Indians in America
Before and after Attaining Citizenship Rights
By Inder SinghImmigrants from India started coming to the United States of America at the beginning of the twentieth century. Most of them worked at menial jobs, lived in appalling conditions and in crumbling structures. Except a few, all were single, could not bring a spouse from India nor allowed to marry an American. For forty five years they lived in the shadows of American society. After a long struggle, in 1946 they got the right to US citizenship. Thereafter, they could buy property, get a job commensurate with their qualifications, marry a person of their choice, and were free to travel and visit India, the country of their birth. Indian nationals had lived for years in a free country without freedom. However, after Indian nationals obtained political rights, there has been a dramatic change in Indian community’s contributions to the country they have adopted as their home.
The first part of this article describes the hardships, hostility, humiliation and bigotry the early settlers encountered and their sacrifices, perseverance and tenacity that defied all odds, while they managed a sustained campaign for political rights in the country of their domicile and hope, the United States of America. The second part describes those immigrants who came after the grant of citizenship rights and the liberalization of US Immigration laws. They comprised of professionals, high-tech workers, students and sponsored relatives. Several made laudable contributions in various ways to the country they have adopted as their home and also contributed significantly to the resurgence of India.
Beginning of Indian Immigration
In 1897, Queen Victoria of England and the Empress of India, included a Sikh regiment from the Indian Army in her diamond jubilee celebrations. On the return journey, the soldiers were sent back to India via Canada. Most of these soldiers were originally farmers and were fascinated with the potential for farming opportunities. They dreamed of returning to Canada after retirement. And some of them did return. India and Canada were both part of the British Empire and Canada became the destination of choice for many emigrants from India. Emigration from India to the USA started as a trickle while many came from Canada from the porous borders with America.
On April 5, 1899, four Punjabis who had worked in the British Royal Artillery in Hong Kong, landed in San Francisco and were allowed to stay in the United States by the US Immigration Service. The grant of permission for them was an encouraging signal for others to follow those four pioneers.
There was an abundance of jobs in the lumber industry in Pacific states of Washington and Oregon and ample available land to farm throughout the Sacramento, San Joaquin and Imperial valleys of California. On hearing about the economic opportunities in America, many more Punjabis headed towards this far away land. The new immigrants found jobs which the white workers would not do, usually menial jobs in factories, lumber mills, railroad construction, farms, etc. They were needy workers who accepted low wages, poor working conditions and very often traveled from place to place in search of work. The employers preferred Indians to the whites for their willingness to do any and all kinds of work. As the number of Indian workers increased within a span of few years, they started facing discrimination and hostility, in the same manner as the other Asians who had come before.
The Indians in the United States and Canada, for lack of US or Canadian citizens’ understanding of religious or ethnic diversity, were commonly called “Hindus” (“Hindus”) irrespective of the faith of those Indians. The overwhelming majority of the arrivals from India were Sikhs who preserved their religious beliefs and practices by keeping their beard, long hair on their head and wore turban to cover them. They were easily distinguishable from other immigrant groups, but unfortunately, they were called “Rag heads”, a derogatory term used for the “Hindus” at that time.
Indian workers were either unmarried or had come without spouses, hoping to save some money and return. They were paid low wages and could afford to live only in the poor squalid part of the town or in shanty structures provided by the lumber mills or farm owners. They lived frugally, subsisted on income that was prohibitive for locals to survive on and many shared crowded lodging to save money to pay off their debt or meet family obligations back in India. Their lifestyle and living evoked hatred and contempt from the Americans.
Indians legally admitted to the United States from 1899-1907 numbered only 1967. The total number of Indians in the country, however, was larger as many Indians had come directly from Canada through the porous border between the US and Canada. But, concentration of Indians in a few small communities in the Pacific Coast states, particularly those with turbans, drew high level of visibility of their presence and provoked hostility from the Asiatic Exclusion League which carried propaganda against the “The Tide of Turbans” and “Hindu Invasion of America”.
Indians Expelled from Bellingham
Bellingham is located 85 miles north of Seattle in the state of Washington, 20 miles south of the Canadian border and had lumber and shingle mills. The owners needed a reliable supply of cheap manual labor and the new immigrants – the unskilled “Hindu” workers – met that demand. In 1907, the mills employed about 250 Indian contract workers who accepted jobs which white laborers had refused to do. They even performed work which could be in violation of labor laws but would not complain for fear of employer retaliation.
The unskilled white laboring men feared that competition from Hindu workers would displace them from their jobs and bring wages down. The union leaders wanted to maintain higher wage levels for their members and agitated bitterly against the employment of Indians. The union leaders approached the mill owners but failed to convince them to fire the Indian workers and discontinue their hiring. Some politicians perpetually starved for campaign money and union endorsement, willingly and openly backed the union demand.
The festering hostility of the union leaders and pent-up frustrations of the white laborers manifested in violence against Indians who had the least social or political power or protection in the city of Bellingham or even in the country. On Labor Day, September 2nd, 1907, more than a thousand union members and others paraded through the town to demonstrate their unity and show their strength. There was a beating of several Hindus which nearly resulted in a general disturbance. The union warned the mill owners that no Indians should be employed in the lumber mills or anywhere in Bellingham after Labor Day.
On the evening of September 4, 1907, a mob of 400-500 white men, predominantly members of the Asian Exclusion League, attacked Hindu dwellings, smashed windows and pulled the Indians from their beds. The rioters went on a rampage from mill to mill, finding as many Indian workers as they could while others ransacked the homes of the Hindus, stole their money, jewelry, bank passbooks and other valuables. They eventually rounded up about two hundred Indian workers, brandishing clubs triumphantly, and herded them to the City Hall basement where the Hindus stayed during the night for their alleged safety. The purpose of the racial attack was to “scare them so badly that they will not crowd white labor out of the mills.”
The nightmares of fright, brutality and vindictiveness forced majority of the traumatized Indian workers to leave Bellingham in search of safe haven. Some Hindu workers stayed nervously for one extra day in deadly fear of their lives just to draw their pay and get their checks cashed. Several departing Hindus expressed their disappointment for they had heard of America as a good place for laboring men, yet they were paid no better wages and became victims of violence and lawlessness in the presence of law enforcement officials.
Indians were British subjects but the British ambassador did not care to ask the American government for compensation for injuries or loss of property of the Indian workers. Since the media reported about the riots worldwide, the British Consul in Seattle visited Bellingham but did not care to meet or sympathize with the Indian nationals who suffered at the worst racial attack against them in America.
Some of the Indian mill workers went to Everett which is another town located sixty miles south of Bellingham, to work in the sawmills there. Two months later, on November 5th, 1907, over five hundred armed men attacked and beat the Indians, robbed them and destroyed their belongings. The result was similar to the incidents that occurred in Bellingham.
Similar assaults also took place in some cities in California, such as Marysville, Live Oak, and other communities where the immigrants had settled. The Asiatic Exclusion League and the labor unions used violence and riots, apparently as an effective method of excluding the “Hindu” workers from jobs and residential communities.
The race riots had a devastating impact on the Indian community in the Pacific Coast. Indians had come in search of a chance for a better life for themselves and their families and worked even at menial jobs. They could never have anticipated that America – considered the best among civil societies – had people full of meanness, malice and ill-will against different looking people.
