A latest research states that out of 4.2 million Indian-Americans, due to Coronavirus pandemic, poverty is going to rise more than an estimated 6.5 percent among the community members who are already living below the poverty line. Results of the research “A Study of Poverty in the Indian American Population,” which was conducted by Devesh Kapur and Jashan Bajwaat of Johns Hopkins’ Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, were released during the Indiaspora Philanthropy Summit 2020 on 1st October 2020.
The research shed light on the fact that poverty is higher among Bengali and Punjabi speaking Indian Americans, Kapoor said. About one-third are not in the labour force and about one-fifth of them are not American citizens, Kapoor said. “With this report, we wanted to draw attention to the plight of the most underprivileged Indian Americans,” said MR Rangaswami, founder of Indiaspora.
“With COVID-19 wrecking health and economic havoc, this is an appropriate moment to raise awareness and discuss the issue of poverty that exists in our otherwise affluent community. We hope that the report will lead to an increased focus on this topic, followed by targeted measures to make a positive difference,” Rangaswami said. According to Kapoor, while the study provides a comprehensive analysis of the impoverished inhabitants of the Indian American community, Indian Americans are still less prone to be living in poverty compared to White, Black and Hispanic Americans.
Add comment