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If she can do it, why can’t we?
Nimrata was born to Sikh parents, first generation Indian immigrants from Amritsar, in a small town of Bamber, South...
The writer is a human resource consultant currently based in New York (aziz.akhmad@tribune.com.pk)
Nimrata was born to Sikh parents, first generation Indian immigrants from Amritsar, in a small town of Bamber, South Carolina, U.S.A, in 1972. She was nicknamed Nikki, which in Punjabi means “little one,” a common nickname both in Indian and Pakistani Punjab, used for a younger female sibling in the family. By the time Nikki enrolled in school, she became Nimrata Nikki Randhawa. Her father was a biology professor at a nearby college; her mother started a gift shop. Bamber had never seen an Indian before, let alone a turbaned Sikh.
After finishing school, Nikki went to college where she met her future husband. Along with her studies, she also helped her mother in keeping the books. Their business grew and Nikki, after graduating with an accounting degree, joined the family business as chief financial officer and, over a period of time, helped it grow into a multimillion-dollar business. She is now Nikki Randhawa Haley, 38, an attractive young woman, married, and a mother of two school going children.
So far, the story of Nikki Haley may not sound very different from that of many Pakistani and Indian immigrants who came to the US in the 1960s and 70s, worked hard, sent their children to school and college and ended up doing very well for themselves in business or professions. But, where the story begins to differ, and becomes more exciting, is that Nikki is now seeking Republican Party’s nomination for governor of South Carolina. And, indications are she will not only win the party’s nomination, but will also win the election in November 2010. If so, she will be the second governor of Indian heritage in the United States, the first being Piyush (Bobby) Jindal of Louisiana who won that position in 2008.
Indian-Americans already have a presence in American legislature, with a sitting senator from Minnesota, Satveer Chaudhry, and one or two congressmen in the House of Representatives. In the current primaries, other than Nikki Haley, there are at least six candidates of Indian heritage who are seeking nomination for the House of Representatives from their respective parties in different states.
I have not heard or read of any Pakistani-American who is running in the primaries. For that matter, one hasn’t heard of any Muslim immigrant running in the primaries, barring perhaps an odd local council seat here or there. One cannot help but wonder why Pakistani-Americans are seemingly reluctant to enter the politics of their chosen country.
There are plenty of bright and educated Pakistanis in America. Many of them have done very well in their chosen occupations and are prosperous. A lot of them, when you meet them in a gathering, would passionately discuss politics — mostly Pakistani politics back home. Their interest in American politics is usually confined to American policies vis-a-vis Pakistan or the Muslim world. Like the Pakistanis back home, many of them would often complain about the “strong Indian lobby” that works against Pakistan’s interests. But they don’t seem to realise that the best way to influence policies of government is by getting involved in the policy making process itself, not by remaining a spectator all the time.
Those Pakistani-Americans who aspire either for themselves or for their children to enter politics, Nikki Haley has a good tip. She said in an interview: “I grew up knowing that we were different, but it’s also the reason why I think that I focused so much on trying to find the similarities with people as opposed to the differences. I think there was a little bit of a survival mode there.”
An additional tip: I would keep teenage children away from ‘aalims,’ both the online and offline variety. Last time I heard an ‘aalim’ exhorting that we cannot be friends with people of other faiths, I blocked all the adult channels on my TV.
Reader Comments (19)
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Perhaps a Pakistani-American, as you say, is more interested in Pakistani politics or Pak-US relations represents to narrow interests?Recommend
I find that indian americans tend to be easily persuaded in a way that they are willing to give up their roots very easily to fit in. Take for example one of the most famous indian americans the oh so American named Piyush aka ‘Bobby’ Jindal ready to give up his name and his faith just to fit in. The same goes for ‘Nikki Haley’ ready and willing to give up her name, faith and culture to fit into an American, Christian society so if Pakistani Americans are willing to do the same good luck to them but i’d like to think they have more sense then that.Recommend
Indians have dominated every field in America. Finance, IT, Business. I cant think of a single IT project where there are no Indians. The image of Indians in America is hard working, savvy and smart, less interested in religion. Take any Math Bee, Spelling Bee or Geography Bee competition more than 50% of the kids are Indian Americans. At any university most of the Masters and Phd students are Indian or ChineseRecommend
You can’t ‘give up’ your roots, as a previous reader commented. If you could give them up, they wouldn’t be your roots. As far as fitting in with the society is concerned, you don’t have to change your faith or ideas. Bobby Jindal converted to Christianity probably for his own reasons and not so he could integrate with the society well. It’s incorrect to label America as a Christian society. There are plenty of Americans who grew up in Protestant/Catholic families but neither believe in traditional Christian values nor consider themselves Christians. I don’t see them trying to go to Church just so they can be considered Americans. The same applies to Hindus and Muslims in the US. Your faith hardly determines your level of patriotism. I fully agree with the author; there’s nothing stopping Pakistani-Americans from being part of the mainstream society other than willingness. These ‘aalims’ don’t know what they are talking about.Recommend
If she can do it, why can’t we?