Efforts to End British Colonial Rule in India
Higher education in American universities was a powerful magnet for young people even during that time. America provided them opportunity to “earn and learn” and so Indian students were attracted to seek admission in the US universities. However, several students upon graduation were not able to get jobs commensurate with their qualifications. The unfair and discriminatory practices were against the very ideals of liberty and freedom they had experienced in their university environment. The Indian students attributed the racial prejudice and discrimination to their being nationals of a subjugated country and thus wanted India to be free from the British slavery. They started fostering feelings of patriotism and nationalism among their fellow Indian immigrants.
Many Indians, students in particular, articulated nationalist feelings and started advocating freedom for their motherland, India from the British serfdom. They formed organizations to collectively assert their birthright to independence for India and explored ways and means to attain self-rule. Taraknath Das, a student, started publishing a magazine Free Hindustan in 1907 in Seattle, advocating armed rebellion against the British rule as a means for achieving independence. He also established the East India Association in 1911; G. D. Kumar started a Punjabi paper Swadesh Sewak in Vancouver. Har Dyal started Bande Mataram in 1909 for communicating his revolutionary ideas to the students and the Punjabi settlers who were already facing racial prejudice and discrimination.
Har Dyal who had come from England after relinquishing his scholarship and studies at Oxford University was identified with nationalist activities in the United States. He had been a faculty member at Stanford University for about two years. He inspired many students studying at the University of California at Berkeley and channelized the pro-Indian, anti-British sentiment of the students for independence of India. Two of his many student followers, Katar Singh Sarabha and Vishnu Govind Pingle later on played very prominent roles in the Gadar movement. Dyal’s fervor for India’s freedom spread beyond the university campuses to Punjabi farmers and laborers who had already been victim of racial attacks, discrimination and repression from the host community. A meeting of some patriotic and enlightened Indians was called on April 23, 1913, in Astoria, Oregon, where Har Dyal, Bhai Parmanand and others passionately spoke for throwing the British out of India and securing liberation by all means at their disposal. It was at this meeting that Hindustan Association of the Pacific Coast was formed with a major objective to liberate India with the force of arms from British colonialism, just as Americans had done more than a century ago, and help establish a free and independent India with equal rights for all. Sohan Singh Bhakna, a lumber mill worker in Oregon, was elected President, Har Dayal, as General Secretary. Har Dayal provided leadership for the newly formed association and was the central figure and the force behind the new organization.
Punjabis had come to the United States with the highest of expectations but they were disillusioned when they faced hostility, humiliation and racial prejudice from the American people. When the Hindustan Association of the Pacific Coast was formed, they whole-heartedly supported its objectives of ridding India of the colonial rule, enthusiastically became its members and willingly and liberally helped financially.
The association, headquartered in San Francisco, launched a magazine appropriately titled as Gadar for free distribution to promote the aims, objectives and activities of the organization. Gadar literally means revolt or mutiny and its contents were aimed at exposing the British imperialism. It carried articles on the conditions of the people of India under British rule and also on problems of racial attacks and discrimination against Indians in the United States. Through the magazine, the Indian people were called upon to unite and rise up against the British rule and throw them out of India. The activities of the association were intense and incessant. The Gadar magazine became very popular and over a short period of time, the association itself became known as the Gadar Party.
Gadar was published in Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, and in some other languages. The magazine contents expressed community’s pent-up anger and suppressed feelings and exhorted like minded people to join the association for the overthrow of the British monarchy. Within a short period of time, the magazine became sought-after periodical for revolutionary and patriotic ideas. The magazine and similar publications were sent to the Indian revolutionaries in India, Europe, Canada, Philippines, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Burma, Egypt, Turkey, and Afghanistan. Even if one copy reached India or a fellow revolutionary anywhere, multiple copies were reproduced for circulation. The visible effects of the Gadar publications started to manifest in India and abroad.
The Gadar movement became the symbol of political consciousness of the overseas Indians. Many committed volunteers opened branches of the Gadar party in other countries and worked tirelessly to promote the objectives of the party. They had imbibed the fire and zeal of revolutionaries and were motivated to fight for freedom for their motherland. The influence of the movement was so powerful that when called upon, over 6000 overseas Indians returned to India to fight for India’s freedom.
The British government got alarmed at the popularity of the Gadar movement and free accessibility and availability of the ‘seditious’ literature. They used every means to stop its circulation, particularly in India. They also tried to suppress the Gadar movement and had hired agents to penetrate the Gadar party and watch their activities. The British were convinced that removal of Har Dyal would bring an end to the revolutionary movement. At the behest of the British, the American government arrested Har Dyal in March, 1914, but later released him on bail. Har Dyal jumped the bail and left for Switzerland and from there he went to Germany.
Soon after the formation of the Gadar party, World War I broke out in August, 1914, in which Germany fought against England. The Germans offered the Indian Nationalists (Gadarites) financial aid to buy arms and ammunitions to expel the British from India while the British Indian troops would be busy fighting war at the front. The Gadarites started an energetic campaign to mobilize the overseas Indians in Singapore, Burma, Egypt, Turkey and Afghanistan and particularly Punjabis in Canada and the United States, and to inspire them to go to India to launch a revolution. They drew plans to infiltrate the Indian army and excite the soldiers to fight -- not for the British but against the British Empire -- and free India from the shackles of British imperialism.
The German government had great sympathy with the Gadar movement because the German government and the Gadarites had the British as their common enemy. In September 1914, Indians formed Berlin Indian Committee (also known as the Indian Revolutionary Society) members of which were Har Dyal, Virendra Nath Chattopadhyay (younger brother of politician-poetess Sarojani Naidu), Maulvi Barkatullah (after his death, he was buried near Sacramento), Bhupendra Nath Datta (brother of Swami Vivekananda), Ajit Singh (uncle of Shaid-i-Azam Bhagat Sigh), Champak Raman Pillai, Tarak Nath Das (a foundation is named after him in Columbia University), and Bhai Bhagwan Singh (he was the most wanted rebel by the British Government; his grandson S.P Singh lives in Atlanta). The objectives of the society were to arrange financial assistance from German government for revolutionary activities and propaganda work in different countries of the world, training of volunteer force of Indian fighters and transportation of arms and ammunitions to reach the Gadarites for a revolt against the British Government in India.
The Indian Revolutionary Society in Berlin successfully arranged substantial financial aid for the Gadarites from Germany. The German Embassy in the United States engaged a German national to liaison with the Gadar leadership in San Francisco. The society also commissioned several ships to carry arms and ammunitions and batches of about 6000 Indian revolutionaries to India.
The Gadarites also sought help from anti-British governments in other countries. In December 1915, they established a Free Hindustan government-in-exile in Kabul, Afghanistan, with Raja Mohinder Pratap as President, Maulavi Barkatullah as Prime Minister and Champakaran Pillai as Foreign Minister. The government-in-exile tried to establish diplomatic relationships with countries opposed to the British in World War l such as Turkey, Germany, Japan, and others. The Gadarites established contact with the Indian troops at Hong Kong, Singapore, and in some other countries and hoped for their participation in the uprising against the British.
