Indians have a more positive opinion about the Donald Trump administration than other countries in the region, according to a recent survey. The favorable view of Indians comes despite the Trump government’s decision to have stricter regulations on H-1B visa policies.
Nearly 71 percent of Indians believe that the U.S. has a positive influence even with Trump as president. By contrast just 11 percent of Koreans, 15 percent of Chinese, 16 percent of Australians, 19 percent of Japanese and 29 percent of Indonesians felt the U.S. has a positive impact.
Indians consider the US to be the most influential government in the world in terms of social, political, economic and financial growth and dependence, according to the survey on public opinion conducted by Australian institute Perth U.S. Asia Center in May, which was released in New Delhi by former Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith.
The survey further showed that the Indian opinion on the United States differs widely from that held by people in Japan, China, Australia, South Korea, and Indonesia. The survey concluded that “Indian respondents are the most optimistic about the U.S. with 61% believing that its best years are ahead of it.”
“There’s no doubt that the rise of the Trump presidency has seen a diminution of the US influence in the rest of Asia. On the other hand, if you look at the US through the eyes of India, it is the most robust country in its view of US influence. In terms of our results, Indians take a very positive view of the current position of the US and of its future role here,” Smith told The Hindu .
The survey asked for people’s views on the role played by America in the Indo-Pacific region.
“India is really an outlier, on every question they have a more optimistic view of the United States as compared with even allies like Japan, Australia and Korea. Japanese who are the closest allies were very pessimistic that the U.S. has its best days behind it. In India, 61% say they are ahead,” Gordon Flake, the CEO of the Perth U.S. Asia Centre, was quoted as saying by the Hindu.
The results of the survey are further bolstered by figures that indicate that India has the highest number of ‘Trump’ branded real-estate projects outside North America, which have been franchised to companies in India. For instance, the Trump Towers at Kalyani Nagar in Pune, developed by the Chordias of Panchshil Realty, houses 44 luxury condominiums. Then there is the under-development The Park, a 75-storey tower coming up at Parel in Mumbai from the Lodha Group.
The survey concludes: “The overall goodwill and optimism concerning the United States appears to translate into considerable and broad enthusiasm for the India-United States relationship with 65% of Indian respondents believing the United States has a positive impact on India.”
Indo-US Relations in the Past
While Indians are now viewing the US in a positive manner, it was not the case earlier. A century ago, only 2,031 Indians were approved as legal permanent residents of the United States, according to The Other One Percent, a book by Sanjoy Chakravorty, Devesh Kapur and Nirvikar Singh that delves into the story of Indians’ success as an immigrant group in American history.
The book reveals that this number grew to 4,664 within the next 10 years, with California being the most preferred ground for Indians. This boost in Indian population was aided by the fact that migrants from the country were denied entry to Canada.
The rapid rise in the Indian population soon resulted in dissatisfaction among the local workers, who saw the influx as a threat to their livelihood. They protested against the Indian migrants, calling them ‘dirty’, ‘untrustworthy’, ‘insolent’ and ‘unlawful’, and labelling them as ‘Hindoos’. Thousands of Indians were mobbed out within a few months.
In the recent past, the revised H-1B visa policy also had adverse effects on the Indian IT sector. According to the revised policies, only the high-skilled employees can procure the visa if their salary falls in the $1,00,000 – $1,30,000 bracket.
Despite all the ups and downs in the past, the survey conducted by the Perth U.S Asia Centre states that most Indians are hopeful for better relations between the two countries. The Japanese, on the other hand, held the most pessimistic opinion about Trump’s presidency while most other countries thought China was the country that could have the most impact on Asia’s future.