Prime Minister Narendra Modi is striding down the much-televised corridor of the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC. His pace is energetic and swift. Flanking him are US President Donald J Trump, in a dark suit and flashing red tie, and First Lady Melania, hidden under an enormous, stylish hat.
Suddenly, somebody shouts in a shrill nasal voice: “Mr Prime Minister, why aren’t you wearing a suit?”
Modi instinctively stops and looks at his clothes. A smartly stitched, grey “band gala” (upturned neck collar) worn over his trademark white kurta (tunic) and churidar pajamas (slacks). He half turns to address his accoster. Whoa! That’s Vice President JD Vance rushing breathlessly towards the trio, followed by his much fitter better half, the svelte Telugu American Usha Vance.
JD Vance (repeats): “Why aren’t you wearing a suit. You are at the highest level in this country’s office, but you refuse to wear a suit! Do you even own a suit? A lot of people in America have a problem with you not wearing a suit to the Oval Office”.
Modi is taken aback at the spectacle of JD Vance lunging at him with a string of inappropriate questions, pursued by a panting Usha who is also yelling incoherently. By now, Trump is smirking, while Melania is looking distracted and bored.
Usha Vance (yelling): “JD, JD, have you lost it? That’s not Zelensky, that’s Modi, my revered Prime Minister… from India, you fool, not Ukraine. How can you question him about these clothes? He is wearing our national dress, not athleisure like Z. He is my Modiji, he is exceptional.”
Usha closes in on JD and wrestles him to the ground. Her last spoken word – exceptional, EXCEPTIONAL – is echoing, booming, in a crescendo, EXCEPTIONAL, EXCEPTIONAL…
I woke up with the proverbial cold sweat, my head still spinning with the dying echoes of “exceptional, exceptional”. What a nightmare, clearly triggered by the rough treatment given to Ukrainian President Zelensky in the Oval Office, only because the poor guy had dared to come in track pants. After all, Prime Minister Modi had been at the exact same spot just a week back, and he too was not wearing a western suit. That coincidence must have triggered my feverish nightmare … but good, it wasn’t real, it was just a bad dream.
American Vs Indian American “Exceptionalism”
Embedded in my nightmare was the clarion call of Indian American “exceptionalism”. What is it? How does it compare with its famous senior cousin, American “exceptionalism”?
Since my mind was tired and heart still pounding after the nightmare, I urged the universe’s latest knowledge guru, ChatGPT, to evocatively describe “American exceptionalism”: “The belief that the US is unique, superior, and has a special destiny to lead the world in democracy, freedom, and innovation. It emerged from the country’s revolutionary beginnings, Manifest Destiny, and global influence through wars, diplomacy, and capitalism”. Wow, that’s succinctly substantial, crafted by artificial intelligence!
Still enfeebled and lazy, I asked the artificial guru to now define Indian American “exceptionalism”: “The perception that Indian Americans, as a group, are uniquely successful in education, business, and professional fields, often seen as a ‘model minority‘ due to their achievements. Focuses on elite influence in American society (via CEOs, doctors, engineers, politicians) and the ability to bridge the US and India diplomatically, economically, and culturally”.
Gotcha! Thanks ChatGPT, I Shall Take it From Here
Having been a frequent, admiring visitor to America over the last four decades, I have seen Indian American “exceptionalism” evolve from anonymity to near chauvinism.
When I first landed in 1983, I was often asked “are you from Pakistan?”; as if India did not exist in America’s consciousness, obliterated by our estranged neighbour. But slowly, as India de-coupled from the Soviet Union, whose disintegration accelerated the process — and Pakistan deteriorated into a relatively inconsequential, rogue nation — we acquired heft and lucre in the Promised Land. And once we threw open our vast markets and industry to the mighty dollar in the 1990s, India became the go-to nation for American investors.
Egged on by Prime Ministers Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Manmohan Singh, who boldly jettisoned India’s resistance to a Western embrace. India and America became “strategic nuclear, military, and commercial allies”. It was a betrothal made in heaven, that exponentially multiplied the clout of Indian Americans. The world watched in bewilderment as powerful and wealthy Indians took control at storied, all-American corporations like Google, Microsoft, Pepsi, Citibank, Adobe, IBM… a newly minted Indian American “exceptionalism” was conquering one peak after another. It was unstoppable.
“Exceptionalism” Under Modi
The crescendo became a howl under Prime Minister Modi from 2014 onwards. He whipped up a frenzy — a vocal, assertive nationalism, bolstered by the “supremacy” of Hinduism, finally sweetened by the allure of techno-modern aspirations. The undertone was unmistakably majoritarian and triumphal. It resonated with the Republican politics of Donald Trump in 2016. This created a seminal cleavage among Indian Americans, many of whom abandoned Democrats and became card-carrying Republicans.
I naively thought that Kamala Harris’s campaign would reignite the community in favour of the Democrats. After all, here was the most exceptional embodiment of Indian American “exceptionalism” — our very own girl from Chennai vying to become the president of the United States (POTUS), an incredible, unbelievable phenomenon of fate. What could be more “exceptional” than that? Alas, blood did not prove to be thicker than water, as conservative Hindu Indian Americans threw in their lot with the victorious Trump.
But if a week is a long time in politics, then imagine what a tumultuous month of Trump’s mindless politics can be. I was in America last week, and saw first-hand the upheaval he has inflicted, including on our “exceptionalism”. In one word, it’s “gone”, replaced by a tentativeness and uncertainty that is best described in Hindi – “sehme hue”. Even the fabled “Howdy Modi” event at Madison Square Gardens had gone silent.
Yes, the bluster and swagger of Trump’s Indian American supporters is gone. Deportations, threat to curtail H1B visas, denial of birthright citizenship, exaggerated fears about de-recognition of naturalised citizens, anti-Indian hate speeches, racist attacks … yes, I was astounded to see how quickly the euphoria of November 2024 had dissipated in February 2025. Sehme hue, ghabraye hue, bahut hairaan (unsure, worried, utterly surprised).