Asian Indian Americans

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Asian Indian Americans

For more information on Asian Indian history and culture, seeVol. 3: Indians.

OVERVIEW

Asian Indian Americans began migrating to the United States from India in small numbers during the 19th century. By 1900, the U.S. Census counted 2,050 Asian Indians living in the United States, mostly professional men, merchants, and travelers who settled along the east coast, particularly in New York. Asian Indian students also came to study at American colleges, mostly on the east coast, although a sizeable number attended universities in California by the time of World War I (1914–18).

Asian Indian nationalists, organizing a revolt against British rule in India in the 1800s and early 1900s, used the United States as a base for their activities. The Ghadr ("Revolution") Party was organized by Asian Indian nationalist Har Dayal in 1913 with its headquarters in San Francisco. After 1905, Asian Indian laborers began immigrating in large numbers to Canada. When Canada began to regulate Asian Indian immigration, turning away several thousand applicants, many chose to enter the United States instead. Though most were from an agricultural caste in India, the majority found work in the railroad and timber industries. Because almost all Asian Indian immigrants at this time were single males, they were willing to work long hours for low wages and soon became a threat to other potential employees. The same was true for those Asian Indians who had found their way to California where they were employed as migrant farmworkers. European American workers began to intimidate them, trying to force them off the job as they had earlier tried to intimidate Chinese and Japanese workers. The Asian Indians formed partnerships to protect themselves and saved money to buy their own land. By 1919, they owned 2,077 acres and leased 86,315 acres of land in California, producing rice, cotton, nuts, fruits, and potatoes.

European Americans formed the Asiatic Exclusion League in the early 1900s to persuade the U.S. government to restrict Asian immigration. The government did indeed turn away some 3,453 Asian Indians between 1908 and 1920. At first, Asian Indians tried to fight back through legal means, filing suits in court and lobbying government officials. When these methods failed to achieve success, Asian Indians sought the help of radical Har Dayal and the Ghadr Party. When Dayal was arrested and deported after a demonstration, however, the movement fell apart and all but disappeared in America by 1917.

The Immigration Act of 1917 placed severe restrictions on Asian immigration to the United States, and the Alien Land Law of 1920 prevented those of Asian ancestry from owning land. Some Asian Indians transferred the title of their land to European American friends so as not to lose it, while others were forced to become landless laborers once again. A number of Asian Indians married Mexican women and put their lands in their wives' names and the names of their American-born children. (Anti-miscegenation laws prevented Asian Indians from marrying American women.) Between 1913 and 1946, 92% of Asian Indians living in southern California were married to Mexican women (76% of those in central California, and 47% in northern California).

Asian Indian immigration to the United States slowed down considerably from the 1920s through 1940s. By World War II (1939–45), the number of Asian Indians in the United States had dwindled to 2,405. Only 4% were professionals, while 65% were in agriculture (15% farmers, 50% laborers). At the end of World War II, relations between India and the United States improved, and Asian Indians were finally allowed to immigrate to the United States, become U.S. citizens, own property, and marry Americans.

At first, only a small number of Asian Indians took advantage of these new opportunities; about 6,000 Asian Indians immigrated to the United States between 1947 and 1965. In the past few decades, however, Asian Indian immigration has increased rapidly, with 387,223 residing in the United States by 1980; 786,694 by 1990; and 1,899,599 by 2000. While the total U.S. population increased by only 13% between 1990 and 2000, the Asian Indian population rose by 113%. As of 2004, Asian Indians were the second-largest group (after Chinese Americans) among Asian/Pacific Americans.

Many Asian Indian Americans are students who decided to change their status to "immigrant" once in the United States. Because Asian Indian migration to the United States in significant numbers is such a recent development, and because so many are young students, most Asian Indian Americans (over 71% in 2000) are foreign-born. Asian Indian families have not lived in the United States long enough to have developed a large population of second- or third-generation American-born children.