Before leaving for India, the Gadarites had hoped that the embers of freedom had caught fire in India too and Indians were ready for a revolution. So when the World War l provided a golden opportunity for them to attain their goal, they hurried homeward for rebellion and overthrow of the British Government. The irony of that valiant effort was that while the Gadarites had gone to India to fight readily for the freedom of their motherland, the Indian leadership openly and willingly co-operated with the British, thereby prolonging India’s serfdom.
The traitors of the Gadar movement leaked out the secret plans to British spies. As a result, the ships carrying arms and ammunitions never reached India. Many Gadarites were taken captives upon reaching India. They were prosecuted and several were imprisoned, many for life, and some were hanged. In the United States too, several Gadarites and their German supporters, were prosecuted in the San Francisco Hindu German Conspiracy Trial (1917-18) and twenty-nine “Hindus” and Germans were convicted for varying terms of imprisonment for violating the American Neutrality Laws. [www.sikhpioneers.org]
The Gadar Movement was the saga of courage, valor and determination of overseas Indians to free India from the shackles of British slavery. The Gadarites had a flame of liberty lit in their hearts, and did not hesitate to make any sacrifice for the cause of freedom, dignity and honor of their motherland.
Struggle for US Citizenship
The United States citizenship conferred many rights and privileges but only “free white men” were eligible to apply. In the United States, many anthropologists used “Caucasian” as a general term for "white” in absence of any precise definition of word “white.” Indian nationals from the north of the Indian Sub-Continent and people from some Middle East countries were also considered Caucasian. Thus, several Indians were granted US citizenship in different states. Bhagat Singh Thind who had joined US army, also applied for citizenship in the state of Washington in July 1918. He received his citizenship certificate on December 9, 1918 wearing military uniform. However, the INS did not agree with the district court granting the citizenship. Thind’s citizenship was revoked in four days, on December 13, 1918, on the grounds that he was not a “free white man.”
Thind applied for citizenship again from the neighboring state of Oregon on May 6, 1919. The same Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) official who got Thind’s citizenship revoked first time, tried to convince the judge to refuse citizenship to a “Hindoo” from India. He even brought up the issue of Thind’s involvement in the Gadar Movement, members of which campaigned for the independence of India from Britain. But Thind contested this charge and Judge Wolverton believed him. The judge observed, “He (Thind) stoutly denies that he was in any way connected with the alleged propaganda of the Gadar Press to violate the neutrality laws of this country, or that he was in sympathy with such a course. He frankly admits, nevertheless, that he is an advocate of the principle of India for the Indians, and would like to see India rid of British rule, but not that he favors an armed revolution for the accomplishment of this purpose.” The judge took all arguments as also Thind’s military record into consideration and did not support the INS argument. Thus, Thind received US citizenship for the second time on November 18, 1920. The INS, however, appealed to the next higher court – the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which sent the case to the US Supreme Court for ruling.
Supreme Court Justice George Sutherland delivered the unanimous opinion of the court on February 19, 1923, in which he argued that since the "common man's" definition of “white” did not correspond to "Caucasian", Indians could not be naturalized. Shockingly, the very same Judge Sutherland who had equated Whites as Caucasians in US vs. Ozawa, now pronounced that Thind though Caucasian, was not “White” and thus was ineligible for US citizenship. He apparently decided the case under pressure from the forces of prejudice, racial hatred and bigotry, not on the basis of precedent that he had established in a previous case.
The Supreme Court verdict shook the faith and trust of Indians in the American justice system. The economic impact for land and property owning Indians was devastating as they again came under the jurisdiction of the California Alien Land Law of 1913 which barred ownership of land by persons ineligible for citizenship. Some Indians had to liquidate their land holdings at dramatically lower prices. America, the dreamland, did not fulfill the dream they had envisioned.
The INS issued a notification in 1926 canceling Thind’s citizenship for a second time. The INS also initiated proceedings to rescind American citizenship of other Indians. From 1923 to 1926, the citizenship of fifty Indians was revoked. The continued shadow of insecurity and instability compelled some to go back to India. The Supreme Court decision further led to the decline in the number of Indians to 3130 by 1930. [From India to America; Garry Hess, p 31]
Legal Immigration from India Barred
The continuing pressure of exclusionary forces and various American labor organizations against the importation of labor from Asian countries resulted in the imposition of further restrictions. In 1917, a very restrictive and discriminatory Immigration Act was passed by the US Congress over the veto of President Woodrow Wilson. The new law virtually barred all Asians from entering the US legally. It also imposed English literacy restrictions, allowing only those to immigrate who could read and write English. After the passage of the law, some Indians left the US in disgust while the new legal immigration from India was completely stopped.
US Congress Approves Citizenship for Indian Nationals
For years, Indian nationals continued to suffer many hardships, partially because they were not allowed to obtain citizenship of the United States. Punjabi Sikhs endured maximum hardships as they could not legally buy farm land, their only hope for economic emancipation. There were about 3,000 Indians who could benefit by becoming citizens of USA. But they had no legal avenue left after the historic decision of the US Supreme Court in Bhagat Singh Thind’s case. In 1943, Chinese obtained right of naturalization, so there was a possibility for a legislative solution for Indians too. But most of the Indians were skeptical as they had been knocked about so much that it was very difficult for them to believe that there was a chance of their winning. Joan M. Jensen, historian and author, described the plight of Indians as follows:
“Excluded from immigration, persecuted for their political activities, threatened with deportation, excluded from citizenship, denaturalized, excluded from land ownership, and regulated even in their choice of a mate in the States, these Indians now formed a small band of people set apart from Americans by what truly seemed to be a great white wall.”
Indian Community activists, J. J. Singh, Dr. Anup Singh, Syud Hossain, Krishanalal Shridharani, Haridas Muzumdar, Mubarak Ali Khan, Taraknath Das, and a few others relentlessly lobbied with the elected representatives of the American people for granting of civil rights to the nationals of India who were already in the US. Dalip Singh Saund helped with funds raised from the California Sikh farming community for the lobbying effort at the Capitol Hill. J. J. Singh, president of India League of America, had developed personal relationship with Congresswoman Clare Booth Luce of Connecticut. He persuaded the Republican Congresswoman Luce and Democrat Congressman Emanuel Cellar of New York to jointly introduce a bill for US citizenship for Indian nationals. The bill was backed by some major newspapers as also some prominent Americans including well known author and Noble Laureate Pearl S. Buck.
However, selling this concept to the majority of the members in the U.S. Congress was an uphill task, more so, as the passage of the bill could open the door for other Asians who were similarly deprived of citizenship rights. Indians continued running into roadblocks in finding a powerful ally to push the bill through the Halls of Congress. Fortunately in 1946, President Truman took special interest in the passage of Luce-Cellar bill which was finally approved by both Houses of Congress restoring rights of citizenship of Indian nationals in the United States. It was a great triumph for the Indian community leadership when on July 2, 1946, President Truman signed the bill in the presence of Sardar J. J. Singh and Anup Singh allowing Indians to become naturalized citizens and 100 Indians to immigrate every year. Truly 2nd July is the Independence Day for all Indians in the United States.
