Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Survey shows Indian Americans split over direction India headed

Published 02/09/2021, 07:28 AM
Updated 02/09/2021, 07:46 AM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Supporters react during a "Howdy, Modi" rally celebrating India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Supporters react during a "Howdy, Modi" rally celebrating India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas

By Sanjeev Miglani

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Americans, who turned out in huge numbers at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rock star-like rallies in the United States, are divided over the direction India is headed, a new survey showed on Tuesday.

Modi's nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has extolled the achievements of the Indian diaspora in America and elsewhere, seeing them as a large support base to advance India's interests in host countries.

But only 36% Indian Americans believe India is on the right track, while 39% think it is not, according to the survey of Indian Americans released by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Johns Hopkins-SAIS and the University of Pennsylvania.

One-fifth of the respondents did not have any opinion. The survey was conducted between Sept. 1 and Sept. 20, 2020, in partnership with the research and analytics firm YouGov.

"A significant minority of Indian Americans is concerned with political and social changes under way in India," the authors Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kumar and Milan Vaishnav said in their assessment of the survey results.

Modi's government, which first came to office in 2014 promising to turn India into a political and economic power, has faced criticism of promoting a Hindu-first India and of trying to suppress dissent.

A massive months-long protest by farmers on the borders of the capital Delhi against free market reforms in agriculture has again thrust the Modi government into the international glare, with figures from pop star Rihanna to climate activist Greta Thunberg declaring their support for the growers.

The survey found that 18% of Indian Americans believed government corruption to be India's most pressing challenge, followed by 15% who listed the economy as their area of concern. Another 10% of respondents cited religious majoritarianism as the country's most important challenge.

Indian Americans are the second largest immigrant group in the United States, and many of them joined a boisterous "Howdy Modi" rally in Houston in 2019 also attended by then-U.S. president Donald Trump.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: People celebrate during a

Despite their misgivings about where India was headed, 49% of the respondents gave a thumbs-up to Modi's performance as prime minister. The survey said that 32% disapproved of him, while the rest said they had no opinion.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.