Ab Ki Baar Biden Sarkaar
“American society is a such a bundle of contradictions and fake contradictions that if you don’t have an adequate sense of humour, you will definitely collapse”
- Malcom X (Famous human rights activist who was killed in 1965)
Going by the number of people infected by the Coronavirus globally, the United States is in the first position and India is in the second position. Those who call India as the world’s largest democracy term the United States as the world’s strongest democracy. The poor achievement of the United States in handling the Coronavirus has succeeded in opening the eyes of crores of people who believed that America is heaven. It has now emerged clearly who is going to be the new President based on a clear majority in the elections held over the past two months. The whole world is watching how the sitting President is adamant about not giving up his Presidency. It is now a matter of curiosity to see whether the President would depart with dignity or behave like a famous Indian journalist who behaved without a grain of dignity with the police. In case he displays his characteristic stubbornness, the dramatic developments that might take place in the coming few days will reveal to the world the limitations of the world’s strongest democracy.
America has the tradition of reelecting the President for the second term and this has happened for the last 30 years. Exception to this tradition has taken place only four times in the past 100 years. In this context, many had expected Trump to win. In India, many who had found resonance in Trump’s racist politics had turned into his enthusiastic supporters. Indian rightists in the US had also identified themselves with Trump. Besides, during the run up to the preparations for the American elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi threw all diplomatic graces to the wind and announced Ab ki Baar, Trump Sarkar’. Subsequently, Trump reiterated the same in his inimitable style before Indian origin American voters. With Trump’s defeat, such people are now disappointed as though they have lost a close friend.
Who is good for India – Trump or Biden, Republicans or Democrats? Many are intrigued with these questions. If one were to listen to both sides of the argument, it reveals the old-world innocence and foolishness of finding liberals in administration. Anyone who is familiar with American history and is aware of its present-day politics will not expect big favors from the United States as its approach to domestic issues and its stand on international issues has two goals: One, to protect the interest of corporates who control the country and two, to ensure that different classes of people are subservient to the ruling parties.
Many had seen a saviour in Trump after seeing Modi emotionally jumping and embracing Trump every time they met. They also believe that Trump’s party is a friend of the ruling party in India. These people don’t seem to remember that Trump’s Republican party had denied visa to Modi when he was Gujarat Chief Minister and was facing allegations of mass murder or that Trump humiliated India as a ‘dirty country’ before the whole world a month after Modi had emotionally announced Ab Ki Baar Trump Sarkaar. .Joe Biden’s Indian supporters are also the same. Biden has an experience of 36 years as a member of the Senate and eight years as vice-president of America and has shown respect for India. He had announced way back in 2006 that “It is my dream to see India and America as the closest nations of the world.” Biden’s supporters have a lot of expectations from him going by his vast experience and commitment to human rights and religious freedom and his decision to choose Kamala Harris, a woman of Indian origin, as the Vice-President. A decade ago, when Barack Obama of Biden’s Democrat party became the President, there was a lot of expectations from him as well. Modi with great enthusiasm had fondly called Obama as ‘Barack, Barack’. But India did not benefit very much from him as well.
It will be a great favour if, forget helping the world, American Presidents and the ruling parties reduce the damage they cause to the world. Nobody will expect any contribution towards maintaining world peace from the country that has made as its own the main business of selling weapons. But, we can consider as a great favour if the Biden government reduces even partially America’s traditional vicious plans of warmongering in different parts of the world with the sole purpose of selling weapons. Those who run the American administration can initiate several programmes for the country’s progress and wellbeing. The discrimination faced by non-whites, especially Blacks, in America is at an alarming level. The fact that it took the country 233 years after its independence to elect a person of Black origin as President indicates the deep-rooted racism in that country. Even though there are several laws against discrimination based on racism, racial tensions are so obvious that it is difficult to hide them. The Whites treat the Blacks and other colored people with disdain. Also, racial minorities face a lot of discrimination.
