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| ashu | Posted
on 08-Oct-03 03:33 AM
Indian-American Bobby Jindal is a politician to watch. Not only does he have a gilt-edged resume (Brown U, Rhodes Scholarship, Oxford, McKinsey, presidency of University of Louisiana system and a federal job to boot) but he is also young, only 32 years old. A Hindu who converted to Christianity in his teens, is he a successor to Bill Clinton, who too had become the Governor of a Southern state by the age 32? Enjoy this BBC profile of Bobby Jindal. oohi ashu ktm,nepal **************** Bobby Jindal may become America's most high-profile Indian politician http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3169314.stm Deep in the American south, a committed Christian is leading the race to the governor's mansion in Louisiana. Bobby Jindal, a Republican who drew on the Ten Commandments for his campaign ads, won an open primary in the state at the weekend. He now faces a run-off election against the best-placed Democrat. His appeal to conservative Americans from the "Bible-belt" may be obvious - but his progress has taken analysts by surprise. Mr Jindal's parents are from India and he was born a Hindu, converting to Christianity in his teens. What is more, he is only 32 years old - a newcomer to politics, from an ethnic group which is itself relatively new to America. Having won the first round of voting - if he triumphs in the head-to-head vote in November, he will become the first-ever Indian-American governor. Trouble-shooter His supporters argue that he is already the most high-profile Indian politician in the country. His success, they say, is a sign that America's Indian community - having earned a reputation for economic and educational success - has finally come of political age. Bobby Jindal believes his political inexperience is an asset. "I am not a politician, I'm a problem-solver, and Louisiana needs a problem-solver," he said, after winning October's primary elections. Indeed, it is as a problem-solver that he made his name. After a spell at Oxford University and with international consultancy firm, McKinsey, he was hired by Louisiana's governor to fix the state's healthcare problems. Mr Jindal is credited with slashing the state healthcare system's multi-million dollar budget deficit and steering it towards a surplus. His management skills attracted Washington's attention - and made President George W Bush give him a top job in the Health and Human Services Department. Tough contest Now Mr Jindal says he can work his magic on Louisiana's stagnant economy. But observers say he will need to work hard to convince the electorate, particularly the African-Americans who make up almost a third of Louisiana's population. The Democrats' prime contender for the governorship, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco won 18% of the vote in the run-up, against Mr Jindal's 32%. Ms Blanco, who is of Cajun descent, is popular amongst the state's poor and minority communities. So Louisiana - once a canvassing ground for the Ku Klux Klan - is now hosting a leadership contest between an Indian-American and an American-Indian. |
| dautari | Posted
on 08-Oct-03 01:55 PM
Do we have any high-profile or even low-profile Nepali-American politician? |
| nepali_angel | Posted
on 08-Oct-03 05:09 PM
Looks like the guy's real smart as he thinks ahead and figures out the best way to win a gubernatorial election or whatever. Lousiana is one of the most racist states, as far as I know. I mean, David Duke only recently--about a decade ago-- almost won the election for the governor of Lousiana. The stance he's taken is sort of very conservative and appeals to Chistian fundamentalists and the religious minded, and mind you, the South is very very religious, compared to say California or New York. If you're a minority, the best chance to win the election is by running as a Republican because that way you get the majority of White votes, and you also have a good shot of rounding up other minority voters. That's how I see it anyway. |
| bhunte | Posted
on 08-Oct-03 05:50 PM
Jindal must be charismatic then.... |
| Biswo | Posted
on 08-Oct-03 06:23 PM
As a person who had spent about a year in Baton Rouge, Piyush Bobby Jindal's hometown where his father is still active in local Hindu community/temple, I find Bobby's rise intriguing but explainable. One year ago, I first saw some vehicles plying in I-10 with sticker "Jindal For Governor" and couldn't believe that. He was supposedly in DC, doing his job for Bush. Later, I found that Mr Jindal was already back to Louisiana.Since then he has risen in poll steadily. Louisiana is an interesting place to live. It has Mardi Gras and it has conservatives. Against this incongruous backdrop, Jindal has been able to achieve everything primarily due to Mike Foster, state's governor whose own election to governorship is far from controversial. What Stalin said long ago is particularly true in Louisiana, voters don't matter there, those who count the votes do. Again, last friday, when