Indian Genius: The Meteoric Rise of Indians in America

In this buoyant survey, journalist Ahamed (A Matter of Trust) documents the rising number of high-profile Indian Americans in business, science, and politics over recent decades. Ahamed, who migrated to the U.S. from India in 1970, argues that unlike when she first arrived, Indians have become ubiquitous in the American public sphere, with prominent roles as “techies,” “influencers,” and “healers.” She profiles early tech founders such as Kanwal Rekhi (Excelan), Nikesh Arora (Cirrus Logic), and Suhas Patil (Sun Microsystems), who all arrived from India in the ’60s and ’70s with no more than eight dollars in their pocket (the highest amount permitted by India’s then socialist government) and ended up creating billions of dollars in wealth. Among the “influencers” profiled are sisters Chandrika Tandon (one of the first partners at management consulting firm McKinsey) and Indra Nooyi (former CEO of Pepsi), who both rebelled against their traditional family’s expectations when they realized that “our mother was stockpiling items for our marriage trousseaus.” Later chapters pivot to today’s prominent first-generation Indian Americans, like California congressman Ro Khanna, and speculate on what attributes to the outsize success of Indian immigrants, noting that perhaps the Indian emigration process plays a role, as it rigorously vets and prescreens those applying for competitive U.S. academic and work visas. It’s an upbeat, informative look at immigrant contributions to America. (Mar.)