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.