We have done the same but not in the U.S.; it is in the U.K.
The name of the lady is Baroness Sayeeda Warsi. She is the Chairperson of the Conservative Party and the minister without portfolio.
The lack of Pakistani politicians in the U.S. is correctly explained by Haris.
The Pakistani Muslims have a very strong bond with Islam and Islamic (Arab) culture and a common U.S. American hates this bond.Recommend
I would like to ask the same question to the author,why he and his children(studying and subsequently living in America)didn’t do it or at least tried to do it?Recommend
I don’t think you have to give up your faith, core values or your name to be able to integrate or join politics in the US. In the present House and Senate, other than Protestants and Catholics, there are 43 Jews, at least 2 Hindus, an unknown number of atheists and, yes, 2 Muslims, too. They are both African-American. Of course, to be a successful politician, and this applies everywhere, you have to have the ability to connect with people.Recommend
@ Dr. Munawar Aziz:
To answer your question, I am not a US citizen. About my children, I hope they keep away from the TV channels I have blocked.Recommend
Dr. Munawar Aziz has posed a pertinent question to Prof. Aziz Akhmad. This question concerns the total absence of Pakistani (Muslim) origin Americans (Pakistani-Americans(U.S.) ) in American Politics.
In his answer the writer of the post gives the successful stories of Hindu-, Jew-, Catholic-, Protestant- and African-Americans. All this is already known. We also know that the same Pakistani Muslims have been quite successful politicians in United Kingdom.
Will Prof. Akhmad be kind to give the direct answer to a direct question posed by Dr. Munawar Aziz and seconded by Ahsan?Recommend
Well the primary Reason of Pakistani’s unable to come up as a lobby is Lack of Confidence and Trust. We can not trust our fellow citizens but we can easily trust others. Someone above mentioned Indians in all the departments including IT, Finance etc etc but the reason is what ? As per my experience I have seen if there is an Indian in one department soon the number of Indians will multiply by 2, but if there is a Pakistani he would not bring in any other Pakistani.
So the first thing we need is to build trust and confidence among ourselves only then we can think about things like becoming Governor or member of congress.
And Lastly, I would like to ask Mr. Akhmed why you forget Ms. Saeeda Warsi? How can you wish that people come forward when those who win some acclaim are not given any appreciation. Which is a very Integral Part of Indian Society, I would like to quote one such event of 1970s when an Indian Boy became Head Boy of a British School, and Amul placed a billboard congratulating Him for this success in Bombay.
I hope the above mentioned points define Why Can’t We?Recommend
I think we are getting subjective here and losing sight of the objective of the article. Some fellows seem to have taken it personally, as apparent from their finger-pointing to the writer.
The writer has not suggested that we give up our roots and Americanise ourselves in order to come atop. Neither is he propagating that Pakistanis have not progressed politically anywhere in the world.
Sir Zafarulla Khan is a shining example of what the writer has suggested. Sir Zafarulla was deely into religion and never participated in the colourful evenings of the diplomatic corps at the UN. I was once reading the autobiography of Justice (R) Javed Iqbal who had assisted him at the UN. In his words, Sir Zafarulla would spend his evenings in the meditation hall in the UN building. He further says that to the best of his knowledge, the meditation hall was never used by any diplomat other than Sir Zafarulla. To date Sir Zafarulla remains the only person in the history of the world who became the president of the UN General Assembly and then became the president of the International Court of Justice. Many Muslim countries (such as Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, Morocco) openly acknowledge the role played by Sir Zafarulla in their independence and respect Pakistan for that reason.