Between 1948 and 1965, many Indians who had been living in America for decades acquired U.S. citizenship. Dalip Singh Saund also benefited from the new law and became naturalized citizen of the United States. He had been active in the Democratic Party and in 1956 got elected to the U.S. Congress. Saund was the first Indian in the entire western world to get elected to a major political office. In the USA, he will be remembered as the first Asian to attain that distinct honor. J. J. Singh, Dr. Anup Singh, Syud Hossain and some others who actively lobbied for equal rights for Indians never applied for US Citizenship. They went back to live in free India.
Supporting India’s Independence Movement
After the unsuccessful attempt to free India from the British, there were still many Indians in the United States, who wanted to see India liberated. However, the Indian activists in the US, abandoned the power of sword of the Gadarites and adopted the power of pen to educate the opinion makers in America and decision makers in the Halls of Congress.
One of the prominent leaders of India’s Freedom Movement, Lala Lajpat Rai, came to the US in 1914 to elicit American support for the Freedom movement. He founded the Indian Home Rule League in 1917 in New York and in 1918, started publishing Young India as his organization’s magazine. He started publishing articles in the American media, cultivated contacts with intellectuals and gained the support of wide audience of Americans sympathetic towards the cause of India’s freedom. Unfortunately, he left for India in 1920 and neither the League nor the magazine Young India survived after his departure.
Dalip Singh Saund, who had started working as a farm laborer after obtaining Ph. D. in Mathematics from University of California at Berkley, was an ardent nationalist and used the platform of his position as the national president of the student body, Hindustan Association of America, to expound on India’s right to self-government. After he moved to the Imperial Valley of California, he continued to take advantage of every opportunity to speak about India’s right for self-rule. He also started India Association of America and raised funds from the California Sikh farmers for the lobbying efforts in the United States Congress in Washington, DC for India and Indian causes.
Anup Singh obtained his Ph.D in Political Science from Harvard University. He became very active in New York based India League of America, and later moved to Washington D.C and started The National Committee for India’s Freedom. He also published a monthly magazine Voice of India to disseminate the message of India’s nationalist movement.
J. J. Singh was a member of the Indian National Congress before coming to the United States in 1926. He was an importer of Indian goods and had established himself as a successful merchant in New York. In 1940, he became president of India League of America. He started the League’s mouthpiece, India Today which was well-edited informative monthly bulletin. He also expanded its membership base to include Americans, including Nobel Prize winner author Pearl Buck who was Honorary President in 1944. For all practical purposes, J. J. Singh had become an unofficial lobbyist for India and Indians. He convinced significant sections of the American public, including members of the United States Congress, that the time had come for India to be liberated.
J. J. Singh, Dr. Anup Singh, Syed Hoosain, Dalip Singh Saund, Haridas T. Muzumdar, Taraknath Das, Mubarak Ali Khan, and some other community activists had tremendous enthusiasm and abundant energy and used it all for the cause of India's freedom. They used their writings, speeches and connections with elected officials and people of influence to gain sympathy, support and endorsement of the American people, majority of the United States Congress and the President of America for the independence of India. For many years, these community activists provided dedicated and committed service for the cause of India and Indians and thus played the role of Indian community emancipators in the United States.
Second Phase of Indian Immigration
The contemporary phase of the history of Indian migration to the United States began with the passage of Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 which liberalized immigration, increasing per country quota to 20,000 people per year. That new law opened the floodgate of immigrants from India and brought thousands of professionals in search of educational and employment opportunities. The increased quota has resulted in the exponential growth in the number of Indian immigrants and the wave of new arrivals still continues unabated.
In 1980, the U.S. Census Bureau counted 361,544 Indian Americans and in 1990 Census, the count had doubled to 815,447. In 2000, the Census count was 1.8 million, again more than double the previous number in the 1990 Census. In 2008, the number has soared to 2.6 million and if those who are twice migrants (people of Indian origin from Fiji, Guyana, Trinidad and from other islands in the Caribbean) are included, the count would exceed 3 million. The immigrants from India have not only been growing in numbers but they have been significantly contributing to the fabric and economic progress of the US society. They continue to attain remarkable success in various fields of endeavors and several of them occupy positions of power in key American organizations, establishments and political parties.
During the past 40 years, large growth in the Indian American community has spread across many parts of the United States, in particular the New York tri-state area, greater Los Angeles, Silicon Valley in Northern California and Chicago. During the first several years, it was a time when immigrants from India met socially as Indians and made friendships as Indians; religion did not divide them; language was not a barrier; regionalism did not separate them. They were Indians by nationality, Indians at heart and viewed as a single entity.
Indian Americans are perceived as a very successful immigrant community in the United States. As their numbers kept growing, political and religious leaders from India found the Indian American community offering them a red carpet welcome. These Indian leaders started making frequent visits to their new found “colonies” and made every effort to rope in the money, knowledge and skills as well as the political clout of Indians settled in the United States. Interestingly, they also brought the divisive problems of religion and regionalism to their followers and supporters in the United States. Today the internal politics of India is echoed in the politics of the Indian community in the United States. Many Indian Americans appear to be more agitated and consumed by developments in India than the politics in their newly adopted country.
Indian Americans in the beginning were busy getting established, raising their family and relatively content with the material success they had attained in their new country. The community was marginalized, political involvement was non-existent and political activism was negligible. In some places, Indian Americans’ lifestyle attracted racial discrimination such as the “dot-buster” issue of the early 1990s (reference to the bindi adorned by many Indian women on their forehead). Their superior qualifications and meritorious work performance did not stop the artificial barrier of “glass ceiling" which prevented their ascent to managerial and executive positions. The courts did not deliver justice to them and the appeal process did not guarantee them the desired upward mobility.
The 1965 Immigration Act provided a “Family preference” quota under which immigrants and citizens could sponsor their close relatives. As a result, many Indians began migrating to the United States in steady stream with sponsorship from their family members. With the arrival of relatives from 1980s onward, the demographics of Indian community began to change from professionals to semi-skilled and less qualified immigrants, who found jobs in department stores, hotels, became taxi drivers, started as insurance or travel agents, or similar type of work servicing their own community. Some of the new immigrants with limited English language skills found jobs at Indian owned businesses which needed cheap labor for their restaurants, clothing or jewelry stores. There were some who, with the financial backing of their relatives, ventured to open small businesses such as gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores, motels, etc.
The age of information technology in 1990s brought an upsurge of high-tech people from India. Some came as immigrants while others came on temporary visas which many subsequently converted into permanent visa with sponsorship from their employers. The explosive growth of Indians in the United States created vistas of opportunities. Some high energy, creative and entrepreneurial individuals launched their high tech companies, particularly in the Silicon Valley and a number of them became very successful, wealthy and famous for their innovations and entrepreneurial ventures.
Gujaratis outnumber any other single ethnic group from India and many have flourished in the hospitality business. They control over 40 per cent of the motels and mid-sized hotels all over the US. Several Gujaratis who started with low-budget motels, now own and manage multiple properties, motel franchise operations, and hotel construction firms. Some of them are the owners of leading franchises such as Radisson and Hilton. The Asian American Hotel Owners' Association (AAHOA), dominated by Gujratis, has become a powerful organization in the United States.
There are many business owners who have multiplied their operations. Uka Solanki owns many Big Saver Food stores with an annual turnover of $100 million in Southern California. Gurbax Marwah of Los Angeles owns a dozen of Denny’s restaurants while Ramesh Goyal of Chicago owns over a dozen Dunkin Donuts stores. Sudesh Sood of Los Angeles has over 50 Jack-in-the-Box franchise restaurants. In the Indian grocery business, Patel Brothers from the East Coast and Kumar Jawa from the West Coast of the USA lead the pack.
