World leaders take note of the visionary Modi government and a powerful diaspora

The Indian government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been so positively relevant on the global stage in recent years. It is hard historically to see when the country—controlled by Indians for themselves—has been so significant beyond its borders, and moving economically forward so fast. Yet, highly relevant now is the vast Indian diaspora that includes the likes of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who heads a major G7 nation. But it gets better.

- PETER DASH

On the American side, there is Kamala Harris, the US vice president, who is a proverbial “heartbeat” away from heading America and whose mother was an Indian immigrant. In fact, altogether there are three main US politicians of Indian (and Hindu) heritage, being positioned or in line to lead this top superpower.

Beyond Harris, there is Nikki Haley, former Republican governor of the US state of South Carolina and ex-US ambassador to the United Nations—an organisation which New Delhi needs effective support from to raise important dialogue from those who understand how international organisations really work (or don’t). Haley saw good growth in her state’s economy when governor.

There is also the multimillionaire, Vivek Ganapathy Ramaswamy, an Indian-American entrepreneur controlling billions of dollars of largely pharmaceutical assets, also in a pro-growth health sector with a future. He is also in the running to become the next Republican president.

Haley and Ramaswamy are two of five “finalist” Republican candidates to be the next US president, willing to debate on stage, seeking to be on the presidential ballot in next November’s US election. Of course, Donald Trump—who has been a no-show at debates—is still widely leading the field to face off against current president Joe Biden in the next election.

Regarding the recent televised Republican debate on 8 November 2023, both Haley and Ramaswamy performed well. So let us look at these two Republicans in more detail.