The father of Nicholas Sarkozy (the French President) was a Hungarian who had fled to France when the Red Army entered Hungary in 1944. Barrack Obama, son of a Kenyan, is another example being the first black president of the US.
The US is clearly the only super power in the world today. Pakistanis should make effort to play a positive role in the US politics and try to make it to the surface there. It will definitely help Pakistan in the longer run. India was part of the former USSR bloc and was never liked by the US policymakers who never considered Indians as trustworthy people. It is the Indian lobby in the US parliament that has helped in turning the tides.
There is a very positive message in the artcile which seems not to have been appreciated. If we have not been able to make any progress, there is no need to be defensive using “offense in the best defense” approach. (No wonder, why we don’t progress)! We should promote and encourage our next generation to do make themselves politically visible and achieve the goal. I thank Mr. Akhmad for writing on this important aspect.Recommend
When Prof.. Aziz Akhmad writes:
“An additional tip: I would keep teenage children away from ‘aalims,’ both the online and offline variety. Last time I heard an ‘aalim’ exhorting that we cannot be friends with people of other faiths, I blocked all the adult channels on my TV”
he clearly suggests to the reader to keep the teenage children away from ‘aalims,’. Here ‘aalim’ is none but an Islamic teacher.
Even though, I consider it is a wise advice; I am of the opinion that nobody has any right to come in between an individual and his religion.
I have gone through all the comments. Prof. Aziz Akhmad has never denied the fact that the Pakistani Muslims have been quite successful in politics in other countries.
Thus, a remark like “Neither is he propagating that Pakistanis have not progressed politically anywhere in the world.”; is needless and unnecessary.
The writer of the post simply ignores the political success of Pakistanis in other countries.
It is not exceptional or strange that a religious person becomes a Judge of the International Court., a great Philosopher or a Nobel Prize Scientist. Not only that an atheist may become an expert on some religious matters.
The history of successful Pakistani intellectuals does not give the answer to “If she can do it, why can’t we?”Recommend
I think it is silly that the author is very conservative and reactionary. And the most dangerous part is that he is self-censoring. According to the western world….brown/muslim types really don’t have a right to self-censor. There are alims that are good and there are alims that are bad. There are good jews and bad jews. There are good muslims and bad muslims. I think you get the picture. You wouldn’t stop talking to any particular group just because the actions of a few…. So much for secular enlightentment, right sir?Recommend
Bobby Jindal and Nikki Haley did not “give up their names” to get elected. Jindal chose the name “Bobby” when he was a young boy, long before he knew what politics were. With Haley, the name “Nikki” was given to her at birth by her parents. — Also, choosing a faith different from the faith of one’s parents is not “giving up your faith.” Rather, it is a choice made by millions of people throughout history to worship God in a manner with which they are comfortable.Recommend
I repeat: instead of picking up the positives from the article, we are concentrating on the negatives and trying to discredit the writer. What are we trying to do here. The article is focussed on the role of Pakistani Americans in the US, being the sole super power in today’s world, and is aimed to identify opportunities that remain unexploited for Pakistanis in the US.
Instead of thanking the writer for providing some serious food for thought, we are trying to find excuses by either taking refuge in our cultural or religious differences, or by drumbeating about political achievements of Pakistanis in other countries. Are we trying to say that Pakistani Americans should not try to come atop, as Pakistanis have achieved more than enough in other countries! I fail to understand the objectivity behind some posts here.Recommend
It is annoying that my comment keeps being edited. The above comment by me started and stated that my first post was taken off entirely without any cause since nothing in it was objectionable or mean spirited. I guess Mr Akhmad truly believes in censorship. Id like him to reply to what I have just said.Recommend
@Smurf The Web Desk deals with deletion of comments, not the author(s). Please repost your comment and we will take a look at it. Best regards (Web Editor)Recommend
Interesting analysis. Nikki’s success personifies that of South Asians’ successes in other areas – including medicine, technology – too.Recommend
Yeah continue to follow your dream in US… contribute towards its development, this is the only way we can server our country. Never ever aspire to make your homeland a super power.Recommend