The 1984 army attack on the Golden Temple in Amritsar spurred an exodus of young Sikhs from India, some legally, others without legal documents. Several young Sikh men, particularly from villages in Punjab, came to the USA to escape arbitrary arrests, torture and possible death. A large majority of them were unskilled and non-professionals. Those who did not have sponsors sought shelters in Gurdwaras, applied for political asylum or found other ways to obtain legal status. After overcoming the initial settlement problems in the United States, many have settled in jobs or occupations and some of them have prospered far beyond their own expectations.
Indian immigrants -- whether they were skilled or unskilled, operated restaurants, grocery or liquor stores, 7-11 franchise or motels, came as professionals, or under family reunification preferential categories -- they all worked very hard. Over a period of time, several have worked their way up the ladder and occupy positions of power and influence in the universities, hospitals, corporations and political parties. Many business people expanded their businesses, generated vast fortunes, contributed to the economy of their adopted land, helped in the growth of trade and industry and created economic opportunities through investment and innovation. Indian Americans make up less than one percent of the US population, but they have opened many doors of possibilities, far beyond their numbers, and have made an indelible impression on the professional and business landscape of America.
Not all Indian Americans are wealthy, professional or highly educated. There are several who make living by driving taxis or are engaged in similar activity for their livelihood.
Taxi driving is probably the most dangerous occupation in the United States and not necessarily the first choice for making a living and raising a family. Although taxi drivers serve an extremely important function in the transportation business, yet they do not get respectable treatment.
Thousands of Indians have no choice except to become taxi drivers to make living, in particular before becoming fully settled in the USA. A large majority among them are Sikhs and several of them maintain their religious symbols – keep uncut hair covered with turban and beard. Some companies do not even hire people with turbans, particularly since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 as many Americans frequently mistake them or associate them with Osama Bin Laden. That unfortunate attack provoked a backlash that included hundred of hate crimes, even the killing of a turban-wearing Sikh, Balbir Singh Sodhi of Mesa, Arizona. Sodhi was not a cab driver but many victims of hate crimes were in this occupation.
The Sikh taxi drivers often hear derogatory racial remarks, suffer harassment and are targeted for racial attacks, sometimes even from their passengers. Whether the motive is bigotry, hate, or robbery, some Sikh taxi drivers have been frequent victims of hate crimes. A few have met with violent, horrific and senseless death. Meanwhile, law enforcement officials have repeatedly failed to tackle assaults on them.
Taxi drivers, however, are a reasonably good source of local news and if they are first generation immigrants, they can give latest news and happenings of the countries they have come from. They generally are the first ones to get inquiries from passengers seeking information about restaurants and cafes. Thus, they can become among the best marketers, but businessmen have not used them to promote their businesses. If their marketing capabilities are utilized, they could play a key role in promoting Indian cuisine and direct traffic to certain selective restaurants and other facilities which contract to use their services.
Community Mobilization
With the increase in population of Indian immigrants, cultural, religious and regional organizations mushroomed at a rapid speed; some organizing themselves into national bodies. Indian professionals, particularly physicians who had problems of recognition of their professional degrees and attainments formed their own associations at local and national levels.
In large cities, regional umbrella groups such as Federation of Indian American Associations(FIA) were formed, predominantly to celebrate India Independence day, India Republic day, etc.
During the 1970s and 1980s, there were three dominant country-wide organizations, namely, National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA), Indian American Forum for Political Education (IAFPE) and Association of Indians in America(AIA), which promoted the interests and aspirations of the people of Indian origin. During the 1980s, there were immigration reform bills proposing drastic reduction in the quota for family reunification. These three national organizations went all out to fight against any reduction in the family reunification quota. They reached out to the Indian community in the US, joined hands with the other immigrant communities, collected thousands of petitions opposing the new bill, and worked with many members of the Congress sympathetic to the cause. After a long struggle, the US Congress yielded to the combined strength of the immigrant communities, accommodated the new realities and kept the family reunification numbers intact in the new bill which was enacted into law.
In 1987, the US aid package to Pakistan included supply of AWACS and other highly sophisticated arms to Pakistan. The leadership of these organizations again mobilized the community for the security of their motherland, brought busloads of Indian Americans to Washington D.C. from the neighboring states including New York & New Jersey, paraded the halls and corridors of world power center, the US Congress and the White House. They waged an impressive and vigorous campaign of opposing the supply of highly sophisticated military equipment to Pakistan, educated the members of the US Congress about the potential dangers of such supplies, and testified before the senate sub-committee, a rare honor. History is a witness, Pakistan did not get sophisticated military hardware.
During the civilian nuclear cooperation deal between India and the United States, initiated during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the US in May 2005 and re-affirmed during President George Bush’s visit to India in March 2006, the Indian American community played a proactive role in ensuring the passage of the bills introduced in the Congress.
Some Congressmen, such as Gary Ackerman, Frank Pallone, Joe Wilson and Joe Crowley – former co-chairs of India Caucus – openly supported the deal while many prominent lawmakers such as Democrat Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, co-chair of the Friends of India Caucus in the U.S. Senate, Republican Congressman Ed Royce, former co-chair of the India Caucus and the dozens of members of the Caucus on both the House and the Senate side, who never missed fundraising opportunities within the community, conspicuously stayed silent on the issue.
Besides NFIA, IAFPE and AIA, a few new Indian American organizations which have come up during the last few years, and some leading Indian American activists launched a massive campaign to push through the deal on Capitol Hill. The bills in both the House and the Senate were passed by a large majority of the lawmakers including those who initially were fence-sitters. The Henry J. Hyde United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act of 2006 enabled the U.S. to have India sign an agreement for cooperation as a prerequisite for nuclear deal between the two countries.
Another Indian American organization which has become a high profile organization is the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) which was founded in 1984 with a goal to fight restrictions against recognition of Foreign Medical graduates. It is an umbrella organization for more than 130 member associations nationwide and serves the interests of over 42,000 Indian American physicians. Since its formation, AAPI has steadily expanded its role and responsibilities. According to AAPI President, Hemant Patel, “We are making a difference in improving the quality of medical education and patient care by working closely with public bodies and governments of both USA and India.” AAPI has also established high level partnership with the government and policymakers in India. (Indian Express, April 11, 2008)
Political Activism
In 1987, an Indian community activist, Dr. Joy Cherian was chosen for presidential appointment as US Commissioner of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. It was the first high ranking appointment of an Asian by the president of the United States. Dr. Cherian’s appointment to sub-cabinet level position by President Ronald Reagan received swift approval from the Senate. The Asian media extolled it as a major milestone and Indian Americans were elated that their community received such high recognition. The successive administrations made several high ranking appointments of Indian Americans including those of Dr. Rajen Anand as Executive Director of Center for Nutrition Policy, Bobby Jindal as Assistant Secretary of Health, Gopal Khanna and Karan Bhatia. There are many more who have been appointed to various committees/councils at city, county and state levels in various parts of the United States.
