South Asian Americans

South Asian Americans are among the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States. According to the most widely accepted definition, South Asian Americans are people who trace their origins to one or more of five countries: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Other definitions also include people from Afghanistan, the Maldives, Bhutan, Burma, and Tibet. For instance, the World Bank definition includes the seven countries India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Bhutan but omits Afghanistan. These varying definitions shape which groups and regions are included in academic South Asia studies departments of the United States. This entry focuses on populations from the five countries of origin—India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka—that are most commonly classified as South Asian.

Southern Asia is the home of diverse religious, ethnic, and linguistic groups—a heterogeneity that often is oversimplified in the pan-ethnic identity construction. South Asians are Hindus, Muslims, and Christians and speak several languages. However, North Indian culture, disseminated through the global popularity of Bollywood and Bhangra, has come to symbolize South Asian culture in the United States.

The South Asian identity is a comparatively new pan-ethnic identity created for purposes of governmental classification and political organizing in the United States. The creation of the South Asian designation arises from a desire of South Asians to be distinctive within the umbrella “Asian American” classification. Activists and scholars point to four main reasons for the differentiation of South Asian from the larger Asian American racial category in which the U.S. government places them. These reasons are (1) the phenotypic difference between South Asian Americans and other Asian Americans, which often lead outsiders to view South Asian Americans as not “Asian;” (2) the religious and cultural differences between South Asian Americans and other Asian Americans; (3) the different immigration paths and shorter temporal involvement of South Asian Americans with the pan–Asian American movement; and (4) the spurt of hate [Page 2038]crimes and racial profiling of South Asians since 9/11, which has compelled South Asian groups to embark on paths of activism that differ from other Asian American populations.

Since the 1980s, organizations have been working to create a unified South Asian identity across nationality differences. For instance, Sakhi and Manavi are well-known South Asian women's networks; South Asian taxi drivers alliances and Desis Raising Up and Moving organize for political and labor rights of South Asians; South Asian Lesbian and Gay Association, Trikone, and Sat-rang rally for the rights of South Asian queer communities; and organizations like Network of South Asian Professionals and South Asian Journalists Association are networks of South Asian professionals in the United States. South Asians also use the word desi—a linguistic reference to tie them to their countries of origin—to refer to themselves as well as their culture. This form of self-description is most prevalent among the second-generation South Asians and/or those belonging to the Indian subcontinent.