Just a couple of observations:

Both Jindal and Haley are hardly 'desi' as I think of them. One almost feels that if they did not look Indian, there is no way one would know from their talk/ interests/ associations.

More Indians in Amreeka seem to be drawn to the Conservative party (at least prior to Obama) so maybe that's why they have more desi members/ officials?

Finally - seeing how many indian names have been mentioned in connection with Obama's new Govt, its probably just a matter of time before we see more Democrat desis in politics .

By the way, Nikki Randhawa-Haley was the subject of the first blog post I ever wrote on Sepia Mutiny. :)

Both Jindal and Haley are hardly 'desi' as I think of them. One almost feels that if they did not look Indian, there is no way one would know from their talk/ interests/ associations.

Incredibly ignorant comment. And that is saying a lot given some comment threads.

More Indians in Amreeka seem to be drawn to the Conservative party (at least prior to Obama) so maybe that's why they have more desi members/ officials?

Also a false statement. South Asians in America vote overwhelmingly Democrat.

Wow that IS a blast from the past.

Sooooo.. she's dropped the Randhawa bit then. Not that I blame her.

I wonder how her heritage will play out statewide. SC was the state where John McCain's adopted Bengali daughter became, through a nasty whisper campaign, an "illegitimate black child," and likely cost him the Republican primary in 2000. I hope Rep. Hawley's heritage won't be subject to anything so odious.

In addition to Republican politicos, there are many prominent conservative thinkers who are on the writing and pundit circuit. Dinesh D'Souza, Ramesh Ponnuru, and Reihan Salam come to mind. Democrats/liberals need to step it up.

Isn't it insane / interesting that the Republican party has more Indian politicians in major office than African American ones ?
I mean, this is the party that had an entire convention laughing cynically at someone being a "Community Worker"
in Chicago's South Side while they had a tiny percentage of minority attendees:

"According to polls of delegates conducted by The New York Times and CBS News, 93 percent of the Republican delegates are white
(compared with 85 percent in 2004 and 89 percent in 2000), while 5 percent are Hispanic and 2 percent are black. The Democratic delegate
pool in Denver, according to the survey, was 65 percent white, 23 percent black and 11 percent Hispanic, roughly the same as at other recent
Democratic conventions."

Every single member of the Congressional Black Caucus has been Democratic.

And I won't fall for the "Lincoln was a Republican and he freed the slaves" argument - he wouldn't recognize today's Grand Ol' Party
and was more of a big government themed man (he kind of had to be considering what was going on). And the Republican and
Democratic parties back then (after they split from one party) were ideologically the reverse of what they are today.

I don't know the number of African American Republicans at the State senate and governor levels - but will Indian politicians
soon outnumber African American ones - at least at the Gubernatorial, Senate and House level ?

Also - when are we going to get Indian Senators / Congresspersons / Governors who aren't Christian convert, gun-loving conservatives
(not that there is anything wrong with that - I respect their rights and beliefs) - just interesting that these are the only
ones at the higher, non-Obama appointee levels.

Trendy to be a South Asian Governor

unwieldy South Asian-American Governor.

Ha! I played with the word arrangement forever for the title.... Your comment was literally the process I went through. Then I gave in. :-)

I just wish we had South Asian politicians like Nikki Haley and Bobby Jindal in Canada who get into office on issues and not demographics.

Nikki Haley does seems to have alot of things in common with Bobby Jindal and those are the same things that many here have attacked Mr.Jindal for. I hope that Mrs.Haley does not get attacked at the same level.

BC has had many Indian politicians and one who was Premier.

At the municipal levels, yes, demographics come into play (ie
- Gurmant Grewal and his wife) - but at the higher, provincial level
- it takes a leader who can win all demographics in their party, not just their own.

BC has had many Indian politicians and one who was Premier.

