by: Cal Tiger, Clearwater High Tech Entrepreneur
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. – In 1776, Adam Smith, a Scottish economist, who is regarded as the Father of Capitalism published his treatise, The Wealth of Nations in1776. Not coincidentally, in the same year, on July 4, 1776, Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence and the United States was born. Today, most Americans have very little understanding of Capitalism and how it has contributed to the growth of not only America but many other great nations. In 2020, movements like BLM and Antifa are working to dismantle the Constitution and the institutions of America. It behooves us to understand what a Biden Harris or “Harris Administration” may do in the future.
Kamala Harris is a product of the former British Commonwealth. So am I. We both came from the Tamil Brahmin heritage, which is referred to, somewhat pejoratively, as Tambram. Not only that, but I am also perhaps the only Tambram in America that spent years in the Inner City working with Black people on Social Enterprise projects. In fact, I was the Editor of Afrique News during my time in Chicago, where I dealt with Inner City issues as well as issues in Sub Saharan Africa, including West African countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon, etc. I developed a keen understanding of African as well as African American environment.
Africans today have a keen understanding of Capitalism and have dropped any adherence to Socialism, fully aware that we live in a Capitalistic world. Most Africans have a side hustle and in many cases can be seen owning stores selling African garments, food, and various other products. Many of them have become entrepreneurs. As a result, the African community is generally more prosperous than African Americans who still seem to cling to the days of Slavery and decry Capitalism as though it is the cause for their woes.
Going back in history, after the British exited India in 1947, the Commonwealth was born and India became a Socialist country under PM Indira Gandhi. In those days, it could take 5 years to get a landline phone, due to the Communist-style Central Planning “regime” that was in power. The Government and a whole bunch of Consultants and “Pundits” with degrees from Ivy League colleges like Harvard and Oxford were put in charge of the Bureaucracy. They came up with 5-year Plans for everything from Telecom to Energy to Banking, etc which was an unmitigated disaster. Many Tambrams left the country to pursue higher studies and better opportunities in America, where there were plenty of opportunities to become an Engineer, Doctor, or IT professional, and occasionally, a few Tambrams were willing to take the risk to become entrepreneurs.
At this time in India’s history, Foreign Exchange was scarce, and going overseas required a feat of ingenuity or wealthy parents. During this era, the “License Raj” displaced the British who previously had recognized that they could “divide and conquer” India. In other words, you had to get a license for everything. The British had seen India as a “fragmented” system, much like a fragmented market in MBA speak and they exploited the weakness of the Indians. Until Gandhi came along with his African strategies, Indians had few clues on how to shake off the l yoke of the British. Gandhi’s calculated plan worked and India threw off the yoke of the British in 1947, but not without bloodshed. Nearly two million Muslims and Hindus were killed in the carnage during the partition, and there are stories of people getting slaughtered in trains going from Punjab to Pakistan.
What does have to do with Kamala Harris & Tambrams you may wonder. In my opinion, Tambrams facilitated Colonialism and Socialism for decades. The British did this by instituting the Indian Administrative Service or IAS. Typically, only the Brahmins had the skills to pass the rigorous exams on obscure studies based on the curriculum developed by the British. This ensured that the Brits would have a servile cadre of IAS officers who would collect taxes & fees and remit them dutifully back to their British “masters”.
During the sunset days of the British Empire including India, Jamaica, the US, Canada, Australia, and many other countries. During the British reign over India, the Brits used Tambrams as “Civil Servants” as Tax Collectors for a variety of licenses & fees that they levied against their Indian. Tambram came from what is considered the Priestly Class and they were considered holy by everyone else in the village and managed the Temple or Church. In a sense, they were like Priests or Vicars or Rabbis or Reverends in The Church.
Most Tambrams are very well educated and have become Doctors, Lawyers, and Engineers. Many have Phds and a majority of them are College Professors in left-leaning universities. While they are generally prosperous due to their education and fastidious discipline (no smoking, no drinking, etc), they seldom become entrepreneurs, due to their aversion to risk. It would not surprise me if Kamala Harris has a License Raj mentality, which could be damaging to entrepreneurship and small business
Therefore, while the Patels and Sikhs in US become entrepreneurs, Tambarams are highly private and maintain a level of secrecy and seclusion that works to their detriment. The community does not go out of its way to assimilate and pretty much leads a reclusive existence. This is Kamala’s heritage on her mother’s side.. on her father’s side, she has a West Indian father who also comes from British Commonwealth with similar ideology, with a pronounced aversion to risk & entrepreneurship. This could well be a “Double Whammy”.
KH seems to realize that the Tambram community, never one for supporting its own, would not support her, either with donations or contributions and so, she astutely decided not to call herself Indian and instead, decided to align herself with the Black and African American community. I suspect that KH recognized this fact and decided she would be better off maintaining her ties to the Tambrams and the Indian Diaspora community, but identify with the larger African American community which would embrace her as part of the Black, African Amerian community which traces its success back to MLK and Civil Rights movement.
In the age of trending #BLM, there is no question that aligning with the African American community would pay much greater dividends than being part of a fringe (I do not mean to depreciate my community) community that has little influence beyond Corporate America and Ivy League Institutions and certainly not in Politics.
Therefore, Kamala, a former attorney, and prosecutor fits in well with the Democratic Party, with it’s confused Socialist ideology that appeals to today’s millennials. How so much a duo can transform the economy in the face of Covid19 is anyone’s guess. One can only hope that the “progressive” left-wing driven by Bernie Sanders and Democratic Socialists do not drag the country into Socialism. We need Adam Smith and we need to preserve the monuments of America’s great history. We do not need Bernie Sanders & Socialists.
About the author
Cal Tiger is a high tech entrepreneur and author of an upcoming book, “Viva Capitalism, F*ck Socialism” which is pending publication.