Indian Americans do not form a significant “voting bloc” but do want political empowerment which would not come by seeking appointments only. They began organizing fund raising events for political candidates at city, county, state and federal levels. However, their campaign contributions translated into limited political clout. Some ambitious Indian Americans proactively engaged themselves in the political process of their adopted country. They had no constituency in any part of the United States where Indians could elect one of their own. But they had a role model in Dalip Singh Saund who in 1956 was elected to the U.S. Congress from a congressional district with a negligible number of Indian American votes. Saund was a trailblazer and many tried to follow his pioneering trail and some succeeded at city, county and state level. In 2004, Oxford-educated Bobby Jindal who was born of immigrant parents in the USA, was elected United States Congressman from Louisiana. Just 3 years later in 2007, Jindal at 36, was elected as Governor of Louisiana and became the first Indian-American chief executive of a state in the United States, a major milestone accomplishment.
Since the late 1980s, Indian Americans have started taking a more active role in both Democrat and Republican political parties. They also ventured to learn the rules of political empowerment and their political activism has shown results in seven Indian Americans getting elected as legislators at the state level. Kumar Barve is the majority leader in the state of Maryland while Satveer Choudhary is state senator in Minnesota. Raj Goyal at the young age of 26 was elected as state legislator in Ohio. Nikki Randhawa Haley, a Sikh Business woman, was elected in 2004 to South Carolina State Assembly. David Dhillon, a third generation Indian American, was mayor of El Centro from 1985 to 2001. David Dhillon’s grandfather came from India and settled in El Centro, Imperial Valley in California where many Indians during the earlier part of the last century had settled. Dalip Singh Saund had spent most of his life in the Imperial Valley which was part of his congressional district. Harry Sidhu was elected as Council member in 2004 of Anaheim City, home for Disneyland while Harvinder Anand got elected as mayor of a small, affluent community in New York State in 2007. Gurpal Samra is the mayor of Livingston (population over 10,000), near Sacramento, California. In Yuba City where Indian Americans constitute 10% of the population, two city council members, Kash (Kashmir Singh) Gill and Tej (Tejinder Singh) Mann were elected in 2006. This is the first time since the settlement of the first batch of Sikhs in the beginning of twentieth century in the area that two Sikhs with farming background have been elected. They are educated and have deep civic roots in the city. Kash Gill is Vice President of the local Butte Community Bank while Tej Mann is the Environment Health Director of Yuba County.
These Indian Americans have dared to turn to politics to achieve their vision and to raise the profile of their marginalized ethnic community. The voters who elected the Indian American law makers are mainstream Americans and not just Indian Americans who form a negligible percentage of the electorate. Indian Americans may not have any constituency with majority of Indian electorate but some political campaigns revolve around them for their fund raising capabilities.
Indians who came in 1960’s and 1970s are, by and large, rooted in the United States. They have worked their way up the ranks of American companies and have also moved with astonishing speed into politics. The Indian American lobby on the Capitol Hill is increasingly becoming important and showed measurable result at the passage of Indo-US Nuclear Deal by the US Congress.
Marriage & Family
The early Punjabi immigrants consisted of males who came as sojourners to make money and return to live a life of comfort back in India. They lived together to save money, worked in groups and moved from place to place in search of work. Many of them were young and unmarried while others had left their wives behind. They could not go back for a visit nor could they sponsor their spouses from India as changes in the Immigration laws enacted in 1917 barred legal immigration from India. Several of them married Mexican women while those with college or university education, generally married American girls despite the law in California which prohibited marriage between different races.
In the beginning, marriages between Punjabis and Mexican women aroused concern, some leading to controversies. But over a period of time, the relationship with Hispanic women became acceptable. Many marriages were successful but several experienced conflicts regarding raising of children, supporting issues and causes pertaining to the immigrants such as donation to temple, Gadar Movement, and sending money back home. Some marriages ended in divorce for various reasons and in a few cases, marital conflicts ended in the murder of the spouse. Prof. Karen Leonard of U.C. Irvine has written extensively about Punjabi-Mexican families in her book “Making Ethnic Choices”.
After the passage of Luce-Cellar bill, a few Indians went back to marry while some others sponsored their wives and children whom they had left behind years ago.
After India became an independent nation in 1947, the number of students seeking admission in American universities rapidly increased. With the liberalization of immigration laws, a large influx of Indian professionals started migrating to America, only a few with their spouses. The vast majority of students and immigrants went back to marry while a few found brides in the USA. “Desi” children as they were called, born in America, have faced duality between their parents' culture and the host culture and are torn between being Indian and being American. When the time came for marriage, the children were pressured or persuaded to get spouses from India, many with disastrous results. Now the community has become large, about 3 million, the preference is to find a suitable mate in the US.
Senior Citizens
The American system guarantees public pension benefit for those who have paid social security taxes for a minimum period of 10 years during their working lives. However, the social security pension is not enough for a comfortable retirement living. Americans who are not entitled to social security benefits but are over 65 and destitute, are eligible to obtain the Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Americans as well as eligible immigrants also get affordable health care after age 65. The Indian Americans who are entitled to Social Security benefits, are a part of a generation of savers and a vast majority of them have planned for financial security in their retirement years.
Indian parents made sacrifices to provide the best education to their children, particularly sons, hoping for a bright future for them. Many children who came as students or in search of opportunities at a younger age are generally well settled in the United States. They feel obligated to take care of their older parents in the autumn of their parents’ lives. For parents, too, America is a great attraction, ostensibly to be closer to their progeny and grand children. Whether motivated by family ties or compelled by other circumstances, older parents are encouraged to migrate. Sense of obligation takes over the problems of living in a joint family system such as parents’ uncomfortable level of dependence on the offspring or his financial and emotional stress to house the parents under the same roof. Nevertheless, the tradition of extended family of sharing the house by three generations, parents, offspring and his/her spouse and grand children is continued.
The older parents come to the land of opportunity, yet face many challenges in adapting to the new societal framework. They leave behind their longtime surroundings and familiar social networks and they now have to find a different comfort level of dependence on their offspring. Many times, the elder parents are sponsored to help with raising their grand children. They are also given the responsibilities of cooking, cleaning and maintaining the house while both their sons/daughters and respective spouses are at work. Although the children feel that they keep their parents occupied to avoid boredom, many parents lack the physical stamina to maintain the new way of life. Many have health concerns that often go unattended. They came to join their adult children, have never been in the United States workforce and thus never had the opportunity to develop their own social network. They have little or no social life of their own, and are entirely dependent on their children for transportation even to go to the temple.
In India, respect for the elders is traditionally woven into Indian life’s cultural fabric. But in America, where adult children can address their own parents by first name, elders from India and particularly those who have held an office of status feel slighted when much younger Indians do not show any deference towards them. They end up missing their network of friends and acquaintances, and find a huge social vacuum living in the new country. Leaving their longtime old friends and lifelong home exploding with memories, they have to live in neighborhoods where there is hardly anybody from their own ethnicity with whom they can communicate. Socializing with those of the same age and culture is, at best, a weekend opportunity when visiting a temple or attending a party. Several people find it hard to cope with the loneliness, isolation and sometimes exploitation by their own children. Some parents by habit intrude in their children’s life resulting in undesirable conflicts. Those who cannot adapt to the new situation go back if they have that option, while many others suffer from frustration and depression.
