Hillary or Obama? Indian voters divided in United States

AGES APART: While younger Indians seem to favour Obama, the older ones prefer Clintons.

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Keywords: Hillary Clinton, US Presidential Elections

New York: The focus in the Democratic primaries so far has been on race and gender. But for Indians in America, in this primary season, the major trend emerging is one of a generation gap.

That gap exists even within families, even in a state like Michigan where the Democratic race was a non-contest.

Says Michigan voter, Radhika Upadhyaya, “I would vote for Barack Obama.”

But opinions seem to be divided in the family itself. Says Radhik’as mother Rashmi, “The candidate? I think, Hillary would be the right one.”

Older Indians appear to lean towards Hillary Clinton partly due to nostalgia for her husband.

“I will support Hillary Clinton. I'm a big fan of Bill Clinton. Bill Clinton is bigger than life, like Amitabh Bachchan,” says Iowa voter Arun Kalra.

For many youth, it's about the future and seeking change.

Says New York voter Theresa Thanjan, “This is a man who three years ago, people didn't even know about versus a Senator, Senator Hillary Clinton, who has a long history in American politics. So this just goes to show that Obama's campaign is one that's really making a difference.”

This difference in views between age brackets has not gone unnoticed among political scientists.

“There is definitely a generational identity. And that is quite different from the older generation, the first generation, which was mainly the immigrants. And this is a population, the younger ones, who are more aware of the fact they are people of colour, they are more progressive in terms of their values and they are more aware of American politics,” says Director, Asian/American Center, Queens College, Madhulika Khandelwal.

That's changing the face of politics within the Indian-American community.

Obviously, not every young voter is for Obama nor is every establishment figure for Hillary Clinton but a real trend has emerged in these elections, that of a generation gap within the Indian American community.