The growing visibility and success of Indian Americans in the United States is also triggering a disturbing rise in racial hostility, especially online and within sections of the far right.
The issue came into focus again after US Vice President JD Vance defended his wife Usha Vance following remarks by Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed. Usha Vance, who is of Indian origin and a Hindu, has repeatedly faced racist attacks from far-right activists because of her background.
She is not alone.
Prominent Indian Americans such as Vivek Ramaswamy, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and civil rights official Harmeet Dhillon have also faced racial abuse. Ramaswamy, despite being backed by Donald Trump, has reportedly been told by critics to “go back to India” and has faced attacks centred on his Indian identity.
Hate Against Indians Is Rising
Recent data paints a worrying picture.
According to the material cited, FBI figures showed an overall decline in hate crimes against Asians in 2025, but crimes against Sikhs and Hindus increased. Independent studies have also reported a sharp rise in anti-South Asian slurs and harassment, much of which may not appear in official hate-crime statistics because verbal abuse by itself may not qualify as a crime.
A Stop AAPI Hate report said the use of anti-South Asian slurs rose sharply between 2023 and 2025. It also found that nearly half of South Asian adults surveyed in 2025 said they had experienced some form of hate because of their race, ethnicity or nationality.
Much of this hostility is now visible on social media, where racist posts targeting Indians have generated millions of views.
Success Is Also Creating Resentment
One reason for the backlash appears to be the growing success of Indian Americans.
Indians are highly visible in technology, healthcare, business, hospitality and increasingly in politics. They are also among the highest-earning and most highly educated ethnic groups in the US, according to the source material.
That success, however, is increasingly being mixed with resentment over jobs and immigration.
The H-1B visa debate has become a major flashpoint, particularly because Indians receive a large share of such visas. Critics frequently accuse Indian workers of taking jobs away from Americans, and that economic anxiety is increasingly blending with xenophobia and calls for visa restrictions, deportations and even denaturalisation.
Trump’s tougher immigration rhetoric and tensions in US-India relations have also added to the atmosphere.
Politics Has Made Indians More Visible
The rise in anti-Indian hostility has coincided with Indian-origin politicians becoming more prominent.
Kamala Harris’ presidential run, Usha Vance entering the national spotlight, Vivek Ramaswamy’s political rise and Zohran Mamdani’s electoral success all made Indian Americans more visible in mainstream US politics.
But visibility has come with a price.
Even Indian Americans aligned with the Republican Party have not been spared. Usha Vance, Ramaswamy, Kash Patel and conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza have all faced racist attacks despite their political positions.
Far-Right Rhetoric Adds Fuel
Far-right activist Nick Fuentes has emerged as one of the most vocal sources of anti-Indian rhetoric. He has repeatedly attacked Usha Vance, Vivek Ramaswamy and other minorities, while promoting openly racist ideas.
The concern is that such rhetoric is no longer confined to fringe corners of the internet. The source argues that groups linked to the far right are attempting to normalise this language and push it further into mainstream political discussion.
The Bigger Picture
The irony is difficult to miss.
Indian Americans are becoming more successful, more visible and more influential in the United States. At the same time, that very rise appears to be fuelling resentment among sections of society already anxious about immigration, jobs and demographic change.
The result is a troubling contradiction: Indians are becoming more central to American business, technology and politics, while also becoming more frequent targets of racial abuse.
The rise of Indian Americans is clearly continuing.
But so, unfortunately, is the backlash against them.
