ABSTRACT
Diaspora communities are not homogeneous entities even if they are characterized as such for analytical convenience. Often, members of the diaspora carry their political attitudes from their country of origin, which the next generation might also inherit. Given that political preferences in the country of origin might vary significantly, members of the diaspora should also have different political preferences. To test this variation, we explore the internal cleavages of the Indian-American community using a national sample of 1,003 members of this community. We find significant differences by political identity, religion, age, and state of origin in India on evaluations of politicians and policy in India. Moreover, we find that Indian-Americans are not only divided in their attitudes towards politics in India, but that the same factors predict differences in evaluating both politicians and policy in the United States (US). Our results contribute to our understanding of Indian American attitudes, and also offer clues to how diaspora communities carry their political predispositions with them to their destination country, as well as how the diaspora remains as a vital element in – and stimulus on – Indian foreign policy.
