louisiana’s Indian-American Governor Bobby Jindal has drawn flak for his recent comments that his family came from India to the United States “to become Americans, not Indian-Americans”, with two key Democratic lawmakers joining issues with the politically-ambitious Jindal. Congressman Joe Crowley, the senior India-friendly lawmaker from New York, hit Jindal hard, saying he seemed to be having “some sort of an identity crisis”. And Congressman Ami Bera, the only Indian-American in US Congress, obliquely attacked the louisiana Republican, remarking: “I have no problem being an Indian-American.”
Jindal, who is among a host of Republicans actively considering a US presidential bid in 2016, has been facing sharp criticism for his recent remarks to a london think-tank in which he sought to define himself as an American, rather than an Indian-American.
Reacting to Jindal’s comments, Crowley said: “To some degree it looks like Jindal has some kind of an identity crisis…”I am from New York. I am very proud of my Irish roots. Be it Irish-American or an American Irish, there is no question that I am an American first….I do not apologise where my ancestors came from, I let it shine, I applaud it.”
Crowley went on to say that fellow-Democrat Bera does not have the level of anxiety that Jindal seemed to have in terms of identity. “It is reflective of the politics that he (Jindal) is involved in. In the Democratic Party, we welcome all ranks of people, races and religious denomination,” Crowley said. Concurring with Crowley’s comments, Bera said: “I do not have any problem (being identified as Indian American)….I always talk about the story of my parents talk about something that I am proud of. And then we are proud of the opportunity that America offers.”
“I do not shy away from my story. There is no problem being an Indian American. Because, that is the tapestry of the United States. Its generations of people coming together to weave this great melting pot - the United States different culture, different ancestries. We are all Americans, but we all bring those values as well the Irish, the Italians and now the Indian Americans,” Bera was quoted as saying in an interview.
In the run-up to the controversy, Jindal had said: “My parents came in search of the American Dream, and they caught it. To them, America was not so much a place, it was an idea. My dad and mom told my brother and me that we came to America to be Americans. Not Indian-Americans, simply Americans.”
In his london speech, Jindal also attracted criticism for his comments that in certain European cities there are “no-go zones” because of enclaves created by fundamentalist Muslims where people, particularly women, of other faiths dread to enter. The claim of “no-go zones”, first made in the pro-Republican Fox News channel, was promptly derided by British Prime Minister David Cameron, remarking: “When I heard this, I frankly choked on my porridge and I thought it must be April Fools Day.”