UNITED STATES, March 5, 2015 (The Atlantic): When Tulsi Gabbard first ran for Congress in 2012 from her home state of Hawaii, her Republican opponent, David “Kawika” Crowley, ridiculed the observant Hindu for subscribing to a religion that “doesn’t align with the constitutional foundation of the U.S. government.” In the elections held the following month, Gabbard became the first–and only–Hindu ever elected to Congress.
Her election illustrates the complicated tightrope Hindus–and consequently, Indian Americans–walk in establishing a political identity. After all, in a country where two million Americans identify as being Hindu and many more count themselves as ethnically South Asian, why haven’t there been more people of Indian origin walking the halls of Congress? And why is it only now that a Hindu has been elected to Congress?
Indian Americans are a relatively new immigrant community. Many are Hindu, although India is a multicultural, multi-religious society that includes a sizable population of Muslims, Jains, Sikhs, Christians, and other religious groups. The Indian population has grown sharply after the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 opened up quotas for Indians to migrate to the United States.
The Indian American presence on the political stage was delayed until the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which opened up the quotas preventing Indians from migrating to the United States and sharply increased the presence of Indians in America. Dalip Singh Saund was the first Indian American member of the House of Representatives, a Sikh who converted his PhD in math to a successful farming career in California, garnering support for a brief Congressional career. But the Indian American presence in Congress since then has been limited, the only blip being former Congressman–and now governor of Louisiana–Bobby Jindal.
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