Yes we had a Premier in Ujjal Dosanjh[who I like], but he get into office after the Premier before him resigned and he won the party leadership race, but lost the next election with his party only winning 2 of 79 seats. But other then Dosanjh and Wally Oppal alot of these other indian politicans in BC only could win in areas which have a huge south asian populations. I'm not sure but it probably the same in Toronto with people like Ruby Dhalla who run in areas that have the South Asian demographics.

In the States, South Asians don't really have the numbers in there own community to get elected like that. My 1st cousin is mayor of small town in Central Califronia which is over 90% hispanic, but that didn't stop him becoming mayor twice.

Regarding her heritage, I read about some of the ignorance she faced in her first election that mentioned people assuming she was Hindu or Buddhist, and an attack ad against her that made a point of listing her maiden name and a desi first name. It also mentioned that she attended both church and temple with her kids, which is more nuanced than the typical description in coverage of her now: that she is Methodist. I saw it on desiblog but that link doesn't work anymore so here's the archive of the story.

True - but an interesting question would be would Dosanjh and Oppal have gotten
to the higher levels without the lower demographic support ? Just like in India where
you have local leaders voted in by caste or religious support and then eventually make
it to the national level.

Even without race, the entire concept of politics (ie Senators, Congress, etc) is that your
local constituency votes you in and from there it is up to you to make it higher up.

Would it be out of line to note that Nikki Haley is sort of a MILF?

“I believe in one God,” she explains. “I believe in Jesus. I’m pro-life. I believe marriage is between a man and a woman.”

from that article Pavani posted. haven't been around for all the comment debates about jindal. but lets just say i'm really glad i have a president named barack hussein obama. someone i can point to and say, look, he didn't have to compromise who he was to make it. some might have a more cynical take and say that his presidency was inevitable, but the reality is during the election there was much brooding over whether issues would trump race.

it's just frustrating to see, even today, when brown people have come so far in every field---you hear and see people doing and saying things on a micro level (like other kids in my school) as if to ingratiate themselves with various white communities---whether they be mainstream or not. maybe i'm being judgmental, but the reality is that if i met nikki on the street, i would think that about her. why did she change her name? why did "bobby" change his name? i know i'm not bringing up anything new, but it's just annoying to see. and tangent: i don't like it when women change their names when they get married...that's a byproduct of women being treated as property. are regarding all that talk of changing names to make it seem more like a family: i seriously doubt nikki's husband even considered changing his last name to hers.

Taz,
I would say there is a difference between supporting South Asian political involvement and Republicans "supporting South Asians for office." Democrats do much more to support minority involvement for office; when Democratic candidates do run, such as Judy Chu, they are often successful and their ethnicity is appreciated. I would say this is a South Asian problem, some of the liberals (maybe you) should run! =)
Ravi

why did she change her name? why did "bobby" change his name? i know i'm not bringing up anything new, but it's just annoying to see.

Because it works and is the politically correct thing to do.
http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/005530.html

Would you rather win or stand by your principles? How many politicians do you know that stick to their principles?

On naming, I agree with Abhi. I don't hold her choice not to use Randhawa anymore against her. We've been over that topic a million times.

More generally, she will be starting at a better place than Jindal did, in that she's already got the sitting governor's endorsement. That will help her in terms of raising cash.

On the flip side, because she's no longer the first, she might not get as much help from the coastal "Indian doctor" fundraising pool -- Jindal mined that extensively on his first run. People might be thinking: wait, maybe I should be giving my money to someone running here in Maryland/New Jersey/New York/California?

But really it comes down to what kind of a campaign she runs, and how and whether she connects with voters. Has anyone heard her give a speech yet? I actually don't think her desi/Sikh background will be the deciding issue.

p.s. I blogged about her even before Abhi first did -- back in June 2004! (Before there was a Sepia Mutiny)

The only reason Jindal and this lady have any support from Republicans is because they're indistinguishable from their white constituents in the south. "American" names and Jesus lovers. If any other brown person who had the exact same beliefs and policy ideas and intellect, but kept their given name and religion (if they're converts), tried to run, Republicans wouldn't give a damn.

