the American system. But Patel knows that Asian American hotel owners are inescapably tied to the system they are working in. “If we don’t protect ourselves from legislation, our businesses will be in danger”.

Patel is working hard to drive home the importance of political participation to AAHOA members. AAHOA has organized a PAC, which exists to pool the resources of AAHOA members “to make contribution to candidates… who support the hospitality industry and who recognize and appreciate the contributions of Asian Americans.”

AAHOA members have come together on issues such as increased worker visas, reduced application and visa fees for foreign travelers coming to the US, and improved tourism. Slowly but surely, Indian Americans in the hotel industry are realizing that using their voice to affect legislation has a tangible affect on their lives.

Indian physicians have stepped into the political arena as well. Vijay Koli, President on AAPI (American Association of Physicians from India) has noticed a marked interest in political issues and contribution. “There is much more awareness in the community that nothing can be taken for granted” says Koli. Indian doctors, he says, can no longer simply concentrate on doing their jobs and living their lives. “We need to have sympathetic politicians at the local, state and federal levels.”

On May 3^rd, 2006, AAPI joined AAHOA, IARC, IARD and myriad other Indian advocacy groups to hold their first ever congressional reception to lobby for the passage of the US-India civilian nuclear agreement. 200 Indian community leaders joined Karl Rove and many other top Administrators to impress the importance of this deal to Indian Americans. The group included influential Indians from both sides of the political field and was organized by community activist Swadesh Chatterjee and Nilesh Mehta, president of the Indian American Forum for Political Education. The strong interest on the side of American administrators reflects the new desire to please this valuable group.

Teppara is also keenly aware of the issues that Indian Americans care about and that motivate them to act and donate. When reaching out to first generation Indian Americans, Teppara feels that many are still very loyal to their homeland and are eager to support legislation that is Pro-India. As can be seen by the May 3^rd bipartisan reception, the nuclear deal has increased support among Indians for actions of the Bush administration. News of outsourcing jobs to India, while a divisive issue in the US, tends to rally up support due to the improved Indian economy.

Many Indian Americans are also keenly aware of immigration issues and are increasingly willing to donate money for the cause. Indian Americans, all too familiar with the many hassles associated with immigration, are eager to contribute to legislators who will ease the pain of confusing paperwork and bureaucracy, attorney and visa fees that can reach the tens of thousand of dollars, and the wait that too often stretches from months to years.

Teppara has been able to rile up interest for the Republican Party in recent weeks because of the imminent changes in immigration policy. Many Indian Americans, he feels, are resentful of illegal immigrants who may soon be receiving temporary guest worker permits. He has used this as a rallying point for Indian Americans, noting that they are intimately familiar with the torturous process, but feel that it’s not fair for some immigrants to bypass the system while others must wait.

South Asians for Kerry was able to motivate the democratic side of the Indian American community on many issues as well. A press release put out by SAKI before the election highlights the Democratic history of pro-immigration legislation, international cooperation, and support for civil rights and religious freedom. In the 2004 election, Indian Americans overwhelming preferred Kerry.

Teppara also noted the differences in reaching out to second generation Indian Americans. First generation Indian Americans still feel very tied to India, but their children feel more like Americans. They are less likely to be inspired by strictly Indian issues, and are more likely to be moved to action by issues like the War on Terror or the environment. They are also more directly involved in the political process, working on campaigns and getting jobs in politics. Teppara sees a “trickle down effect” here, as second generation Indians working in politics spark their parent’s interest in the American system, and the parents, who are more settled, find donating to be the easiest and most effective way to contribute.

According to the 2000 US census, the Indian American population has more than doubled since 1990 and is now approaching 2 million. A record number of Indian Americans are running to office in November. If the current trends are any indication, Indian Americans will soon have a real voice in the American democratic process.

Originally published by The Indian American, July-August 2006