Most Asian Indians continue to settle in California (360,392, according to the 2000 U.S. Census) and New York (296,056), with sizeable communities in New Jersey (180,957), Texas (142,689), and Illinois (133,978), especially Chicago (27,889), as well. During recent decades, the number of Asian Indian women migrating to the United States has just about equaled that of Asian Indian men. The overall median age of Asian Indian Americans in 2004 was 31.7 years. Less than 5% of Asian Indian Americans are over the age of 65, as compared to 12% of the total U.S. population. Most Asian Americans are in the middle-adult taxpaying age range.

There are almost 2,000 languages and dialects spoken in India, with Hindi (spoken by 30% of the population), English, and 14 regional languages—including Bengali and Urdu—officially recognized by the constitution. Because most Asian Indian Americans are foreign-born, they speak their native languages, as well as English. Almost 75% of Asian Indian Americans speak a language other than English at home, but 77% also speak English quite well.

Asian Indian religions have greatly influenced American life since the mid- to late 1900s, when Buddhist and Brahmanic philosophies birthed movements such as Theosophy (originating in 1875) in the United States. The first Asian Indian religious leader to visit the United States was Swami Vivekananda in 1893. He established the Vedanta Society to bring Hindu teachers to the United States and spread the wisdom of the Vedas (Hindu scriptures). Many Hindu, Buddhist, Ayurvedic, and other Asian Indian philosophies have since made their way into American life. A recent Asian Indian religious teacher and healer to settle in the United States is Deepak Chopra, author of many books, including Quantum Healing: Exploring the Frontiers of Mind/Body Medicine (1989), and founder of the American Association of Ayurvedic Medicine.

Asian Indians celebrate many different holidays, depending on their religious and cultural backgrounds. Immigrants to the United States bring their religious and cultural traditions with them, continuing to celebrate the holidays of their homeland. Some of the major holidays celebrated by various Asian Indian Americans are Baisakhi, the Hindu solar new year; Buddha Purnima, the birthday and day of enlightenment of Gautama Buddha; Dussehra and Durga Puja, the triumph of good over evil; Deepavali or Diwali, the festival of lights (also the financial new year); Gandhi Jayanti, the October 2 birthday of Mahatma Gandhi; Holi, a spring festival; Ramadan, Id'Ul'Fitr, Id-Uz-Zuha, and Muharram—Muslim holidays; American Independence Day on July 4; Asian Indian Independence Day on August 15; Janmashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna; Mahavir Jayanti, the birthday of Vardhamana Mahavira; Onam, and Pongal or Sankranti, harvest festivals; and Republic Day on January 26, marking the adoption of India's constitution in 1950.

Asian Indian Americans are more likely to be wealthy than members of any other American ethnic group, including European Americans. In 2004, they had the highest median annual household income of any Asian American group, at $69,000 (compared to $56,000 for all Asian Americans, and only $45,000 for the U.S. population as a whole). Fewer Asian Indian Americans (10%) live below the poverty line as do other Asian Americans (12%). Asian Indian Americans are also less poor than the U.S. population as a whole, of whom 13% live below the poverty line.

Very few Asian Indian Americans live alone. The vast majority live either in family households or with friends, fellow students, etc. Most live in nuclear family units of at least three persons. In 2004 more than two-thirds of Asian American adults were married. Divorce is rare (about 3%).

Many foreign-born Asian Indian American women wear traditional dress, which varies according to the region of India in which the women grew up. Most wear sarees (or saris), made from six yards of silk, cotton, or other lightweight fabric draped around the waist over a long petticoat, with the end gathered together over one shoulder. A close-fitting blouse of matching fabric and color is worn underneath. Styles of draping and decorating the saree vary from region to region in India.

