Indian Americans were worried about US connections under a new administration, a survey shows

Indian Americans are increasingly optimistic about India's future, but have deep concerns about US-India relations under Donald Trump's second administration, a new study has found.

The 2024 Indian-American survey conducted by Carnegie's donation to international peace and Yougov in October, examined Indian-American political attitudes.

Two basic elections happened in India and the United States last year amid deepening – but from time to time tense – partnership. Tension between the sides blazed over a Federal US charges for Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and Claims of Delhi supported a plot to kill American soil.

With more than five million inhabitants of Indian origin in the United States, the study asked some key questions: How do Indian Americans view former President Joe Biden for US and India ties? Do Donald Trump see as a better option? And how do they evaluate the India trajectory after the 2024 election?

Here are some key receipts from the report, which was based on a nationally representative online survey of 1.206 Indian-American adults.

Indian Americans have more favorably appreciated the processing of the Biden administration than the US-India relations of Trump's first term.

The hypothetical administration of Kamala Harris is regarded as better for bilateral ties than Trump's second term during the poll.

Guerrilla polarization plays a key role: 66% of Indian-American Republicans believe Trump was better for US and India relations, while only 8% of Democrats agree.

On the contrary, half of the Indian-American Democrats prefer Biden compared to 15% of Republicans.

Because most Indian Americans are Democrats, this gives Biden the overall advantage.

During their February meeting in the White House and Trump, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised their leadership to each other, but Trump criticized The high trade rates in India, calling them a “big problem”.

The alleged Indian plot for the murder of US -based separatist is not widely registered – only half of the respondents are aware of it.

In October, the United States has accused a former Indian intelligence officer in attempted murder and money laundering for an alleged murder plot Gurpatwant Singh PanA US -based defender for an independent Sikhist country, Khalistan.

This was noted the first time the Indian government was directly involved in an alleged attempt to kill a dissident. India said it collaborated with the US investigation. In January a panel created by India to consider Washington's allegations recommended Legal action against an unnamed person who is believed to be the former intelligence agent.

A narrow majority of the respondents said that India “would not be justified to take such actions and to have identical feelings for the United States if the positions were turned.”

Indian Americans are divided into party party lines, with Democrats expressing greater empathy for the Palestinians and Republicans resting on Israel.

Four of 10 respondents believe that Biden was too pro-expressed in the ongoing conflict.

The attack in October 2023 by Hamas fighters from Gaza killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, inside Israel and saw 251 people taken hostage. Most are released in fire termination agreements or other arrangements.

Israel's military offensive killed over 48,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mainly women and children, according to the Hamas Health Ministry.

Conversations to extend the fragile ceasefire, the first phase, which ended on March 1, is expected to resume in Qatar on Monday.

Forty -seven percent of Indian Americans believe India is heading in the right direction, which increases by 10 percentage points from four years ago.

The same share approves Modi's performance as Prime Minister. In addition, four of 10 respondents believe that the elections in India in 2024 – where the Modi Party did not receive a majority – made the country more democratic.

The study found that many Indian Americans support Modi and believe that India is on the right path, but half are not aware of the alleged attempt to kill American soil.

Does this show a gap in access to information, selective commitment or tendency to neglect certain actions in favor of broader nationalist sentiment?

“It is difficult to annoy the exact reason for this, but our feeling is that it has more to do with selective commitment,” says Milan Vyishnav, co -author of the study.

Data collected by Carnegie in 2020 show that about 60% of Indian Americans regularly follow the Indian government and public matters, leaving a significant part that “engages only sporadically.”

“Often, people form a broad impression on the basis of a combination of news, social media and interactions with friends and family. Given the Flood of News in the United States late, it is not quite surprising that the story of” murder “has not broken through much of the community,” said Mr. Weisnav.

Indian Americans, although cautious about Trump and generally prefer Biden or Harris about US -India relations, continue to support Modi in India. Given Modi's nationalist policies, what does this difference take into account? Is this moving more than personal impact than ideology?

“This is the case of” where you sit is where you stand, “said G -n Vayshtav.

He said in related studies: “We have studied this issue in depth and found that Indian Americans usually have more liberal views on US policy than India.”

“For example, while Muslim Indian-Americans-Malcifications in both India and in the United States, they are constantly more liberal attitudes, Hindu Indian-Americans express liberal views in the United States (where they are a minority), but more conservative positions in India, where they belong to the majority.

“In other words, the majority or status of a minority plays a key role in shaping their political views,” said G -n Vyishnav.

If the Indian Americans looked at Trump as a threat to bilateral ties, why did they hug him in his first term as seen at events like “Haudi Modi!”? Their opinion about Trump has shifted because of his policies or is it more about changing political currents?

“We should not summarize from one event or even one segment of the Indian American population. More than 50,000 Indian Americans gathered at” Howdy, Modi! “First of all, see Modi, not Trump.

“Second, this is a diverse diaspora with a number of political views. While Indian Americans bend overly to the Democratic Party, a very significant minority – we evaluate about 30% in 2024 – we support Republicans at Trump.”

Indian Americans remain committed to the Democratic Party, but attachment has decreased. About 47% identified themselves as Democrats, which was smaller than 56% in 2020, an open study last year.

Do Indian Americans have a nuanced understanding of political development in both countries, or are their views more than the stories told by the diaspora and the media chambers?

G -n Vayshnav said data from 2020 shows that online news is a major source of information about India, followed by television, social media and mouth mouth. On social media, YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp were the most common platforms.

“Direct commitment to India is more limited, with Indian Americans born abroad are usually more engaged than those born in the United States.

“By saying this, it should not be neglected the fact that the relationships of cultural connectivity remain quite strong, even in the second and third -generation Indian Americans.”

In the end, the study emphasizes a complex portrait of the Indian American community – one formed by a mix of selective commitment, displacing political winds and various personal experiences.

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