Ashwini, What is your basis for this statement? Have you seen others (who kept traditional names, religion, etc) rejected by Republican voters? Name some.

she is about as indian as clarence thomas is black

even if she’s an NRA member

Eh ? What's wrong with being an NRA member ? Even Gandhi said "Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the Act of depriving a whole nation of arms as the blackest."

"she is about as indian as clarence thomas is black"

Just as ring-wingers can be counted on to question the patriotism of those who criticize their policies, you can depend on the left-wingers to charge one with being a race traitor if you don't fit the media approved narrative of what a brown person is supposed to think.

"South Asians in America vote overwhelmingly Democrat."

Let's not smother the diversity of the South Asian vote to avoid looking at unpleasant facts. While non-Indian South Asians do vote overwhelmingly Democratic (not surprising given the Muslim-baiting of many recent Republican campaigns), the split among Indian-American voters is not as much. Doctors and IT guys view with suspicion Democratic attempts to curb doctor salaries while allowing trial lawyers free reign and protectionist measures against outsourcing, which are nothing more than attempts to tell you who your company can do business with.

Let's not smother the diversity of the South Asian vote to avoid looking at unpleasant facts. While non-Indian South Asians do vote overwhelmingly Democratic (not surprising given the Muslim-baiting of many recent Republican campaigns), the split among Indian-American voters is not as much.

Eh...

Actually, the data that exist for political leanings is more Indian than it is South Asian. This is cuz when you do last name analysis it's far less accurate to pull out Muslim last names (because they could be Arab, Middle East, or any other kind of Muslim). Based on a last name analysis and examination of voter rolls, last named Desis are not only are more likely to vote Democratic, but they are more likely to register for the Democratic party. Some other research is based on exit polling, and it reflects similar attitudes. The research I've seen shows that out of all APIAs, Desis are MOST likely to have a party affiliation with the Dems (versus being party-free). My data is based on reports put out by AALDEF, APALC and some personal analysis. What is your source?

@18 Amardeep: "More generally, she will be starting at a better place than Jindal did, in that she's already got the sitting governor's endorsement."

I think Bobby Jindal was also endorsed by the then Louisiana governor Mike Foster in his 2003 run.

The reason that brown people are gravitating toward the republican party is, in my mind, because the republicans need some token diversity. Democrats already have plenty of black, Hispanic, and east Asian politicians, but republicans have relatively few. Republicans see us - brown folks - as non-confrontational because our ethnic heritage in America isn't marred by slavery, race riots, one-race neighborhoods, and civil unrest in the same way that blacks, Hispanics, and east Asians' heritage is marked. Republicans see us as "good" minorities, since many of us have come to American with only educations, worked hard, and achieved financial success. And when it comes to taking minorities on the party, republicans want the "good" ones; that is, they want us.

My guess is that the tipping point for the party naming Nikki Haley as its nominee is because she happens to be colored, and she's pretty. Republicans know that her politics aren't going to scare away any traditional SC voters, and they know that her color will only bring in new voters. It's a win-win for them.

By the way, I'd point that Aziz Ansari is also from SC. It's not all backwards out there :)

http://www.fitsnews.com/2009/01/30/nikki-haley-ready-for-prime-time/ has a long speech by Nikki.

What a surprise, people here have starting bashing her for religion, last name and not being brown enough just like they bash Mr.Jindal.

In fairness, like "Bobby," "Nikki" is not an uncommon Punjabi nickname.

And for a South Asian American with a South Asian name who's kept it and been embraced by the Democratic Party, try the fabulously popular Kamala Harris (D-CA), SF DA, running for Attorney General.

i'm really glad i have a president named barack hussein obama. someone i can point to and say, look, he didn't have to compromise who he was to make it.

there was a compromise. you couldn't point to the hussein part without O supporters including myself having a conniption. He didn't exactly embrace that part of his idenity, and if i recall, he went as far as removing some hijabed women from a podium on which he was speaking.

