Bengali diaspora rejoices at victory in ‘personal battle’

Kolkata: Hours after Democrat Joe Biden won White House, epidemiologist at Johns

Hopkins University

Parnali Dhar Chowdhury was ecstatic and shared her selfie with him that was taken during his electoral campaign in Virginia last November. Equally emotional was Pennsylvania-based educator Tanu Sarkar who got teary-eyed hearing Kamala Harris’s first speech after becoming the first female vice president of America. Biden’s victory came only after he crossed 270 Electoral College votes with a win in Pennsylvania.

Dhar Chowdhury and Sarkar belong to the Bengali

diaspora

who were relieved that the US elections had finally gone in favour of the democrats. Dhar Chowdhury has worked as a volunteer in Biden’s campaign that gave emphasis to science, climate change, transparency and decency. “I think visa-related issues for students, research scholars and others wanting to come to the US will now get streamlined. I have seen people stuck in India who couldn’t come to the US. On Monday, a task force will be set up to combat and contain the spread of the coronavirus. As a scientist working in Johns Hopkins university, I see better opportunity for all the skilled Indians trying to get their visa, come here and finally opt for a green card,” she said from Washington DC.

Sarkar, who has lived for 12 years in Pennsylvania’s Philadelphia, said, “This election wasn’t just about picking the right candidate and voting. It became our personal battle to help bring back empathy, fairness, equality and decency to the America we loved.” In these last four years, Sarkar has seen hopelessness in her children’s eyes as the “very core of this country’s philosophy became blinded by racism, misogyny, bigotry and xenophobia”. “This election was about getting a second lease at life. Listening to Kamala’s speech was a fan girl moment for me. She gave me the strength to believe that everything is achievable and that race, ethnicity, skin color or gender can’t get in the way,” she said.

In Arizona, another decisive swing state where Jadavpur University alumni Swagata Ghosh has been living for seven years, the mood has been “electrifying”. “We saw 50-50 supporters. Tension was high. We were glued to the TV for the last four days. I voted for Biden. However, not everything about Trump is bad. That’s why he got the votes of 70 million Americans,” Ghosh said. “My vote could have gone to Trump had he handled the pandemic and the economic slump better. I am now waiting to see if Biden delivers his promise,” he said.

According to Partha Banerjee, a New York-based writer and labor educator, this election is a “fantastic exhibition” of American democracy. “The people both from moderate left and moderate right fought back against fascism, white supremacy and politics of propaganda and hate. India must learn from this huge lesson. America would try to regain its lost global prestige that Trump destroyed. USA will re-enter Paris Climate Treaty and Affordable Health Care would survive in America. Women’s right to their bodies would be restored. Some police reform will happen. But if Biden does any more serious progressive economic changes, I would be very surprised.”

Homemaker Kanan Banerjee, who works as a consultant in the swing state of Michigan, called this a “historic” election. “What Biden does will influence the next four years. But what Harris does as the first Madam Veeps will influence generations, especially girls and people of colour. Everyone should watch their steps. There is glass everywhere since the ceiling broke,” Banerjee said.

Los Angeles-based attorney Amy Ghosh, who had voted for Hillary Clinton last time, is thrilled to see Harris’s rise from California’s attorney general to America’s first woman vice president. “During Barack Obama’s administration, I was involved in the yearly events for the Asian community. I want to do that again. Gender rights, reproductive rights and immigration issues are important to me. America is heading towards saner times not filled with constant hate talk and fabrications.”

For Biden’s

Bengali

supporters based in Texas and Florida — the two states in favour of Trump — the results give rise to optimism. Siddhartha Gupta, a tech startup founder in Texas, is hoping that America can “can get past all the divisive rhetoric and start healing now as one nation”. “This election shows the power of a single vote and that we can only raise our voice when we vote. Biden and Harris have an uphill battle to overcome the rising pandemic, divisiveness, racism and a lagging education system among many more issues. But we are hopeful that this new administration will make the right plan to lead the US in the right direction. Also, as an Indian-American, and a first-time voter, seeing an Indian American representation in the White House is very exciting and inspiring time for me,” Gupta said. Florida-based finance and accounting professional Soumitra De is “incredibly relieved”. “Trump’s policies tended to be anti-immigration. That concerned the Indian diaspora in the US. Many in the IT sector had to return to India. Civility and inclusiveness will now return to the US politics.


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