Similarly, the difference between the poor and the rich has grown and reached gigantic proportions. Though the country has enough wealth and resources, it is in the hands of a few and about 40 per cent of people are poor and about 12 per cent are in extreme poverty. The problem of air pollution has reached serious proportions, affecting almost 50 per cent of the people.. About four percent deaths occur due to the intake of polluted air. About 15 per cent are unemployed and the crime rate has been rising. Last year, the country recorded about 12 lakh cases of murder, rape, burglary, assault and other such crimes. Americans are less than five per cent of the world population but, people in America’s jails constitute around 20 per cent of the total prisoners in jails in the entire world. Slowly, awareness is growing among the people there about the problems and imbalances of that country . The new government under the leadership of Biden should adopt a sensitive stance towards these realities and function in the true spirit of the concepts of freedom, equality, and public welfare enshrined in the American constitution instead of preaching to the world.
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Texas halts H-1B visas at state universities, agencies; to affect Indians
Houston (US) (PTI): Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered state agencies and public universities to immediately halt new H-1B visa petitions, tightening hiring rules at taxpayer-funded institutions, a step likely to impact Indian professionals.
The freeze will remain in effect through May 2027.
The directive issued on Tuesday said that the state agencies and public universities must stop filing new petitions unless they receive written approval from the Texas Workforce Commission.
The governor's order, in a red state that is home to thousands of H-1B visa holders, comes as the Trump administration has initiated steps to reshape the visa programme.
“In light of recent reports of abuse in the federal H-1B visa programme, and amid the federal government’s ongoing review of that programme to ensure American jobs are going to American workers, I am directing all state agencies to immediately freeze new H-1B visa petitions as outlined in this letter,” Abbot said.
Institutions must also report on H-1B usage, including numbers, job roles, countries of origin, and visa expiry dates, the letter said.
US President Donald Trump on September 19 last year signed a proclamation ‘Restriction on entry of certain non-immigrant workers’ that restricted the entry into the US of those workers whose H-1B petitions are not accompanied or supplemented by a payment of USD 1,00,000.
The H1-B visa fee of USD 1,00,000 would be applicable only to new applicants, i.e. all new H-1B visa petitions submitted after September 21, including those for the FY2026 lottery.
Indians make up an estimated 71 per cent of all approved H-1B applications in recent years, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), with China in the second spot. The major fields include technology, engineering, medicine, and research.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the second-highest beneficiary with 5,505 approved H-1B visas in 2025, after Amazon (10,044 workers on H-1B visas), according to the USCIS. Other top beneficiaries include Microsoft (5,189), Meta (5,123), Apple (4,202), Google (4,181), Deloitte (2,353), Infosys (2,004), Wipro (1,523) and Tech Mahindra Americas (951).
Texas public universities employ hundreds of foreign faculty and researchers, many from India, across engineering, healthcare, and technology fields.
Date from Open Doors -- a comprehensive information resource on international students and scholars studying or teaching at higher education institutions in the US -- for 2022-2023 showed 2,70,000 students from India embarked on graduate and undergraduate degrees in US universities, accounting for 25 per cent of the international student population in the US and 1.5 per cent of the total student population.
Indian students infuse roughly USD 10 billion annually into universities and related businesses across the country through tuition and other expenses – while also creating around 93,000 jobs, according to the Open Doors data.
Analysts warn the freeze could slow recruitment of highly skilled professionals, affecting academic research and innovation.
Supporters say the directive protects local jobs, while critics caution it could weaken Texas’ competitiveness in higher education and research.
The order comes amid broader debate in the US over skilled immigration and state-level interventions in federal programmes.
H-1B visas allow US companies to hire technically-skilled professionals that are not easily available in America. Initially granted for three years, these can be extended for another three years.
In September 2025, Trump had also signed an executive order ‘The Gold Card’, aimed at setting up a new visa pathway for those committed to supporting the United States; with individuals who can pay USD 1 million to the US Treasury, or USD 2 million if a corporation is sponsoring them, to get access to expedited visa treatment and a path to a Green Card.
