Majority of Indian-Americans feel U.S.-India relationship would have been stronger under Harris: survey

Indian Americans favor stronger U.S.-India ties under Kamala Harris, with varying views on foreign policy issues and Modi's leadership.

A majority (53%) of Indian-Americans feels that U.S.-India ties would have become stronger or much stronger under a Kamala Harris administration in Washington, according to a new study published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

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This is in contrast to 40% who feel the same way about the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. However, Indian-Americans rate the erstwhile Biden administration’s record of handling ties with India only slightly better than the record of the first administration of Mr. Trump. Around a third of respondents said that bilateral ties — which have enjoyed strong bipartisan support — would remain the same under Mr. Trump or Ms. Harris. The results are part of a new report based on the Indian-American Attitudes Survey 2024.

The survey examines attitudes around some of the foreign policy issues that appear to have impacted the diaspora in the 2024 election cycle.

For instance, it examines diaspora attitudes towards the U.S. Department of Justice’s indictment in the ‘murder for hire plot’, a conspiracy allegedly masterminded by Indian government agents to kill Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York. While his story featured in the news both in India and the U.S just before the elections, only around half the survey respondents were even aware of the story.

Of those who were aware, a slim majority (51%) felt India would not be justified in taking such action and had identical feelings about the U.S. if the roles of the countries had been reversed. Only 26% say India would have been justified in taking such action, while 23% responded, “Don’t know”.

On Israel and Palestine, another important issue around the 2024 U.S. elections, Indian-Americans were divided. Some of the diversity in views could be explained by party-affinity (with Democrats more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause).