politics in the making: bobby jindal

by lamia mamoon

Bobby Jindal must have an impressive resume. He attended Oxford as a Rhodes scholar, served as the youngest President of the University of Louisiana system, and delivered his youngest child. Now, he can also add being the youngest current governor in the U.S. and moreover, the first Indian American governor in our nation’s history.

On the surface, his election success has been a victory for non-whites throughout the U.S, especially Indian Americans. Immediately following his gubernatorial victory, Jindal’s ancestral village of Khanpur in India launched into days of festivities and celebrations, despite the fact that Jindal last visited the village when he was four years old. He also did not spare any time to visit his native village during a visit to India in 2007 as a congressional delegate. From a South Asian perspective, it is disappointing to see how much Jindal has altered himself to appeal to the majority of White Americans in his life. He was born as “Piyush Jindal,” but according to his family, he adopted the name “Bobby” after viewing “The Brady Bunch” as a child in the 1970s. He has called himself “Bobby” his entire life, although his legal name is still “Piyush.”

Jindal’s parents raised him as a devout Hindu, but he converted to Catholicism in college. Sources claim that his family is extremely open-minded and tolerant of other religions, yet most Indians and other South Asian Americans do not share this mindset. Many see his conversion to Catholicism as further alienation from his cultural identity. Jindal married Supriya Jolly, an Indian American woman, in 1997. Shortly after, she too converted to Catholicism. Jindal has used his Catholic faith as leverage throughout Louisiana to appeal to conservative White voters who feel apprehensive about having an Indian American governor. After losing the election for governor in 2003, Jindal adopted the new tactic of campaigning at conservative Northern Louisiana churches.

While many are excited to see a South Asian American holding such a prominent political position, not everyone shares those same sentiments. A member of the Indian Parliament, Madhu Goud Yaskhi, frowns upon India’s need to venerate prominent figures of Indian descent.

“It is meaningless to celebrate the successes of Indians who have no ties with the motherland and are Indian only in name,” Yaskhi said. “It shows a sense of inferiority complex amongst us.”

Yet a large voting bloc is seeing eye-to-eye with Jindal’s policies. Interestingly enough, 67 percent of his votes during the gubernatorial election came from the most conservative, white-dominated areas of Louisiana. His political stance on abortion is extremely conservative, having adopted the slogan: “No abortion, no exceptions.” This would even outlaw abortion in cases of rape or incest, a viewpoint that is even more conservative than his white predecessors. Jindal also opposes hate crime legislation, which many minorities feel are necessary for their safety.

Jindal’s level of political success directly corresponds with the degree to which he has “Europeanized” himself to appear more favorable to his conservative Louisiana setting. Even though America has “progressed” to the point where the system legally allows people of color to enter politics, there is still an inherent uneasiness towards bicultural politicians. While he is without a doubt a highly gifted politician, it seems that unfortunately, Jindal may have had to sacrifice some of his personal dignity in order to progress in the political arena.