Asian Indian American men have mostly adopted Western-style clothing, only wearing traditional dress on special occasions. Traditional Asian Indian clothing for men consists of a long robe called a sherwani worn over either tight-fitting pants called churidars, or looser, straighter pants. Sometimes a loose shirt called a kurta is worn instead of the robe, and a vest is often added. A dhoti, several yards of fabric draped around the legs to form loose trousers, is sometimes worn instead of other types of pants.

Asian Indian food has become very popular in the United States in recent years. Most medium-sized and large cities have at least one Asian Indian restaurant, where dishes such as dal (lentil soup), tandoori chicken (coated with a yogurt sauce and baked in a special oven called a tandoor), and chapatis (flat bread) are served. The Asian Indian diet, based on rice and other grains, several kinds of beans, and vegetables, with lean meats such as fish and chicken, is very healthy and appeals to vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.

Asian Indian Americans place a high value on education and are generally high achievers. Over 68% of Asian Indian Americans over the age of 25 are college graduates, and 90% have a high school diploma. With their high grade-point averages and competitive scores on standardized tests and college entrance exams, Asian Indian Americans are eligible for acceptance at the best universities in the United States. Some schools, such as California State University at San Francisco, Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, have a significant Asian Indian student population.

Traditional Asian Indian music is divided into two styles: Hindustani, which is popular in the north; and Karnatak, popular in the south. The predominant musical instruments are the sitar in the north and veena in the south, both of which resemble a guitar. Flutes, drums, and other instruments are also prevalent. Ravi Shankar is a well-known Asian Indian sitarist who established the Kinnara School of Music in Los Angeles in 1967. Shankar also collaborated with Asian Indian conductor Zubin Mehta, former director and conductor of both the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras, to fuse Western and Eastern music and bring Asian Indian music to the attention of the West.

There are many successful Asian Indian American writers of both fiction and nonfiction, including Dhan Gopal Mukerji, one of the first Asian Americans to write books for children; Bharati Mukherjee, who won the National Book Critics Circle Award for her novel, The Middleman and Other Stories (1988); Jhumpa Lahiri, who won a Pulitzer Prize for her collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies (1999); and Ved Mehta, a journalist and staff writer for The New Yorker magazine.

A greater percentage (61%) of Asian Indian Americans are employed in professional and managerial positions than any other Asian American group (45% for all Asian Americans) or Americans in general (34%). Through the extended family or ethnic network, Asian Indian Americans have virtually taken over the running of newsstands in New York City. Many independent motels in the United States are also managed by Asian Indian Americans. A growing number of gas stations are owned by Asian Indian Americans, and Asian Indian Americans are second only to Hasidic Jews in the Diamond District of the jewelry trade.

Although Asian Indian Americans have been largely successful in their new home country, they have been (and continue to be) the victims of racial prejudice. "Glass ceilings" prevent them from attaining the highest executive positions in corporations, despite excellent academic and professional qualifications. Discrimination leads many European Americans and other non-Asian Indians to refuse to see an Asian Indian American doctor. Hate crimes cause injuries, death, and tremendous stress in Asian Indian American communities. In September 1987, for example, Asian Indian American doctor Kaushal Sharan was attacked near his home in Jersey City, New Jersey, by members of a racist gang who beat him unconscious. At that time, many anti-Asian Indian hate crimes were being perpetrated in Jersey City by gangs calling themselves the Dotbusters (referring to the red dot, or bindi, worn by East Indian women on their foreheads) and the Lost Boys.

Traditional Asian Indian culture, like other Asian cultures, views sexuality as a taboo subject, with little or no room for the acknowledgment of homosexual preferences. Asian Indian American gays and lesbians, therefore, find themselves at a loss within their families to be recognized for who they are. Many choose never to reveal their homosexuality to members of their family. Gay and lesbian Asian Indian Americans must also deal with a lack of acceptance among homosexuals because of their Asian ethnicity. Many feel as isolated within the homosexual community as within the Asian American community. Asian Indian American homosexuals must therefore wrestle with family disapproval and ostracism as well as racial isolation in their quest for identity.