Taz,

You're right that IAs right now are majority Democatic, but some of the same polls suggest that the majority is not so large that the party should get comfortable. The NAAS survey did say:

Asian Americans are twice as likely to be Democrat as Republican (33% to 16%), with Indians by far the most Democratic (50%, vs. just 7% Republicans, 13% Independent and 30% Non-partisan).

The same poll also pointed out that

Indians are the strongest supporters of Barack Obama, preferring him by 62% to just 12% who favor John McCain (with 25% still undecided). Nationally, 53% of Indians favor Obama.

It seems IAs were excited about Obama pretty much the way other Americans were. That does not mean if the Democrats throw up a loser like Harry Reid, who argues that holding terrorist suspects in American prisons is "releasing" them, that Indians will respond in the same manner.

What should worry Republicans is that Obama is the first Democratic nominee who won the majority of college graduates in several decades. It's hard to argue you should be in charge of the government, when your base is the less educated voters of the country.

How is it wrong to bring up the religion, or more appropriate their peculiarly illiberal interpretation, of these candidates? How is their vision of American-ness any different from the Hindutva vision of India? The only difference is that India has a corrupted law and order system and this kind of rhetoric readily turns into violence. They may be religious minorities in the South Asian American community but they are part of the majority faith of this country. Why the kid gloves?

As for what the locals think, it appears that Haley has obstacles to overcome that are not related to her ethnicity:

She will have an obstacle to over come, however, with her lack of name recognition around the state. Being a member of the State House does not tend to make one widely known outside of their own district. It will be tough for her to compete against big names like Henry McMaster and Gresham Barrett, who both already have well over a million dollars in their war chest.

Carolina Politics Online

Bobby Jindal represents very few of the views common to Indians living in the US. He is an ultra-conservative Christian politician. His rebuttal to Obama being nominated as President was pathetic. It appeared he was reading word for word from either a written speech or from a teleprompter. The Republican party is a mess and it's sad that the likes of Bobby Jindal is the best they can bring to the table. Also, I realize he is Indian by heritage and birth but the fact he converted to Catholicism while in college (at the age of 18 I think) shows that he knew very well that that was the only way, as an Indian-American Hindu, he could achieve his political ambitions.

How is it wrong to bring up the religion, or more appropriate their peculiarly illiberal interpretation, of these candidates?

Please cite some examples of Nina Haley's intolerant Methodism.

Bobby Jindal represents very few of the views common to Indians living in the US. He is an ultra-conservative Christian politician. His rebuttal to Obama being nominated as President was inadequate. It appeared he was reading word word from either a written speech or from a teleprompter. Plus, he continued to go on and on about how successful he was in resurrecting Louisiana after Katrina. Really? I thought it was quite a disaster. Still the levies are not as strong as they should be. The Republican party is a mess and it's unfortunate that the likes of Bobby Jindal is the best they can bring to the table. Also, I realize he is Indian by heritage and birth but the fact he converted to Catholicism while in college (at the age of 18 I think) shows that he knew very well that that was the only way, as an Indian-American Hindu, he could achieve his political ambitions.

Bobby Jindal represents very few of the views common to Indians living in the US. He is an ultra-conservative Christian politician. His rebuttal to Obama being nominated as President was pathetic. It appeared he was reading word for word from either a written speech or from a teleprompter. The Republican party is a mess and it's sad that the likes of Bobby Jindal is the best they can bring to the table. Also, I realize he is Indian by heritage and birth but the fact he converted to Catholicism while in college (at the age of 18 I think) shows that he knew very well that that was the only way, as an Indian-American Hindu, he could achieve his political ambitions.

