By Seema Sirohi, ET Bureau | Updated: Feb 12, 2017,
10.44 AM IST
Shalabh
Kumar is convinced that President Donald Trump will “usher Ram Rajya” in the
United States, no less. He will bring back the ’80s — a time Kumar remembers as
the “golden age” when his adopted country called the shots on all fronts.
Although Kumar was speaking metaphorically, the imagined utopia worked well for
this student from Punjab who landed in America with the proverbial few dollars
in his pocket. He found his niche and prospered.
But
then America started heading in the “wrong direction”, getting all liberal and
stuff, in his telling. It opened its doors to just about anyone. Illegals,
better known as “bad hombres” these days, started walking over the border liked
they owned the place.
“This
direction needed to be changed and Trump is going to do it,” Kumar said in a
free-wheeling conversation about his life and times as Trump’s top Indian
American donor or rather his top Hindu American donor, a term he prefers. The
dollars did enough magic that Trump now introduces Kumar as the “richest
Indian” in America who brought him crucial votes.
Both claims are seen as “alternative facts” by critics. Kumar
admits he is not the richest Indian but somehow can’t bring himself to correct
the president in public. As for the Indian vote turning significantly
Republican this election cycle, he doesn’t have data to buttress his claim. He
only mentions a “Zee News study”. Research has shown that most Indian Americans
favour the Democratic Party and according to preliminary exit polls, a majority
voted for Hillary Clinton. But that doesn’t diminish Kumar’s spot in the
current constellation in Washington or New Delhi — he picked the right
candidate out of a crowd of 17 and pumped some serious money into his campaign.
He was also one of the early and dogged supporters of
Narendra Modi.
The prime minister probably remembers 2013 when Kumar took
three members of the US Congress to Gujarat to begin Modi’s rehab in America
which had revoked his visa. It’s another matter the trip became hugely
controversial. Questions were raised about how Kumar financed the Congressional
trip. Kumar says the House Ethics Committee approved the trip and every dollar
spent was accounted for.
A few months later, Kumar was again in hot water
for claiming in a letter complete with the Congressional seal and photos of top
lawmakers that the Republican leadership had invited Modi to address them via
video. The leadership saw red because they had issued no such invitation. Kumar
was served a “cease and desist” order for “misrepresenting” the Republican
Party.
Kumar had clearly overreached, trying to propel
US leaders towards Modi before they were ready. Eventually, official Washington
read the political weather in India and rushed to make amends with Modi. Kumar
had scored the first goal for Gandhinagar.
Kumar 2.
It took him time to reappear on the Washington scene, this
time as a more advanced version. Kumar 2.0 had moved into the presidential
orbit, playing for high stakes. He was projecting himself as Trump’s hotline to
Delhi and Delhi’s instant messenger to the White House, playing both sides to
advantage. But sometimes, he overdoes his importance. Recently, he wanted to be
“in” on Modi’s congratulatory call to Trump — the first between the two leaders
— as a price for arranging it. It would have been a clear violation of
protocol. Thanks, but no thanks, said the Indian government and found another
way to connect to Trump Tower.
But Kumar does have things to boast about,
starting with his self-advertised proximity to POTUS. He was the first to
convince a US presidential candidate to attend an Indian American rally, no
matter how oddly conceived as a bizarre mix of Bollywood entertainment,
presidential politics and the menace of terrorism. Trump publicly proclaimed
his love of India at the October fest. Subsequently he got Trump to appear in
an ad to say “Ab ki baar, Trump sarkaar” in an echo of Modi’s campaign.
It must be admitted that for all the support and
money Indian Americans have showered on Democrats over the years, they haven’t
managed to get 30 minutes from a candidate to appear at a rally to acknowledge
the community. Hillary Clinton was happy to attend fundraisers by Indian
Americans so long as they promised a minimum collection of $500,000.
Her
staff micro-managed her appearances to an exasperating, even offensive extent.
After shelling out thousands of dollars to be seen and to eat assembly-line
food, Indian American big dads would be granted a few seconds for a photo with
Clinton. They were not allowed to shake her hand or ask her to sign mementos.
Demands were rarely made on the candidate to deliver on policy issues of
interest in exchange for the largesse.