I was on my way to Baton Rouge from Houston, The Advocate reported that Jindal was leading the poll. The next day, he secured 33% of votes to be qualified for second round of contest of governorship. The fact that even the democrats I talked to in Baton Rouge have unfavorable opinion of Mrs Blanco probably means Jindal may as well get elected in the second round,and be the governor in a state where once corrupts like Huey Long, John Edward became governor, and about the politics of which state Robert Penn wrote All The King's Men. What Jindal stands for is not a matter of pride for a lot of Indian or other immigrants: he is anti-gun control, pro-life, pro-ten-commandment guy whose regard to environmental issues is worse than that of Dick Cheney's. He doesn't share the foundation of principles that other educated immigrants share. But his rise will still benefit the immigrants if it brings about the change of the attitude towards foreigners/minorities of some of racist rednecks there in northern part of Louisiana. |
| bhunte | Posted
on 08-Oct-03 06:28 PM
Biswo, >>>>>What Stalin said long ago is particularly true in Louisiana, voters don't matter there, those who count the votes do. <<<<< Then, is Lousiana like America's Indian Bihar? |
| nepali_angel | Posted
on 08-Oct-03 06:44 PM
Yeah, Biswo, you hit the nail on the head. I agree with you 100%. But his campaign dough mainly comes from Indian entrepreneurs, if I am correct. Also, please note that Indians are likely to be more conservative than say, Hispanic or Blacks. It has to do with their economic level, which happens to be right on the top. So naturally, rich affluent folks want tax breaks, which we normal people deem to be unfair. |
| Biswo | Posted
on 08-Oct-03 06:46 PM
Bhunte, Mike Foster's election was very much tainted. His predecessor John Edward is in jail rightnow for various counts of frauds, and if I remember correctly, so is one of his brothers. Another of his brothers was shown in local TV on election day supporting Blanco. Huey Long was the master of deception,who changed the rule of election to get elected long ago. Willie Stark, the protagonist of All The King's Mean, was probably modeled after him. Long was murdered by a gunman. KKK guy David Duke got 39% of votes when he was running for governor. Modern day senator Mary Landreu's first time election (she was reelected last December) was also tainted. To cap it all, recent study by Rice University and John Hopkins University says that the Diebold machines used to count votes are easy to break into. Since the new voting counter machines don't have any paperbased audit trail, if once rigged, it would be rigged forever. More than two hundred computer science professors of USA have asked in a petition that those machines are no longer used. Add this to the fact that the president of Diebold ,Walden ODell, " is a diehard Bush supporter, and has been energetically raising money for Bushs reelection efforts and the Ohio Republican Party. Last month, he issued a fund-raising letter proclaiming that he is committed to helping Ohio deliver electoral votes to the president next year. [This last paragraph is taken from www.thedailyenron.com, and was also published in The Rice Thresher.] |
| ashu | Posted
on 08-Oct-03 06:54 PM
I first read about Jindal in The Wall Street Journal in 1998, when he had just been hired by the then Louisina (LA) Governor to fix the state's health-care financing scheme. Since then, this guy has marched on and on to high-visibility assignmemts. I have a feeling that Jindal, the Republican, will turn out to be the William Weld of LA. Weld, if you remember, was a Republican Massachusetts Governor, who, once elected, showed his socially liberal side. If Jindal can change his religion, change his ideas, change himself and be exactly what he thinks voters in LA want in their next governor, I think the guy can change himself even further to be a more liberal and less religious person in years ahead as he will surely leave LA somewhat behind to march on to more national-level posts (such as a spot in the US Senate or a stab at the US presidency itself). For Bush and other young Hip-publicans (as the New York Times magazine calls the young Republicans), Jindal's victory will help show that NOT all republicans are white, boring and middle-aged. Jokingly though, how can anyone go to Brown (the most liberal of all Ivy League schools!), and end up as a staunch Republican? :-) oohi "excited that the US elections are coming up this year and next" ashu ktm,nepal |
| failedstate | Posted
on 08-Oct-03 07:07 PM
Ashu: (such as a spot in the US Senate or a stab at the US presidency itself) One has to be a US-born citizen to be the President. I am assuming that Mr. Jindal was born in India. If not, who knows.... Still, a Senator of Indian descent will be quite an accomplishment. Luisiana is indeed a very corrupt state. |
| ashu | Posted
on 08-Oct-03 08:14 PM
FS, Jindal was born in the US, shortly after his parents arrived in the US from Delhi, in 1970 or so. oohi ashu ktm,nepal |