Yawn - if you want to compare Jindal to Obama, you are free to do so. Jindal - former McKinseyite, served on a Bill Clinton health care task force, reformed LA Public Health Care System, president of the University of Lousiana, and now governor, before the age of 40. Obama is clearly a smart, disciplined guy, but his resume was thin (I say this as a guy who voted for Obama).

Oh, little fact - all politicians use teleprompters. One of the sillier attacks Republicans had against Obama was his frequent use of teleprompter. Compare that to when Obama speaks without one, like his recent press conference with PM Netanyahu of Israel, and he pauses every couple of seconds so as not to alienate anyone.

How is it wrong to bring up the religion, or more appropriate their peculiarly illiberal interpretation, of these candidates?

Please cite some examples of Nina Haley's intolerant Methodism

Apologies, I unintentionally lumped her in with Jindal who keeps putting religious identity front and center. To clarify, to keep implying that Haley and Jindal are not "representing" because of their Christianity should be outside the pale. But calling a candidate on it when it is front in center in their definition of American virtue is fair game

But calling a candidate on it when it is front in center in their definition of American virtue is fair game

I agree with you that Jindal's public discussion of how he became Catholic is a bit silly to me. I grew up around Italian and Irish Catholics in NY, and none discussed their faith they way Jindal does. But, I don't see where Jindal has ever said that religion should be just as important to all Americans.

Part of this is for show. Obama went to the Trinity Church in Chicago, partly out of personal belief, but also because if any black politician wanted to have a future in Chicago politics, that was the church you had to go to connect with black power brokers, just as the Catholic Church still is for Irish, Italian, and Latino politicians in Chicago. Thankfully, Obama has not gone to church since the election.

Let's see how Haley does on the campaign trail. She just announced her candidacy, and we (I include myself) are assigning motives to her that have yet to be proven by any evidence.

Let's see how Haley does on the campaign trail. She just announced her candidacy, and we (I include myself) are assigning motives to her that have yet to be proven by any evidence.

Agreed. I have voted for a certain kind of old school socially liberal Republican in the past (when they still existed and could get party nomination) and it is annoying how fellow desis are willing to ascribe some sort of malevolent intent to me. Anyway, don't want to further derail discussion.

ran across another blog post that echoes what alot of folks have already said here...I for one agree that "Nikki" is kind of questionable...I don't see her as a fellow desi.

http://theindofiles.com/2009/05/21/nikki-haley-another-desi-who-really-isnt-a-desi/

Note: I support gay marriage.

However, one could argue that Jindal and Nikki are VERY desi in terms of their "family values." Didn't angry Indian mobs burn down movie theaters when a movie about two lesbians came out?

I got the impression that being gay is just not acceptable back in India.
Also, I can imagine abstinence only education being touted in India.

Maybe Kerala is hyper-conservative, but it seems like many ABCDs (myself included) who lean left are the ones who have been influenced by the west.

I wish a South Asian American politician could succeed in America while keeping their given (desi) name and staying Hindu (assuming that they were born Hindu and with a desi name). I understand why politicians do what they do, but after seeing that Obama won despite campaigning as Barack and not Barry (yeah he did do some politicking, that's true), it's disappointing to see that desi politicians basically have to distance themselves from their heritage. It's the melting pot instead of the salad bowl.

And considering all the hullabaloo on this blog about a black man with a 'weird' name becoming President, it seems strange for you guys to get all uppity about posters talking about the issues surrounding a DESI person's name in politics. What gives?? Is it so wrong to want to feel represented. Even if we don't agree with them (and I don't like Obama much either).

Note to aspiring desi pols--whist effective, the embrace of Christianity and gun-rights is not entirely cost-free--it does require some "balancing," or at least bearing some costs, as in the need to develop a position on the vexed issue of Sunday hunting--traditionalist Christians opposed, gun-loving hunters pro-!

ran across another blog post that echoes what alot of folks have already said here...I for one agree that "Nikki" is kind of questionable...I don't see her as a fellow desi.

http://theindofiles.com/2009/05/21/nikki-haley-another-desi-who-really-isnt-a-desi/

Would you rather win or stand by your principles?

er, stand by my principles? is that bad now?

losing one election isn't the end of the world. didn't barack lose his first run for office too?

losing one election isn't the end of the world. didn't barack lose his first run for office too?

