Barack Obama and John McCain, heading for a showdown in the US presidential polls today, support the growing Indo-US partnership and favour strong ties with the world's largest democracy, but differ on critical issues like outsourcing.
The 47-year-old Illinois Senator who is aspiring to become the first black-American President, is said to have a close affinity with things Indian. He carries a small figure of Lord Hanuman for luck, was familiar with the Ramayana during his days in Indonesia and had a picture of Mahatma Gandhi placed in his Senate office.
However, his strong-anti-outsourcing stance, which came to fore repeatedly during the campaign trail, is creating unease among Indians.
"When I am President I will give tax credits to companies that hire in the United States and end tax breaks for companies that ship US jobs overseas," he has said.
Obama also introduced a 'killer amendment' during debate on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal in the powerful Foreign Relations Committee, though he voted for the agreement later and asserted that he backs the landmark accord.
His recent remarks that the US should try to help resolve the Kashmir problem so that Pakistan can focus on hunting down militants on its restive north-west border have also been seen in some quarters as suggesting outside interference in the issue.
Despite this, an informal opinion poll has suggested that an overwhelming 81 per cent of Indian-Americans will vote for Obama while merely 19 per cent will support McCain.
The African-American Senator is being seen by many as a symbol of the aspirations of the immigrant community.
There is also the factor that Indians had traditionally been Democrats and, like any other community in the US, are worried about the economic policies of the Bush Administration amid the financial turmoil.
"Barack Obama's vision for America is our vision, and his story is our story. As the son of a foreign-born father, he has personally experienced the challenges of race and identity that affect our community... We support Senator Obama's candidacy because of the promise it holds for our future," South Asians for Obama, a lobby group, says on its website.
Still, many Indian-Americans oppose Obama for President, arguing that if McCain wins, he would continue the Bush Administration policies of bulilding a startegic partnership with India and keep the commitments made in the nuclear deal.
The 72-year-old Republican Senator "understands we have a global economy and realises that if we raise taxes on small businesses here, many will simply relocate abroad and America will lose out," 'Indians for McCain' says.
McCain is seen as a supporter of outsourcing and globalised economy and raising the cap on H-1B visas for highly-skilled professionals, which are sought by a large number of Indians every year.
Both the candidates have all along maintained they want strong ties with India and ackonowledged the contribution of the Indian-Americans, saying their knowledge, skills and entrepreneurial spirit have benefited both the countries.
Observing that India's recent economic achievements remain a "great source of admiration" in the US, McCain had said in a message on the country's Independence Day that it is one of America's "closest democratic partners".
"It is only natural that the world's oldest and the world's largest constitutional democracies should enjoy strong relations...With India, America has one of its most important relationships in an uncertain world," Obama had said on the same day.
