Following is a Summary of the study results, courtesy Carnegie:
The year 2024 was widely hailed as the “year of elections.” Over twelve months, more than 1.5 billion people exercised their franchise to select new governments in seventy-three countries across the globe. Two of the biggest—and, arguably, most consequential—elections occurred in India and the United States.
In June 2024, voters in India delivered a third term to incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi, despite his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) falling short of an outright parliamentary majority. While Modi remains a popular, domineering figure, the results of the general election were widely perceived as a political setback. However, with resounding victories in several subsequent state elections, Modi and the BJP appear to have recovered some lost ground. Five months later, voters in the United States once again reposed their trust in Republican President Donald Trump, denying then vice president Kamala Harris an opportunity to succeed Democratic incumbent Joe Biden.
These two noteworthy elections took place against the backdrop of a burgeoning U.S.-India partnership, albeit one not without its hiccups. In the run-up to the U.S. election, several irritants to the bilateral relationship emerged, including disagreements over the approach toward the Sheikh Hasina–led regime in Bangladesh, the U.S. federal indictment of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani on corruption charges, and a dispute over allegations that an Indian government official masterminded a “murder-for-hire” plot targeting a U.S. citizen—a pro-Khalistan separatist—on U.S. soil.
Given that more than 5 million people of Indian origin reside in the United States today, these developments naturally invite questions about the diaspora’s views on foreign policy: How do Indian Americans evaluate the Biden administration’s stewardship of U.S.-India ties? Do they think Trump will be better for India? How do they view India’s own trajectory, including the results of the June 2024 election?
This study seeks to answer these timely, important questions. The analysis is based on a nationally representative online survey of 1,206 Indian American adult residents—the Indian American Attitudes Survey (IAAS)—conducted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace between September 18 and October 15, 2024, in partnership with the research and analytics firm YouGov. The survey has an overall maximum margin of error of +/- 3 percent.
In brief, the data reveal that Indian Americans believe the recently departed Biden administration ably managed U.S.-India ties during its four years in office. However, they offer a more mixed assessment of what future relations under Trump might entail. With regards to India, the diaspora is more bullish on the country’s domestic trajectory compared to 2020. A near majority of Indian Americans approve of Modi’s performance as prime minister, though many are concerned about rising Hindu majoritarianism.
This study is the second in a three-part series on the social, political, and foreign policy attitudes of Indian Americans drawing on the 2024 IAAS. The major findings are summarized below:
- Indian Americans view the Biden administration’s record on India positively. Roughly half of respondents approve of the Biden administration’s handling of U.S.-India relations. Roughly four in ten believe the administration’s support for India was appropriately calibrated, though there are diverse opinions on how well the United States balanced its interests versus its values.
- Many Indian Americans are concerned about bilateral relations under the Trump administration.Indian Americans rate the Biden administration’s record on India slightly better than the first Trump administration’s. In addition, respondents believe the bilateral relationship would have been more likely to prosper under a putative Harris administration compared to a second Trump administration.
- The “murder-for-hire” allegations, while sensational, are not well known. Only about half of all respondents are aware of the allegations of India’s involvement in an attempted assassination on U.S. soil. A slim majority of respondents report that India would not be justified in taking such action and hold identical feelings about the United States if the positions were reversed.
- Indian Americans are divided on the question of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Indian Americans do not hold a monolithic view of the conflict in the Middle East, though there are clear partisan divides. Democrats are more likely to side with and express empathy for the Palestinian cause than Republicans, who espouse more pro-Israel views. Overall, four in ten respondents state that the Biden administration favored Israel too much in the ongoing conflict.
- Compared to 2020, Indian Americans are more bullish on India’s trajectory. Forty-seven percent of Indian Americans believe that India is headed in the right direction, a 10 percentage point increase from four years ago. The same share approves of Modi’s prime ministerial performance. Four in ten respondents report that India’s 2024 election made the country more democratic.
For the full report: https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2025/03/foreign-policy-attitudes-of-indian-americans-2024-survey-results
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