Stories
India Slams JD Vance Over 'Indentured Servants' Remark on Foreign Workers
- •India strongly objected to US Vice-President JD Vance describing foreign workers as indentured servants, calling the terminology deeply offensive.
- •The Ministry of External Affairs stated that such descriptions ignore the major contributions of highly skilled Indian professionals to the US economy.
- •Vance had criticized the H-1B visa programme, accusing companies like Microsoft of replacing American employees with foreign workers.
- •The US government recently suspended eight major technology firms, including Indian IT giants, from the PERM green card certification programme.
Key Questions Answered
India's Ministry of External Affairs strongly objected to JD Vance describing foreign workers as "indentured servants," calling the terminology deeply offensive and stating that it ignores the major contributions of highly educated Indian professionals to the American economy and innovation ecosystem.
JD Vance accused companies of exploiting the US immigration system by laying off American employees while hiring foreign workers on H-1B visas. He claimed that these workers are subordinate to companies, earn less than American citizens in comparable roles, and are used by firms to undercut domestic wages.
The US government suspended eight companies from the PERM programme, which allows employers to seek labour certification for employment-based green cards. The affected firms include Indian IT services providers Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, and HCL, alongside US-based Microsoft, Adobe, and Capgemini.
