There are groups of Indians — both in the United States and in India — who support Donald Trump, even though the Republican presidential candidate may not be too kind toward foreigners or immigrants when he’s on the campaign trail.

However Hillary Clinton enjoys an almost 4-to-1 advantage over Trump — 55 percent vs. 14 percent — with about 1 in 5 still undecided according to the National Asian American Survey for Fall 2016.

Fitting the larger trend among Americans of Asian descent, Indian Americans tend to lean left. But because of his anti-Muslim rhetoric — and Trump has capitalized on this, a growing number of Hindu Indians support Trump.

He would support Indians and crack down against Muslim extremism, Trump pledged in a speech in New Jersey. Many Indians, who have seen their country repeatedly struck by terrorism, those strong words from Trump resonated with many Indians. The most significant example of Muslim extremism was the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 which killed more than 200 people.

Trump was called a “hero,” due in part to his ability to “save humanity from Islam and Islamic terror” by a vocal, right-wing political group, Hindu Sena.

As a time when tensions have been elevated between Indian and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir, Trump’s commentary has infused interest among a ase4ction of Indians.

“Most U.S. leaders in the past have had a pro-Pakistan tilt … so Trump’s pro-India comments have been cheered by the [Indian] community,” said Professor Ravi Ahuja at DeSales University in Pennsylvania.

Trump’s brand also has equity in India, aside from his aggressive words on terrorism,.

“India probably has the highest number of Trump-branded real estate projects outside of North America. Trump has five ongoing deals in India with a gross development value of about $1.5 billion” with “more projects likely to be launched in 2017,” said a spokesperson for Tribeca, a Mumbai-based developer that acts as Trump’s partner in India.

The he key question of course is whether any of that sentiment translates into more U.S. votes on Nov. 8. Specifically in the technology and financial services industries, Indian Americans are slowly taking a more prominent role in corporate America in the United States, say political strategists.

“We’re only 1 percent of the population, but South Asians tend to be highly influential and wealthy,” said M.R. Rangaswami, Silicon Valley investor and founder of Indiaspora.

According to data from the Pew Research Center, with 70 percent of Indian Americans aged 25 and older holding a college degrees in 2010, which is 2.5 times the rate among the overall U.S. population,, Indian Americans are among the most highly educated U.S. ethnic groups. Clocking much higher than the U.S. average, the median annual household income for Indian Americans in 2010 was $88,000.

Trump has put in concerted effort to win their votes after he realized the importance of the group. A statement in Hindi, India’s national language, ahead of Diwali, the Indian New Year which is celebrated on November 4, was recited by Trump this week as he made a video that trended on social media.

(Adapted from CNBC)

Categories: Geopolitics