Indian American Democrats at the Convention and beyond

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Indian Americans from Maya Harris, the sister of Presidential hopeful Kamala Harris, to the lawmakers on Capitol Hill (All five of them), elected officials from states around the country, and civil rights leaders, pro-life activists, high profile policymakers, Gaza protesters, and possibly many who had flipped burgers at McDonalds, were a visible lot at the Democratic Convention in Chicago, where more than 23,000 party faithfuls listened to an Indian American candidate give a defining speech August 22 night.

Needless to say, having an Indian American running for President already brought considerable focus on this community. In fact, Harris’ frequent references to her mother Shyamala Gopalan Harris, and the lessons she learned, became slogans throughout the convention.

Driven home by Maya Harris in her address Aug. 22, the nation now knows a lot more about the mother of one of the presidential  candidates – a woman who came to the US at 19, single-handedly brought up her two daughters, was part of the civil rights movement, worked to find a cure for cancer, and told her girls not to complain but instead “do something,” a slogan among the many that reverberated through the United Center where the Convention was held. And Indian Americans Democrats on stage at the Convention, and behind the scenes did just that.

A ubiquitous presence scattered among the crowd at the Convention, all the Indian American Democrats would be hard to name here. But snippets show they are taking their clout seriously.

However, Asian Americans as a whole complained they were not given enough slots on stage to impress upon the nation how they are the fastest-growing minority and could actually flip the results in key swing states.

Some of them aired their dissatisfaction in other forums, or in interviews, but most toed the party line, including feisty outspoken Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington, who heads the Progressive Caucus on Capitol Hill, took her differing positions on issues like Gaza to media forums, but expressed unqualified support for the candidates.

Democratic consultant Amit Singh Bagga told Politico Playbook, many more Asian Americans should have been in the spotlight on stage. “Democrats only need to look to the one person who’s revived our party’s corpse to understand why Asian Americans matter…. because in addition to being a Black job, being president is a South Asian one, too,” Bagga is quoted saying.

One Democratic strategist, Trip Yang, told Politico that Asian American electorates are crucial to the margin of victory in key states like Nevada, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Michigan, and “It’s a huge, huge missed opportunity and unforced error if you’re not having more Asian and AAPI leaders on stage speaking.”

But that was not the complaint Indian American Democratic leaders were heard making.

Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom For All, addressed abortion rights on stage. “… voters who support reproductive freedom, we’re not the minority, we’re the majority,” she said in a fists-pumping speech.

Mindy Kaling, influencer, comedian, filmmaker, author, drew out Harris’ South Asian and South Indian background.

Indian American Democrats were busy drumming up support for Harris behind the scenes, urging the community to cough up, and rallying people to vote.

Chintan Patel, executive director of Indian American IMPACT, the leading political action committee, said in an email blast August 22, “As we approach November, remember that your voice matters more than ever. As the fastest-growing voter bloc in many states, South Asians have the power to shape the future of our country. Let’s make sure that our communities are mobilized and ready to vote for leaders who will continue to fight for our freedoms.”

Congressman Ro Khanna of California, considered a rising star, as is Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, were seen and heard in reportage, not just on CNN but in other news outlets, with Khanna featured in the New York Times. The Times tracked Khanna attending a host of Breakfast meetings over the four days, giving speeches to push the Harris-Walz ticket.

Khanna also does not hold back on his differences with Democratic leaders including Biden and Harris, especially voicing his concern that no Palestinian American was on the podium during the Convention.

From Neil Makhija, the first Indian American elected as Montgomery County Commissioner in Pennsylvania, to Mayor of Cincinnati Aftab Pureval of Tibetan and Indian origin, Illinois State Senator Ram Villivallam, and a host of other Indian Americans up and down the ballot, were in the crowds, jubilant to have one of their own as a Presidential candidate.

Makhija, the former president of Indian American Impact, posted the following on X with a photo of Harris’s mother with the two little girls, “Several years ago at @iaimpact, we established an allyship & civil rights award named for Shyamala Gopalan Harris. Tonight, the entire country will learn about her story and how she exemplified the very best of our country.”

Mayor Pureval of Cincinnati, spoke on stage at the Convention August 21, noting he was the first Asian American mayor of the city. “As a Tibetan refugee, my mom believed deeply in the promise of America and when I was growing up, she and my dad who is from India, taught me when you make a promise, you keep it,” Pureval said, and telling the crowd how the Biden-Harris Infrastructure bill finally got his city the Brent Bridge which had remained undelivered for years. “That is what leadership looks like. Not hollow promises but solid progress Not lipservice but true hones-to-God public service.”

Michigan Congressman Shri Thanedar, the latest addition to the Samosa Caucus, posted a photo, even if blurry, of him facing Harris during the Convention August 22, saying, “Kamala Harris made a strong case for why she should be the next President. Kamala hit it out of the park. Her best speech ever, she showed America what a strong leader she is. Her love for her country was so obvious. She talked about the future in a unifying manner. She showed compassion, common sense, pragmatism and outlined her ability to be a tough leader.”

There may be many names not mentioned in this account, and many stories to tell about Indian Americans at the Democratic National Convention, in the coming days. But despite all the jubilation, the community will be put to the test in the remaining months of the battle for the White House, on how it is exercising its growing influence, how it is mobilizing for both parties, and how it handles oncoming small and big crisis, and there will be those, before and after November 5 election day.