Kumar had a clearer path in mind. Newt Gingrich, a former
speaker of the House of Representatives and a Republican grandee and early
Trump supporter, arranged for Kumar to talk to the candidate at length about
terrorism and Pakistan before taking a decision to support him. Trump had
already been “briefed” about the Republican Hindu Coalition (RHC), a lobby
group Kumar had created to put himself and his agenda across. Gingrich, RHC’s honorary
chair, felt Trump and Modi shared an ideological togetherness that should be
explored.
“Me and Gingrich are good analysts. We picked Modi 14 months
before he was a candidate and we picked Trump 14 months before the Republican
Party did,” says Kumar. “Demonetisation in India happened on the same day Trump
won. It is destiny. God gives little clues.” All the signs said his mother
country and his adopted one were meant to be together. Kumar was on a roll.
What about his decision to dice a separate Hindu
identity while eschewing the more inclusive term of Indian American? “Go to any
university campus here and look at all the associations — there is always an
Indian Muslim students association. That’s religion in your face. So why not a
Hindu association?” The RHC, tightly controlled by Kumar and his son Vikram,
models itself after the Republican Jewish Coalition and hopes to be a bridge
between the community and Republican lawmakers. “We are no longer going to be
apologetic Hindus. We are coming out of the closet. The word ‘Hindu’ has caught
fire,” says Kumar. After Trump’s victory, Hindus in South Africa, Dubai,
Australia and Canada have been inviting him to speak. He says the Trump ad put
Hindus on the “world map” — a claim he might want to debate with Modi sarkar.
Kumar, who was appointed to Trump’s transition committee on
finance, has been asked to find 50 qualified Indian Americans for jobs in the
new administration. He is ploughing through the humungous list, trying to match
talent with positions while notso-subtly promoting himself for a plum
assignment. On the side, he speaks out in favour of Trump’s controversial
travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries that has half of America up in
arms. He wants the ban to expand to include Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. In fact,
he never misses throwing a dart or two in that direction.
Clearly enjoying “prime time” — a candlelight dinner with
Trump here, a heart-toheart with Gingrich there — Kumar is growing more and
more confident pronouncing on policy issues and personalities with aplomb.
Fears in India about new restrictions on H-1B visas are “overblown”, he says,
because to make the US economy grow, you need more IT professionals. He sees a
“win-win situation” for both India and the United States on this thorny issue.
But “fraud and abuse” of H-1B visas will come under the scanner, he adds, while
sipping his Coke and digging into a peach cobbler. A diamondstudded “Om” shines
bright from his lapel.
“Trump
wants a strategic alliance with India, an increase in trade to create prosperity
in both countries. We can increase trade to $300 billion in four years of
Trump. That will translate to one million new jobs here and 7 million jobs in
India. I have a very specific plan to increase trade but I am not ready to roll
it out.” One can cast doubt or go with the flow.
Kumar has freely been giving what can only be
called assurances on behalf of the Trump Administration whether on a stronger
defence partnership with India or a more stringent policy on Pakistan. Given
China’s bid to shove the US aside, Pakistan’s role in destabilising Afghanistan
and Russia subverting global norms, “there is arguably no more important a
country in Asia than India,” he wrote this week in his first real op-ed.
Together India and the US can reshape the world of trade.
When asked if he would take a senior position
himself, he demurs but doesn’t deny. “I don’t know which department I want to
be in. Maybe I would be like Gingrich and advise from the outside.” The luxury
of plenty can be an affliction.
He tells me how he was inside “the wall” with Trump for
nearly 30 minutes during the candlelight dinner the night before the
inauguration. For the uninitiated, the “wall” is a security cordon thrown
around the president by secret service agents if he is at a gathering and
moving from table to table. “He (Trump) introduced me to so many people… it’s
all a blur,” Kumar recalls, while listing almost the entire cabinet. He and his
goddaughter Manasvi Mamgai, a former Miss India, attended 11 inauguration
events across town. They took along a member of a prominent Indian business
family, as a favour.
Kumar clearly raises and spends big money — some
say he collects from eager Indian Americans promising them access or “darshan”
but doesn’t always deliver. He said he and his family gave $4.2 million to the
Trump campaign and the Republican Party in “hard and soft money”. So far the
figure had hovered around $900,000 but he upped it substantially in this
interview.
What’s undeniable is that Kumar was the only
Indian American of means to bet on the right horse. Now he is off to the races.
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