Hindu Nationalist Lobbyists on Capitol Hill Are Growing in Influence
Right-wing lobby groups that claim to speak on behalf of Indian Americans are trying to stifle criticism of Narendra Modi’s Hindu chauvinist agenda. They’ve modeled themselves on pro-Israel groups like AIPAC and forged alliances around Islamophobic bigotry.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi address a public rally ahead of the Nagaland assembly election at Agri Expo, Chumukedima, India, in the northeastern state of Nagaland on February 24, 2023. (Caisii Mao / NurPhoto via Getty Images)
In the early 1990s, Indians comprised a tiny minority in the United States. Today there are around 4.2 million people of Indian origin in the US, with around 2.6 million being American citizens. Of those 1.4 million are naturalized citizens, and 1.2 million were born in the United States.
The Indian American groups that began to emerge in the 1990s looked to characterize themselves as representative of the larger Indian American community. A series of overlapping Hindu nationalist organizations were developed to make India synonymous with Hindutva.
In doing so, they consciously modeled themselves upon the pro-Israeli lobby in the United States and forged close ties with its leading organizations. They have become an important channel of support for the right-wing government of Narendra Modi and a regular source of hostile flak for Modi’s critics.
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