NEW DELHI, (IANS) – In September this year, Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam joined the growing list of Indian-origin leaders dominating world politics, just as Rishi Sunak scripted history by becoming Britain’s first desi premier in 2022.
An earlier leader in this position, Leo Varadkar, who was born to Indian and Irish parents, became the first prime minister of Ireland of Indian descent in 2017 and served a second term until last December.
Sunak, Varadkar, US Vice President Kamala Harris, and Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali are just a few members of the new wave of Indian emigrants who have made it to the highest levels of local politics.
There is no stopping the 30 million-plus strong Indian diaspora spread across the length and breadth of the world now, as former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy cross swords in the Republican primary debates for the 2024 US Presidential race.
This is particularly true for Indians living in industrialized nations where they are actively involved in electoral politics, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.
The Observer Research Foundation in Delhi reports that as Indian expatriate communities grow in size and economic influence, the host country realizes it needs to pay closer attention to them.
More than 200 individuals of Indian descent hold positions of power in fifteen different countries, according to a list of 2021 Government Leaders published by the Indiaspora in the United States.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain, President Mohamed Irfaan Ali of Guyana, Prime Minister Antonio Costa of Portugal, Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth of Mauritius, President Prithvirajsing Roopun of Suriname, and President Tharman Shanmugaratnam of Singapore are among the six countries presently headed by men with Indian ancestry.
Reports indicate that individuals of Indian descent hold a variety of high-ranking positions, including heads of state or deputy heads of state, ministers, cabinet members, diplomats, ambassadors, and consuls general.
Among the world's parliamentarians and federal legislators, 55 have Indian ancestry; another 63 hold cabinet ministerial positions.
There are a grand total of twelve persons of Indian origin serving as ambassadors for different countries; two more hold the position of consul general.
The increasing numbers of Indians in the United States—about four million—along with their increasing power and wealth have made them a formidable political force.
Five Indian Americans set a new record for the number of seats won by the Samosa Caucus in the House of Representatives in last year's divisive midterm election, cementing the group's status as the House's popular favorite.
Indian Americans currently make up about 1% of the US Congress, with 100% of them being Democrats. They make up almost 2% of the US population overall.
In the realm of politics, 26 individuals of Indian descent have been chosen as state leaders, and another 6 as local leaders.
These groups' influence in politics stems from both their sheer numbers and the votes they can cast, which is particularly true in democracies like the United States and the United Kingdom.
Voters from the Indian community, who are seen as influential in US battleground states, cast their ballots in the highly competitive 2020 presidential election in large numbers.
There are four members of the present cabinet who are of Indian origin: Arif Virani, Anita Indira Anand, Kamal Khera, and Harjit S. Sajjan. Indians are one of the most visible ethnic minorities in Canadian politics.
In the September 2021 snap elections, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won 158 seats out of 338 in the House of Commons, falling short of the 170 seats required for a majority. Among these seats, 17 Indo-Canadians, the vast majority of whom were Sikhs, were chosen as members of parliament.
Twenty-five members of the current Parliament belong to the New Democratic Party (NDP), which supports Trudeau's minority administration and is headed by Jagmeet Singh, a Sikh of Indian descent.
With 18 Sikh members in the Canadian Parliament in 2019, India's parliamentary delegation has just 13 Sikh members. In 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took pride in having more Sikhs in his 30-member Cabinet than Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he appointed four Sikhs.
One of the Bombay-based Indian National Congress's founders, Dadabhai Naoroji became the first Indian to be elected to Britain's Parliament in 1892.
Fifteen politicians of Indian descent were elected to the British parliament in 2019. Among them were two prominent cabinet ministers, Priti Patel (who was appointed to the position of home secretary) and Rishi Sunak (who was appointed to the position of chancellor of the exchequer).
Priyanca Radhakrishnan made history in New Zealand when she became the first minister of Indian descent. She was born to Malayali parents in Chennai and is now the Minister for the Voluntary and Community Sector.
The future president of Trinidad and Tobago, Christine Carla Kangaloo, comes from a mixed Indo-Trinidadian heritage.
Vivian Balakrishnan, K. Shanmugan, S. Iswaran, Pritam Singh, and Indranee Rajah are just a few of the many prominent figures of Indian descent in Singaporean politics.
New South Wales (NSW) Senator Dave Sharma, a former member of parliament, was formally sworn in this month in Australia's parliament.
The political makeup of the Gulf states prevents Indians from rising to political domination, despite the large Indian diaspora in the region and the success of its citizens in the commercial and healthcare sectors.
That "India's encouragement of diversity and discouragement of excess makes it easier for Indians to adapt to competitive environments" is what Congress MP Shashi Tharoor claims.
The former United Nations Under-Secretary-General elaborates by saying that Indians benefit from a strong work ethic, close-knit families, and a cultural focus on education.
Indians may have inherited these qualities from their ancestors, according to Sunak, Varadkar, and Harris's achievements. Many Indians look forward to Sunak, whom Tharoor described as a "poster boy for the "New India," since he appears to represent their hopes and ideals.
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