In late April, as COVID-19 cases skyrocketed in India, an alarmist message made the rounds of American social media. 

“Edison or New Jersey shouldn’t become another India,” it read. “If you live in any community where Indians live, please avoid going to any common places like playground or pool or parks to avoid contacts with them.”

The message prompted concerns that as the 'Indian variant,' as it was then known, spread in the U.S., South Asian Americans would be scapegoated and face harassment and attacks similar to what East Asian Americans have endured since the pandemic began.

However, so far at least, that doesn't appear to have happened. The 'Indian variant' was renamed delta, and anti-Indian incidents have remained relatively low. This is due to a confluence of factors: timing, American foreign policy and the fact that Joe Biden is our current president, and not Donald Trump.