Small community, big dividends

For a community that is quite infinitesimally small — 1 per cent of the population — Indian-Americans are now exceptionally well represented in the US Congress with four Representatives and one Senator — all Democrats — taking oath on Tuesday.

To the credit of the American desis, they have been punching above their weight for quite a while, though it took over 40 years for the second Indian-American to enter Congress (Bobby Jindal) after the trailblazing Dalip Singh Saund retired in 1963. This current surfeit of political dividends — including two prominent roles so far for Republican Indian-Americans in the forthcoming Trump Administration — comes at a time when the community is increasing its profile in segments from Hollywood and the arts to business and academia. So, the community has much to be pleased about.

It’s not often that such small minorities find commensurate representation in a first-past-the-post electoral system. Of course, India has reason to stand proud because Anglo-Indians — a veritable minisculity, less than one lakh in a country of 1.3 billion — are actually over-represented, with two guaranteed seats in the Lok Sabha and similar places in at least eight legislatures. In the same spirit, given that the already small Parsi community is similarly dwindling, maybe India should consider adequate representation for them as well.