Indian Americans who have lived and worked in the United States for a number of years, have adapted to the lifestyle of their adopted land, and have become, somewhat if not completely, part of the mainstream. They have developed their social network and are not dependent on others for their communication or transportation needs. No doubt, old age is a vulnerable time of life for everybody and Indian Americans, even those who are in denial of aging, will not escape the problems relating to growing old. Although people in America are living longer and healthier than ever before, sooner or later, they will become an integral part of the swelling ranks of the elderly and endure trials and tribulations of the golden years.
Culture, Religion, Meditation and Yoga
Culture is an all inclusive term. Customs, traditions, performing arts, cuisine, religion and belief systems are varied and different, yet they are integral part of composite culture of India. In almost all parts of the globe where Indians have gone and settled, there is awareness of India’s culture, be it in the form of yoga, meditation, music, fashion, or food, it is widely known and accepted.
At the beginning of twentieth century, when Indians started coming to the United States, there was a low tolerance for the Indian immigrants. The Bellingham Riots in the state of Washington on September 5, 1907 epitomized the racial prejudice of the American people against Indians at that time. However, the majority of the immigrants from India kept faithful to their religious roots, some with a keen passion and continued to practice their faith by doing meditation, or holding prayers privately at their homes.
Since the 1970s, the United States has increasingly become a religiously diverse nation and with the steady growth of the Indian American community, the building of temples became a desirable focus of the Hindu and Sikh groups. The temples help preserve and sustain religion and culture and also provide an opportunity to practice religious rituals and to socialize with the new immigrants. The adherents considered their responsibility to establish places of worship not only for themselves but for the future generations. In 1976, the first Hindu temple, Sri Venkateswara temple, was built in Pittsburgh. Since then, millions have been spent on building Hindu temples and meditation centers in virtually every city in the United States. These institutions have helped maintain and promote Hindu religion, Indian philosophy and culture.
In 1893, more than a century ago, Swami Vivekananda introduced Hinduism to Americans when he came to address the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. He made a lasting impact on the delegates and for the next four years, he lectured at major universities and retreats. This generated a significant interest in Vedantic philosophy. He also started the Vedantic centre in New York City. After Vivekananda left the USA, other religious leaders came to spread Hindu religion and philosophy. In 1920, Paramahansa Yogananda came as India’s delegate to the International Congress of Religious Leaders in Boston. He traveled widely and lectured to large audiences in the US and in 1925, made Los Angeles as his base of operations by establishing an international headquarter for Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF). Today, there are seven SRF centers in California where Yogananda's meditation and yoga techniques are taught on regular basis. Bhagat Singh Thind who came in 1913 as a student started delivering lectures on Indian philosophy and metaphysics. His teaching included the philosophy of many religions and in particular that contained in Sikh Scriptures. During his lectures, discourses and classes to Christian audiences, he frequently quoted Guru Nanak, Kabir, and others. He wrote many books, had thousands of American followers but did not convert any of them to Sikhism.
Yogi Bhajan who came to California in 1969, started teaching yoga and propagating the philosophy of Guru Nanak and a form of Sikhism among Americans. The hippie movement was at its zenith then and a large number of American young people were using illegal drugs, particularly marijuana. He established Guru Ram Das Ashram in Los Angeles where his followers have been congregating regularly. He was an inspiring teacher and taught “Kundalini Yoga, the Yoga of Awareness.” Prior to his death in 2005, he had thousands of his followers embrace Sikhism. He was recognized with the title of “Siri Singh Sahib” by Shrimonai Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar. Yogi Bhajan made a “huge difference to the profile of the Sikh community in the US. He was also recognized by the US Congress for his services to the American society. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi started teaching Transcendental Meditation (TM) in America in the mid-1960's, through which he claimed to provide “a way for the conscious mind.” Bhagwan Rajneesh, known as Osho, too had a very large following in the US. He spoke of harmony, wholeness and love that lie at the core of all religious and spiritual traditions. He died in January 1990 but many of his followers still meet at various centers as also in Pune, the headquarters of Osho organization. Jiddu Krishnamurti was adopted at an early age by Theosophical Society president Annie Besant who took him to England to have him educated privately. Jidu Krishnamurthi wrote many books. But The Book of Life, which carried extraction from his speeches and publications, became very famous. The Krishnamurti Foundation, headquartered at Ojai near Los Angeles, California, promotes his philosophy through his books, CDs and tapes. Many more mystics and yogis from India brought ancient Indian philosophy and yoga to America and found fertile ground for spreading their message. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is the `new age' guru and has many centers all over the world.
Several faith-based movements such as, Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), Chinmaya Mission, Sathya Sai Baba organization, Ramakrishna Mission, and ISKCON have also large following. Some target the Indian Diaspora while others spread their message to the general American population.
Once an elusive practice, Yoga has now surged in popularity and its impact is everywhere: in movies, television, advertising, and schools. Several studies have shown that Yoga reduces back pain, relieves stress and improves overall health and has become as mainstream of an exercise as walking. Many Americans have incorporated yoga routines as an essential part of their work out routine. America is now dotted with Yoga studios providing easy access to everyone, including business executives and Hollywood celebrities who practice this ancient Indian art form. Bikram Choudhary has earned fame and fortune by teaching Yoga to Americans by opening hundreds of heated yoga studios all over the world. There are many more Yoga experts and teachers who have gained prominence in this multi-billion dollar industry. Swami Ramdev is currently the most celebrated Yoga teacher. There are entrepreneurs who publish Yoga magazines and yoga books, produce TV shows and make DVDs, manufacture Yoga clothes, Yoga artifacts, Yoga furniture and furnishings, Yoga foods, Yoga tea, Yoga energy bars, and hundreds of products and services.
There are many religious festivals celebrated with great enthusiasm by different ethnic groups from India. Diwali, the festival of lights, is celebrated by one and all, with great fervor throughout the United States. The annual observance demonstrates the rich history and traditions of the Hindu faith and provides an occasion for Hindus to remember their many blessings and celebrate their hope for a brighter future.
In 2007, Diwali Mela at Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Texas was a celebration of epic proportion. Hosted by the Dallas Indian Cultural Society, over 50,000 people from Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Arkansas, Oklahoma and New York, came to see performance of a professional Ram Lila group, hear Bollywood singers and witness the burning of Ravana’s effigy. It was a mammoth event, unique with no parallel to it in the United States.
In 2003, the President of the United States agreed to the long-standing demand by the Indian community and celebrated Diwali at the White House in the presence of several invited Indian community leaders. Since then, Diwali festivities at the White House have become an annual tradition which also shows the growing clout of the Indian American community in the United States. The US Senate and the House of Representatives in October 2007 unanimously passed Resolutions 299 and 747 respectively, recognizing the “religious and historical significance of the festival of Diwali.” The passage of the resolutions may be symbolic for some, but it is a testament to the increased awareness of Hinduism and Hindus in America.
For Sikhs, religious beliefs are an integral part of their lives. In the beginning, they practiced their culture, religion, and traditions privately in absence of a common place like a Gurudwara. But in 1912, they established Pacific Coast Khalsa Diwan Society and purchased land with a small frame house in Stockton, California, which was used as a temporary Gurudwara (http://www.sikhpioneers.org/articles.html). Three years later, they built the first Sikh temple in the United States. The new temple was dedicated on November 21, 1915, coinciding with the 426th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh faith. Many Sikhs would travel hundreds of miles on important occasions to attend the gatherings which not only served a reassuring link with their religion but also provided welcome opportunities to meet and socialize with other Punjabi immigrants.
