Bilateral meeting between India and the United States led by Narendra Modi and Donald Trump. / X/@narendramodi

As I traversed the hotel restaurant in downtown Mumbai with high ceilings and opulent chandeliers, I arrived at the table adorned with white table clothes, and quickly climbed in to my seat. Atop the table sat a silver dish, with mounds of colorful ice cream that would make any 7-year-old jump for joy. I remember thinking, this may be the greatest day of my life. Going to sleep that night the happiest a young boy could be, I awoke the next morning and realized: I got to do it again. And then again. And then again. For four nights in August of 1998, 7-year-old me ate more ice cream than I’d care to admit, in a top shelf hotel in Mumbai I certainly didn’t have the manners for. It didn’t matter I was a week late to start the 2nd grade and had to make up a mountain of homework. I was on top of the world. To this day, I wonder if those 4 nights are why I enjoy a nice kulfi so much. 

As I have recounted this most happy childhood memory over the years, new color has been added as memories rushed back. At 7, I ignored the whispers of “nuclear tests,” “airline threats,” and “closed airspace.” I didn’t understand then why the U.S. State Department was paying for us to stay at this posh hotel. I didn’t wonder then why anyone in Pakistan would want to target an American airliner leaving Mumbai. But that’s exactly what happened. In the aftermath of India’s 1998 spring nuclear tests, tension between India and Pakistan were at incredible highs. To this day, I can find no record of exactly why I was stuck in India eating mounds of ice cream and kulfi instead of starting the 2nd grade. Perhaps, it is a story lost to history.

Since then, I have come to care very much that the United States and United Nations condemned the 1998 Indian nuclear tests – something I believe was not just in India’s right to do, but has helped to achieve a balance of power in the most dangerous neighborhood in the world. This is a balance without which would have shifted dramatically away from the United States. It is the earliest example for myself to underline just how important the United States-India relationship is, but also just how wrong the U.S. can be on the Indian question, and the real-life consequences of disastrous Clintonian foreign policy. 

21 years later, I found myself walking into NRG stadium in Houston, Texas thinking I was there just to see the Prime Minister of India address a crowd of 50,000 fellow Indian Americans. But there was a very special guest. It was then I saw with my own eyes in the 4th row, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India give President Donald J. Trump of the United States his signature bear hug. Right there, in front of all of us. This was a gesture by a sitting American President never done before for a foreign leader – to travel into the states and stand with a foreign leader and address their diaspora together.

President Trump followed that by visiting India to attend Namaste Trump. While President Biden went to India for the G20, he nor Vice President Harris have visited on a solo trip. This is something the community should take great issue with. President Trump signed a $3 billion defense agreement to sell arms to India. He signed another deal to sell liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India. He got closer than any President to signing a comprehensive trade deal with India: give him 4 more years and I’m confident it will get done. On the other hand, President Biden and the Democrats publicly opposed India’s abrogation of Article 370 and the Citizenship Act Amendment (CAA). President Biden and Vice President Harris have been silent on the killings of Hindus in Bangladesh. I could go on, and on, and on. 

As the 1st Indian American and Hindu State Senator in the history of Ohio, and the youngest Hindu and Indian American state or federal elected official in the United States, I’m under no illusions. I am keenly aware that a majority of our community votes for Democrats. As the only Hindu and Indian American Republican state or federal elected official currently serving in office, trust me, I get it, more than anyone in the nation. But our community’s vote can make a real difference in swing states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Georgia. I’m asking you to consider your vote carefully. And, if you, like me, care about the future of the U.S.-India relationship, the future of our community here in the U.S., and how Hindus across the world are treated, please consider joining me in voting for Donald J. Trump for President. 

 

The author is a State Senator (R-6), Ohio Senate.

(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of New India Abroad)