The Biden-Harris Combo — Infinite Possibilities For India
Improvement in India-US ties, perks for Indian Residents in US, America’s Indian Connection and much more!
One of the biggest changes that the USA saw in 2021 is how the country moved on from Donald Trump to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Though the shift came after many controversies, it can be well and truly said that Joe Biden is the President of the United States of America and Kamala Harris the Vice-President.
India is one of the countries with which the USA seek to improve its ties. Though the USA in recent times has shared interests with India on many topics like promoting global security, stability, and economic prosperity through trade, investment and connectivity, there is still much to be desired.
Some of the problems faced by Indians residing in America or looking to move to America include:
- High Rates of Unemployment
- Lack of Education and Poverty of Indian Americans
- Social Challenges
- Challenges faced by Indian Immigrants
- Job Conditions
The entry of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris has certainly sparked excitement among Indians, with many feeling that it is a welcome change.
Let us have a look at the new president and vice-president of USA.
Joe Biden — The President
Biden’s political career started off at a young age of 29, when he was elected to become part of the United States Senate, becoming one of the youngest ever to become elected.
Soon after, Biden became a Senator from Delaware — a place from where he served for a period of 36 years. Biden is widely recognized for writing and spearheading the Violence against Women Act. This landmark legislation strengthened penalties for violence against women and most importantly changed the national dialogue on domestic and sexual assault. Other notable contributions include shaping foreign policy, legislation related to terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, post-Cold War Europe, the Middle East, Southwest Asia and ending apartheid.
After representing Delaware as Senator from 1973 to 2009, Biden became the 47th Vice-President of USA in 2009 under Barack Obama, who was then the President of the country. In 2008, it was also revealed that Joe Biden along with his wife contributed an average of $369 per year to charity in that decade.
As Vice-President, Biden represented the nation abroad and continued his leadership on important issues facing the country. His main points of focus were to reduce gun violence, address violence against women and end cancer.
His term as vice-president came to an end in 2017. For the next couple of years, Biden continued his efforts to help America grow by creating The Biden Foundation, The Biden Cancer Initiative, The Penn Biden Centre for Diplomacy and Global Engagement and The Biden Institute at the University of Delaware.
In 2019, Biden announced that he would be a candidate for President of United States.
On 20th January 2021, Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, replacing Donald Trump.
Biden’s candidacy was built from the beginning around 3 pillars: the battle for the soul of the nation, the need to rebuild the middle class — the backbone of the country, and a call for unity, to act as One America.
Kamala Harris — The Vice President
America’s Indian connect, Kamala Harris was born in Oakland, California, to parents who emigrated from India and Jamaica.
Kamala Harris started her career as a prosecutor after graduating from Howard University and the University of California, Hastings College of Law. In 1990, she joined the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, where she specialized as a prosecutor in child sexual assault cases.
Her career graph is an excellent representation of growth, as she later became the District Attorney of San Francisco in 2003, Attorney General of California in 2010 and then was sworn into the United States Senate in 2017.
As Senator, some of her main points of focus were to reform cash bail, combat hunger, provide rent relief, improve maternal health care and address the climate crisis.
In August 2020, after getting invited by Joe Biden, she became his running mate for the elections. Her combination with Biden seemed to have a magical touch to it as she became the first woman, first Black American, and first South Asian American to be elected Vice-President and Joe Biden became the President. Kamala Harris is the 49th Vice-President of the United States.
Biden-Harris Combo
The combination of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, more popularly known as Biden-Harris, became a huge talking point during the election campaign.
Biden’s selection of Harris as his running mate unexpectedly put the focus on Indian-Americans, mainly due to the fact that Harris has her roots in India.
According to a poll conducted in October 2020 for Indian-Americans, it was reported that Harris’s selection made 45% of the respondents more likely to vote. Among these respondents, 49% were more enthusiastic about Biden’s candidacy due to the selection of Harris.
Why does Kamala Harris attract Indian-Americans?
The Indian-Americans feel that the tribute paid by Harris to her Indian mother tugged on the heart-strings of many Indians and made them remember the importance of Indian culture. Another reason could be the ever-growing feeling of nationality and pride among Indians.
The references that Harris makes to her origin and identity makes many Indian-Americans recollect their past and how they would once go back to their homes in India to visit their family.
It can thus be well and truly concluded that Biden intended on bringing a much needed change in the country by bringing in Harris. By bringing in Harris, Biden has signaled to the world the need to make women and men equally inclusive and at the same time say no to racism.
What can this special Biden-Harris combo do to help India? Let’s take a look
Strengthening India-US Connections
Some points where India-US Connections could be strengthened include:
1.Improvement in Visa Policies
The number of Indians moving to the US has only increased in recent times and most definitely will see a spike in the coming years as well. With the COVID-19 pandemic taking over the world in 2020, Donald Trump, the then president of USA, made a freeze in the H-1B visa with the aim of recovering lost jobs due to the pandemic. The move got severe backlash from many Indians who wanted to settle in the US. Another group questioned how the country could recover nearly 17 million jobs lost by keeping out more than half a million foreign workers.
It is of utmost necessity that this ban be revoked, especially due to the fact that most of the immigrants are from India. Indians, in general, see countries like the US as an attractive destination for settling down.
Now, with the beginning of new era under Biden-Harris, it will be interesting to see how quickly the freeze is revoked. As of 13th March 2021, it was reported that the US government has started taking steps to dismantle Trump’s immigration rules.
2.Say No to Discrimination
Discrimination towards Indian-Americans residing in the US, though not as much talked about as in earlier times, still remains a cause of concern. Though discrimination has reduced over time, traces of it still remain —for example in the names of many US sports teams like “Cleveland Indians” or “Washington Redskins”, in commercial television or advertising using the image of the strong Indian for their purposes, or in the suggestions of some politicians to terminate the self-determination or existence of single tribes.
Ignorance and indifference towards Indian-American problems has put a strain on the relationship between the native Americans and Indian-Americans in the country.
With the entry of Biden and Harris, the solution to this problem could never be too far.
3. #BlackLivesMatter
Yes, you read that right!
Native Americans are not the only ones who have had to face the issues of racism on the basis of color, Indian- Americans too have been on the wrong side of it as well.
While I researched for this article, I came across a personalized experience of a black Indian-American and the struggles that he had to face.
Here is the link to that article:
The George Floyd case along with several other similar cases in the country certainly has taken the #BlackLivesMatter Movement in the US to a different level and it would be a blessing in disguise if Joe Biden and Kamala Harris come up with measures to improve the quality of lives of all Blacks including black Indian-Americans and promote equality in the country.
Conclusion
The main challenge which lies ahead for Biden-Harris is to bring in improved laws which attract not only Indians, but also people from other countries across the globe, to the country and help in improving their quality of life.
The signs for good India-US relations have already started popping up. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin openly expressed the country’s desire to further deepen strategic ties with India to address the “most pressing” challenges faced by the Indo-Pacific earlier this week as he flagged off his three-day visit to the country.
Though there existed certain policies set by the previous governments, the H-1B visa being a case in point, its high time that such policies be removed and new laws which promote equality and justice for all be encouraged and promoted. The signs certainly look promising and it will be interesting to see how both nations help each other out as they seek to improve their ties.
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