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The Centre for Policy Research (CPR) invites you to a talk on:
Is A ‘Model Minority’ An ‘Acceptable Minority?’ Indian-Americans and the US Presidential Polls
Tuesday, 29th October 2024, 3:00 PM IST
Speaker:
Dr Amit Gupta, Senior Advisor, Forum of Federations, Canada; former Associate Professor, US Air Force Air War College, Alabama
Moderator:
Dr. Shyam Babu, Senior Fellow, CPR
This event will be held in a hybrid mode at the CPR Conference Room and online over Zoom. Please register below to attend either in-person or via Zoom.
About the talk:
This year’s US Presidential polls scheduled for November 5, have so far been proved to be far more divisive and contentious. But what is certain is that the Indian-Americans will have something to smile about irrespective of who wins. A win by Democrats will usher in the Indian-American Kamala Harris Administration; a win by Republicans means the second lady will be the second-generation Indian Mrs. Usha Chilukuri Vance, the wife of now Vice-Presidential candidate, Mr. J D Vance. So, will Indians in America be right to feel a sense of ‘having arrived!’
Indians are a relatively new non-European ethnic group in the US – at least compared to the Japanese and the Chinese – and proved their mettle in academia, business, science and technology, and, above all, in professions.
Is it the dream-story for others to feel jealous of? Maybe. But the history of minorities across the world over the past two millennia gives us a gloomy picture. Small groups that differ from the majority in speech, complexion, customs, religion, etc., more often became victims of majoritarian angst.
Prof. Gupta will delve into the social, cultural and political dynamics that are at play here. He will also focus on what it takes for a model minority to become an acceptable minority. And the critical question: Why cannot the American-Indians remain a model minority?
About the speaker:
Amit Gupta was on the Faculty of the Department of International Security at the U.S. Air Force Air War College, Maxwell AFB and is now a Senior Advisor to the Forum of Federations, Ottawa, Canada. Amit is author, co-author or editor of the following books, Building an Arsenal: The Evolution of Regional Power Force Structures, India’s Nuclear Security, The Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific: Maritime Challenges, Opportunities, and Policies, Global Security Watch—India, Strategic Stability in Asia, and Air Forces: Next Generation. Professor Gupta has worked on Diasporas, Race, and domestic and foreign policy.
In the realm of popular culture, he has written in academic journals and magazines on Doctor Who, The Defenders, Star Trek, international cricket, and the globalisation of sports. Dr. Gupta was educated at the University of Delhi and the Australian National University, and has a PhD from the University of Illinois. In his spare time, he coached the Air War College Soccer Team for the Jim Thorpe Inter-Services Competition Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