As did Jindal.

didn't barack lose his first run for office too?

interestingly, he lost his first bid for the US congress to bobby rush, who did to O what you people (yeah, i meant to say "you people") are doing too nikki (which is, as a sidepoint, a name possesing a high correlation with actual hotness).

he was clarence thomas, not black enough, too close to jews even. b. rush managed to out rush the other rush. i've argued this point-how progressive race theories end up //ing tradional bigotry ad nauseum here so i won't bore you further, but i just wanted to point out the delicious irony.

Bobby Jindal represents very few of the views common to Indians living in the US

Samir, I really shouldn't give you ammo but my inner machiavelli can't help himself. if you want to torpedo his chances of raisng $$ from wealthy indian americans by challenging his authenticity, all you have to do his mention how he got into med school...and didn't go. i'm sure half the unclejis will spit out their johnny walker black upon hearing that.

they'll probably write a check to Vijay Prashad before looking at jindal again.

she's already got the sitting governor's endorsement.

this is mark "stimulus" sanford, governor of the state with the second highest unemployment rate in the country, we are talking about, right? i don't think his stimulus stunt really helped him from what i've read, although, sadly, i can't find any polls tracking his popularity before and after his shenanigans.

nikki (which is, as a sidepoint, a name possesing a high correlation with actual hotness)

manju, are you staking your claim for, um, providing dollar contributions to nikki, even before amardeep and abhi saw her?

Democrats do much more to support minority involvement for office

ACORN!!! One of the greatest frauds in voter history!! Buying votes with stimulus money!!

She did give her kids Indian names by the way. This even though their dad is white. I doubt her political side tells the whole story of her ties to desi culture.

Abhi - you call my comments ignorant - perhaps they are. However I do not know these people personally/ well - I get what I can about them from the news/ internet etc.

But from the point of view of someone born in India, it does feel like a lot of their indian identity (name, religion, day to day life) is differnt to most others - that was the point of my comment.

Again - I'm not questioning her giving up her name - I know many many people do it to make lives easier. Nikki is much easier for most westerners to say than Nimrita. Same goes for the Randhawa part.

My comment was made because we're talking about these "Indian" candidates - but as I say, not knowing them personally, reading about them personally as well as professionally doesn't really scream "Indian" to me. It almost feels like they have distanced themslves from this part of their life somewhat.

Also - I note I'm not the only one with these feelings - just the first!

In any case, I would still wish her and Mr. Jindal both god luck. They might well be the reason why more Indians come into politics - even if they come in because:

*We need to see desi politicians with desi identities.
*We need to see more desi democrat politicians.

Its all good!

manju, are you staking your claim for, um, providing dollar contributions to nikki, even before amardeep and abhi saw her?

look, i don't know who really did nikki first, amardeep or abhi...but either way, what i would like to focus on is taz doing her now.

She did give her kids Indian names ... their dad is white.

The kids' names are always Indian in these cases. I think it comes out of guilt or the realization that it is so easy to be not-Indian after all. I reached that point a couple of years ago. And since I didn't have kids I did the next best thing, I gave the dog an Indian name. Nice dog but yaps too much on the internet.

*We need to see desi politicians with desi identities. *We need to see more desi democrat politicians.

Secondly, Nikki can be short for Nikitha,

But in this case it seems to be short for Nimrata.

And since I didn't have kids I did the next best thing, I gave the dog an Indian name. Nice dog but yaps too much on the internet.

But in this case it seems to be short for Nimrata.

My meanderings through "baby names" websites indicate that it seems to be kind of universal.

But in this case it seems to be short for Nimrata.

