On October 15, 2025, the world of U.S. foreign policy and the Indian-American diaspora was rocked by two very different but deeply intertwined stories. On one hand, Ashley J. Tellis, a towering figure in the realm of South Asian strategy and U.S. defense analysis, found himself at the center of a national security scandal. On the other, a quieter but equally significant drama played out in the halls of American immigration: the ongoing silence of Indian-Americans regarding recent changes to the H-1B visa program, and what that silence means for the future of the community and the country.
Tellis, long regarded as one of the most influential voices on South Asia and U.S. foreign policy, was arrested on charges of unlawfully retaining classified defense documents. For decades, Tellis helped shape Washington’s approach to India, China, Pakistan, and the broader Indo-Pacific. His arrest, according to Foreign Affairs, threatens to overshadow a remarkable intellectual legacy, but his ideas continue to ripple through policy debates.
In his widely discussed 2025 essay, "India’s Great-Power Delusions," Tellis argued that India’s ambitions on the world stage far outstrip its actual capabilities. He pointed to the country's slow economic growth, limited military capacity, and weak institutions as major constraints. Tellis didn’t mince words about India’s doctrine of "strategic autonomy" either. While it preserves flexibility and sovereignty, he said, it also prevents India from building deeper, alliance-like partnerships—especially with the United States, which he saw as essential to counterbalancing China’s rise.
But Tellis’s criticism didn’t stop at policy. He warned that India’s "illiberal drift"—marked by democratic backsliding, polarization, and majoritarian politics—was weakening its global standing and soft power. These internal dynamics, he argued, risked undermining India’s claim to leadership among democratic nations. As Foreign Affairs noted, Tellis’s voice was a persistent reminder that ambition without reform could leave India stranded on the world stage.
Tellis’s insights on China were equally sharp. In his co-authored essay, "What Are China’s Nuclear Weapons For?" he dissected Beijing’s evolving nuclear posture and coercive foreign policy. He described China as the defining strategic challenge of the 21st century—not just militarily, but ideologically, economically, and technologically. According to Tellis, Beijing’s strategy combines deterrence with coercion, and its ambitions extend far beyond regional dominance. He insisted that India must prepare for sustained strategic rivalry by deepening defense cooperation, boosting deterrence, and forging tighter partnerships—particularly with the United States.
On Pakistan, Tellis rarely focused exclusively on the country, but his views were woven throughout his works, including "India’s Grand Strategy: Navigating the Regional Trap" (Carnegie Endowment, 2022). He argued that Pakistan remains a structural constraint on India’s rise, with the constant threat of conflict on its western border draining resources and strategic attention away from the larger challenge posed by China. He warned of a potential two-front scenario, in which Beijing and Islamabad coordinate policy against India—a risk that, in his view, continues to undermine India’s ambitions of projecting power beyond South Asia.
Yet, even as Tellis advocated for a deeper U.S.–India partnership, he repeatedly cautioned Washington against unrealistic expectations. In his 2023 essay, "America’s Bad Bet on India," he argued that India would never automatically align with the U.S. against China, as its foreign policy would always be guided by its own interests and strategic autonomy. According to Foreign Affairs, Tellis analyzed how Donald Trump’s approach fundamentally reshaped the global order, shifting the focus of great power competition from geopolitics to economics. Trump’s emphasis on tariffs, trade leverage, and industrial policy over alliances and ideological commitments, Tellis warned, could downgrade India’s strategic importance if Washington began to view it primarily as an economic competitor. He also highlighted the risks of Trump’s unpredictable policies—from visa restrictions to tariff threats—which, he said, threatened to erode decades of carefully built trust. Meanwhile, Tellis noted, Pakistan had exploited Trump’s transactionalism by positioning itself as a useful partner on counterterrorism.
While Tellis’s arrest grabbed headlines, another debate simmered within the Indian-American community—one that also touches on the themes of ambition, identity, and responsibility. According to financialexpress.com, the silence of Indian-Americans regarding recent changes to the H-1B visa program has become increasingly conspicuous. The H-1B program, created in 1990 under President George H. W. Bush, was designed to allow U.S. employers to hire foreign professionals to fill critical skill gaps through a randomized lottery system. Despite being one of the most visible and affluent immigrant communities in the United States, Indian-Americans have remained largely quiet about the struggles of newer immigrants facing visa backlogs and policy challenges.
This silence is especially striking given the community’s history. Many first-generation Indian-Americans endured years of uncertainty—standing in embassy queues, renewing visas countless times due to the green card backlog, and missing family milestones because of visa restrictions. Yet, as the article points out, those who have now achieved stability and influence often choose the comfort of indifference. The backlash that followed Sriram Krishnan’s appointment as Senior Policy Advisor on Artificial Intelligence in December 2024, for example, revealed a deep-seated animosity toward H-1B holders—prompting many to fear reigniting such hostility by speaking out.
Ajay Bhutoria, a former member of President Biden’s AANHPI (Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander) Commission, told the Area 51 Podcast that some first-generation families now see new immigrants more as competitors than as peers. After years spent proving their worth, many seek peace rather than another set of challenges tied to America’s immigration system. Yet, as the article argues, those who have crossed the door now have the most powerful voices—and their silence is felt acutely by those still waiting outside.
The moral dilemma is clear. The Indian-American story has long been celebrated as one of achievement—engineers who became CEOs, students who built successful startups, a community that chased the American Dream. But, as financialexpress.com notes, "Stories of success lose their meaning when they forget the struggle that made them possible." If those who have made it do not speak for those facing the same challenges, their success becomes incomplete. Silence, once a shield, has become a wall.
These two stories—one of a strategist whose ideas shaped the world, now facing the consequences of his own entanglements, and one of a community grappling with its responsibilities—offer a window into the complexities of ambition, identity, and obligation in a changing America. As debates about power, partnership, and strategy continue to unfold, both in the courtroom and in the quiet corners of immigrant life, the questions they raise won’t be easily answered. But one thing is clear: the voices that shape our future, whether in policy or in community, matter more than ever.
