Reasons For Indian Americans' Lobby Activities Influencing American South Asia Policy Since 2000s

The United States revised its naturalization and citizen laws twice in 1960 s and1990s respectively to encourage high-skilled immigrants to settle in America.Benefiting from these reforms,Indian diaspora in America,who is remarkable in science and education,has been enlarging in size and constituted an important political power nowadays.Inspired by its inner nostalgia complex toward its motherland,Indian diaspora has been undertaking lobby activities spontaneously and passionately for national interests of India toward the American government,thus imposing some influence on the American foreign policy making and the development of U.S.-India relation.Naturally,how Indian diaspora constructed its political powers has become an urgent research subject.Through thorough investigation on the characteristics of this ethnic group and its political performance since new century,this thesis extracts and analyzes the underlying reasons why Indian diaspora can wield so appreciable influence on the formulation of foreign policy on the part of the U.S.The first chapter intends to discuss the traits of Indian Americans,mainly by applying the method of Quantitative Analysis.The combination of various dates presents an image of Indian Americans who possess fabulous amount of wealth,positively participate in politics and have close ties with their country of origin.Through applying the method of Cases study,the second and third chapters argue that,by adopting a new political mobilization model,i.e.Political Action Committee(PAC),Indian diaspora has achieved notable results in the“anti-Pakistan” campaigns since 2008.By utilizing a rather pragmatic lobbyist strategy,i.e.“Coalition strategy”,Indian diaspora could circumvent its weaknesses and foster its strengths and encourage all the stakeholders to lobby for Indian Americans' interests.And it is this strategy that has enabled Indian Americans successfully lobbied the U.S.Congress to pass the controversial U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Agreement.By comparing the two obsolete models used by Indian Americans in 1980 s and 1990 s with the newmodel used in new century in the aspect of efficiency,the second chapter also proves that the PAC model has,in a real sense,promoted the strong cohesion of powers of all sects of Indian American Community.Besides,through analyzing the similarities and differences between Indian Americans and Jewish Americans,this thesis believes that the former,drawing on successful experience from the latter,has debugged and adjusted the strategies ever used by American Jewry according to specific circumstances.This fact implies that,in the nearly future,“Coalition Strategy” will continue to be the most appropriate lobbying strategy used by Indian Americans.Thus,this thesis maintains that 1)Remarkable Ecological Attributes,2)Efficient Political Mobilizing Model,3)Pragmatic Lobbying Strategy are the basic elements that can explain the way Indian Americans build up its powerful political influence since2000 s.The highly effective lobbying activities by this ethnic group have been compelling the South Asia policy of the U.S.partial to India and serving as constructive role in the benign development of bilateral relation.The effective interaction of these three elements and rapid expansion of population size of this minority create a promise that the lobbying ability of Indian diaspora will emulate that of Israel lobby group in United States.