But, I don't see where Jindal has ever said that religion should be just as important to all Americans.

He's threaded that needle very finely when it comes to the role of Christianity in public policy - for example, creating orgs like this, the Louisiana Commission on Marriage and Family with folks like Tony Perkins and Gene Mills, not to mention his embrace of creationism, including signing a bill sponsored by the infamous Discovery Institute.

But I don't want to turn this thread into the ad nauseum debate on Jindal, so I'll just stop with this comment.

That is sorta my name, but no one ever shortened it like that. I do remember that in rural VA people asked me if they could me Natasha. I'd rather stay away from porn star names though.

Also, "Natesa," which is pronounced similarly to "Natasha" is

I'm not sure but it probably the same in Toronto with people like Ruby Dhalla who run in areas that have the South Asian demographics.

Ruby Dhalla represents Brampton-Springdale, which is home to one of the largest (if not the largest) Sikh community in greater Toronto, and also one of the largest Sikh communities in Canada.

I caught the clip of Nikki Haley that was posted in comment #27.
She says the word "important" and it sounds like John Edwards :-)

All the best to her. Another Desi Governor would not be bad !!!

and give me a break with the name thing. You havent heard name "Nikki" ?? I mean seriously ???

what's your problem with her name? Nikki is a very common Punjabi nickname. My cousin's real name is Harpreet and everyone calls her Nikki. My brother's name is Bobby!

Word.

Another South Asian Dem--Rano Singh in Arizona. State legislator (in a republican state).

I support Nikki Haley because she is a reformer who was willing to upset the SC House leadership in her own party to do the right thing. She is the future of the GOP; her opponents are the past. Thanks to all who commented. It was a very interesting read. To the gent who said that no members of the Congressional Black Caucus were Republicans, I wanted to note that the CBC refused to let former Rep. J.C. Watts (R-OK) become a member. Gary Franks (R-CT) was also a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991-1997.

Was dropping “Randhawa” more about race or gender? Republicans are generally not fond of women with hyphenated names. Surprisingly few states have been led by women. Larger, cosmopolitan states like NY, CA & FL have yet to elect a woman. But the smaller states like AZ, NH & KS have had multiple female leaders. So I wouldn't crap on SC.

I wish a South Asian American politician could succeed in America while keeping their given (desi) name and staying Hindu (assuming that they were born Hindu and with a desi name).

I just did some preliminary 'internet research' and I see multiple references to J.C. Watts actually being offered, but declining
membership to the CBC due to differences in policy.

I've never understood this need to psychoanalyze Indians and their name changes and/or use of anglicized nicknames. The use of anglicized names has been fairly common historically among many immigrant groups in this country. It's not my place to criticize others in what they did to assimilate into American culture, though I view Jindal's inability to even acknowledge his heritage somewhat pathetic (just a personal opinion).

I will give them the benefit of the doubt when it comes to religious conversions and their own religious faith, even if they espouse some radically conservative religious beliefs.

However, what I don't like about Jindal is what I don't like about the GOP in general and their insistence that faith and namely their faith, which is basically their brand of theocratic right wing Christianity - be implemented in public policy (with regards to Stem Cell research, prayer in schools, evolution in the class room, abortion, etc). Of course, I don't agree with the GOP on much else either...

I don't know if she's as extreme as Jindal and she probably doesn't have the same name recognition and reputation Jindal did. Jindal was known to be some kind of boy-wonder genius and had a fairly impressive resume, having worked at the WH for some time before running for governor. I think he won the GOP primary pretty easily. He lost in a close general election, ran for a House seat, and eventually won the gubernatorial election by a decent margin.

Indian-Americans were big supporters of Obama in the last election, and vote more democratic, like other immigrant groups. Fewer people are identifying with the GOP now anyways, and what has motivated a few wealthy Indian-Americans to support them is basically fear, greed and religious conservatism like most others that vote republican. I think the rise of Desi politicians in general is a good thing though and is indicative that even in more conservative states like SC and LA, race may be playing less of a factor. That's good news for everyone even if I don't agree with their politics.

