The Right's Shifting Target: Indian Americans Face New Online Backlash

Online conservative anger has increasingly targeted Indian Americans, a shift exemplified by racist attacks against Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy following a viral video of him fumbling with a child. This backlash represents a broader trend on the right, where Indian immigrants and Indian Americans have become conspicuous targets.

Freelance journalist Zaid Jilani, who has written about the surge in anti-Indian racism, noted that negative stereotypes previously held by some are now being amplified. These attacks, he suggests, are rooted not in traditional immigrant stereotypes of being uneducated or a drain on resources, but rather in status envy. Unlike some other minority groups, Indian Americans are often highly visible and have achieved significant success in fields traditionally dominated by white professionals, such as technology and medicine.

"The people who had negative stereotypes about Indians in their mind said, ‘Hey, look, the guy can’t even pick up a kid…he can’t even act like a normal American family man,’" Jilani told NPR's Today, Explained. He explained that this phenomenon is analogous to antisemitism rather than the racism faced by Mexican or Black Americans. It stems from a sense that Indian Americans, a relatively small percentage of the U.S. population, are rising into positions of prestige and economic power that many middle-class Americans have historically associated with their own group.

This perception is exacerbated by a broader anti-globalization sentiment on the right, which extends beyond immigration to include concerns about trade and tariffs. Jilani described it as a feeling that "their kid has to compete with all the other normal white kids in their community, they have to compete against the entire world."

When interviewed for his reporting, Jilani found that many Indian Americans responded to this animosity with pragmatism. While understandably outraged by mistreatment, they also acknowledged the economic struggles of others and the resentment that can arise from seeing a minority group achieve success. Some expressed the sentiment that it is important "not to flaunt our success that much."

This pragmatic approach, characterized by a desire to continue achieving success while navigating societal resistance, is a common immigrant trait, according to Jilani. He also pointed out that some figures on the right have attempted to frame the success of Indian Americans as a deficiency, such as suggesting their academic achievements stem from unhealthy, cloistered study habits. Jilani countered that Indian American children are increasingly well-rounded, participating in sports and extracurricular activities, and are beginning to enter cultural and artistic fields.

He drew parallels to the historical experiences of other immigrant groups, such as Italian Americans, who initially clustered in specific sectors before diversifying as they gained economic stability. Jilani argued that the current patterns of success and integration among Indian Americans are a normal evolution for immigrant communities establishing themselves in the U.S.