I think the rise of Desi politicians in general is a good thing though and is indicative that even in more conservative states like SC and LA, race may be playing less of a factor. That's good news for everyone even if I don't agree with their politics.

Religious discrimination, however, is still alive and kicking. Given the stories about the people accusing Mrs. Haley of being a "Hindoo" or a "Buddhist," the fact that the general response was "NO I'M NOT!" rather than "So what if I was?" stands as evidence of that.

The Republican Party has a thing for "born-again" desis. Indian immigration in the southern United States has tended to follow a pattern of desis filling the interstices of the black-white divide. Pushed away from the more remunerative north, you see the "Indian rural doctor" stereotype in the deep south. What we see now are the second-order effects....they are sorta like us amongst the "people of color" and they believe in jeezus and the right to bear arms. Wow!

The use of anglicized names has been fairly common historically among many immigrant groups in this country. It's not my place to criticize others in what they did to assimilate into American culture

But why should they have to assimilate? Why can't they join American society without giving up their cultural heritage? I thought that was the whole point of being so happy on this blog that a man named 'Barack' and not 'Barry' became president. So it's just plain hypocrisy to get upset that some readers are upset that an actual DESI politician can't keep their name and get elected.

What is the "indian rural doctor" stereotype?

Another Indian Am politician for the Republican party? I'm sorry, but in my opinion that person has strayed so much from their identity. I shall never understand what Indians have to gain in the Republican Party!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikki_Haley

I shall never understand what Indians have to gain in the Republican Party!

Some of you people who hate on Jindal and Haley for not being South Asian enough need to get a life. Both Nikki and Bobby live in parts of the United States in which there are not alot of people of the same background. And I guess it safe bet when Mr.Jindal and Mrs.Haley were growing up in the 70's and 80's they were one of the few familes in whole area. So maybe they were not exposed to there culture, the way they would have if they had grown up in Yuba City, Vancouver or Southhall.

There are alot of South Asians born in England who have not given up there culture and in fact not at all intergrated into western society and want to do things, that if they are successful. There action's will make it harder for all brown people in the west, yet they never get the hate here, that Bobby Jindal does.

In the States, South Asians don't really have the numbers in there own community to get elected like that. My 1st cousin is mayor of small town in Central Califronia which is over 90% hispanic, but that didn't stop him becoming mayor twice.

@Ashwini: With respect to changing one's first name (the last name is another story), I think it's a little presumptuous to assume assimilation. "Nikki" is not an uncommon nickname among Punjabis, and it conveniently doubles as a word/moniker in both Punjabi and English. Jumping to the "assimilationist!" rhetoric is a little knee-jerk.

@ sa:

she is about as indian as clarence thomas is black

@ Manju: You recall incorrectly, friend. Local staffers for the event removed a hijabi woman, but BHO did not and made his staff apologize to her.

@ Rahul, I've missed you.

That's actually not true. While we are geographically disperse, South Asians in the U.S. have been able to mobilize political voting blocs at the local government-level. This is not to the exclusion, however, of running on pan-ethnic platforms.

But is nowhere the same level that it is here in Canada. In British Columbia 7 of the 79 MLA are Punjabi, and we have 3 Punjabi MP from Vancouver who run in parts of the Greater Vancouver area's with a huge punjabi community. I think it the same for the Punjabi MP's in the Toronto Area.

Question is, when will the Democrats start supporting Desis vying for higher political power as well?

Democrats will start supporting indian americans vying for higher political office after blacks, hispanic and Jews in the democratic party are satisfied with their share of political power.

What is up with Indian American politicians ditching their religious/spiritual background?

Bobby Jindal converted to Catholicism. Nikki Randhawa-Haley's family is Methodist (as per Wikipedia).