The Stockton Temple became the center of religious life for the Sikhs and social and political life for all Indians in California, particularly for activities relating to the Gadar Movement. Many years later, in 1948, a second Gurudwara was established 500 miles away in El Centro, California. Today, Sikhs have built Gurudwaras in almost every part of the US and hold congregations on regular basis.
Baisakhi, like Diwali, is celebrated with equal fervor both as a religious function and as a harvest festival. One of the largest Baisakhi celebrations is organized at the Los Angeles convention center to accommodate over 15,000 people. The religious celebration included Sikh devotional music and a colorful parade.
Classical Indian dance and music are taught in private schools and academies which offer training in Karnatic, Hindustani, Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak, bhangra, bhajans, devotional songs & semi-classical songs and several other forms. Among the different classical dance styles, Bharatanatyam has gained the most popularity among the Indian students. Out of the folk dances, Bhangra with all its different variations has been attaining new highs as a medium of entertainment.
Punjabis have a vibrant culture and the Bhangra, the harvest folk dance and music is integral part of celebrations – weddings, anniversaries, parties. In the U.K, Bhangra bands are engaged for weddings and parties. Some night clubs in the US routinely play Bhangra music or have exclusive Bhangra music once a week. The Bhangra music has also found its way into the recording studios of some mainstream artists, such as Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, and others. Intercollegiate bhangra competitions where the teams compete for money and trophies, continue to give a new surge of popularity among the youth. Bhangra, although rooted in tradition, constantly evolves with several hip-hop moves with the changing times.
There are many different offshoots from traditional Bhangra. Bally Sagoo promoted an offshoot of Bhangra music and his signing up with Sony, showed Bhangra's growing mainstream presence. Daler Mehndi has made the sound of Bhangra-pop a craze among many non-Punjabis, selling many millions of albums. Popular Guyanese born Terry Gajraj has also composed many of his hits in the USA and the Caribbean with variations of Bhagra. Pepsi commercial featuring Bhangra music was a true sign of the emergence of Bhangra into popular culture.
Sarina Jain has made this folk dance into an exercise regimen. Masala Bhangra Aerobics Workout classes are taught in some fitness centers and she also has directed and produced a series of MASALA BHANGRA WORKOUT videos.
The Smithsonian institution in Washington DC is the most visited natural history museum in the world. A few Sikh Americans jointly started a very ambitious Sikh Heritage Project in 2000, to find, protect and display cultural and historical artifacts of the Sikhs at the prestigious Smithsonian institution. “Sikhs: Legacy of the Punjab” was inaugurated on July 24, 2004 at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. The permanent exhibition presents more than 100 pieces of Sikh artwork and artifacts, including miniature paintings, arms and armor, traditional textiles and dress, coins, musical instruments, jewelry, sacred texts, and modern works of art, highlighting the culture and history of the Sikhs. The Sikh Heritage Foundation, West Virginia, has been instrumental in the establishment of Sikh Heritage Gallery.
Yuba City – the Mini Punjab in USA
Yuba City, the headquarters of Sutter County, California, is about 125 miles from San Francisco. Punjabis came to Yuba City as migrant laborers in search of work over 100 years ago and faced enormous social and economic hurdles. They were peasant proprietors in India and their farming skills and willingness to work hard helped them find work. Some of them even leased or purchased their own farms and a few became successful and prosperous farmers.
From 1917 to 1946, legal immigration from India was barred and the growth of the Punjabi population in the Yuba-Sutter Area dwindled to a trickle. The post 1946 period when Indian nationals got the right of citizenship, 100 immigrants were allowed to come from India and slow growth of Punjabis started again. However, after the passage of 1965 Immigration Act, the Punjabi population in Yuba-Sutter Area started growing steadily and today, Punjabi community population is probably the largest over any other similar city in the United States. Punjabis now comprise over 10% of the total population of about 80,000 in Yuba-Sutter area. Several of them are engaged in agricultural or horticultural activities. In Yuba-Sutter County, Punjabi farmers grow about 95% of the peach crop, 60% of prunes and 20% almonds & walnuts.
With the sizeable increase in their population, the community has diversified from the core business of farming into various occupations, businesses and professions. Many Punjabis have become successful entrepreneurs, venturing into trucking, commercial property, and various other businesses and contribute significantly to their local economy. Several acquired university degrees and have gone into various professions — medicine, teaching, banking, engineering, etc. A number of prosperous Punjabis in the city own palatial houses and drive expensive cars. They endured tremendous hardships and worked very hard to realize their American Dream.
Yuba City is literally a mini Punjab in the USA with three Gurudwaras and a temple. “Sat Sri Akal” is the preferred form of greeting; speaking in Punjabi is not considered “foreign” and Punjabi is officially taught in public schools. A radio program in Punjabi is regularly on the air. The Punjabi American Festival (Baisakhi) is organized every year in May by the Punjabi American Heritage Society which was founded by Dr. Jasbir Singh Kang in 1993 to help the younger generation get connected to their roots. The annual event features some internationally acclaimed artists and hundreds of local artists, including students from California schools, colleges and universities, who perform traditional Punjabi dances such as Bhangra, Giddha, Jhumar, and other ethnic dances. The ticketed event attracts over 12,000 people and is aimed at promoting a better understanding of the Punjabi community, its culture, and the many contributions they make to the region. Many business owners rent display booths to put themselves in front of the prospective customers.
Yuba City is well known for its annual Sikh parade which draws a large number of Sikhs from the United States, Canada, India, the United Kingdom and throughout the world. In 1969, the first Gurudwara in Yuba City was started on the 500th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. Since then, on first Sunday of November, Gur Gadi Divas (Coronation Day) of Guru Granth Sahib (Sacred Sikh Scriptures) is celebrated by organizing a huge parade featuring many floats. The 28th annual parade in November 2007, attracted an estimated 80,000 people. The parade provides major economic benefits to the community as all kinds of goods imported from India are sold in the Punjab Bazar, a temporary mini shopping mall. Yuba City looks like a typical city in Punjab on that occasion.
Two days preceding the event, the 48 hour non-stop recital of Sikh scriptures (Akhand Path) is started on Friday. After the concluding ceremony (Bhog) on Sunday, the sacred Guru Granth is ceremoniously carried onto a lavishly decorated float. As the main float leaves the Sikh Temple to lead the procession, rain of flower petals comes down from a helicopter hovering above the parade. A band of dedicated volunteers continuously sweeps the street in front of its path. Many Sikh groups from different parts of the United States put up their own floats which follow the lead float. Many floats have Raagi Jathas (bands of religious singers) singing hymns. All along the route, enthusiastic devotees put up stalls to serve refreshments to the participants. Thousands of participants join the procession, many follow the floats while several thousand stand along the route and watch. The annual parade is a good source of economic benefit to the city. It is also a homecoming weekend for many younger Sikhs who have left Yuba City for other parts of the US.
Langar (free food) is prepared for the participants gathered for this momentous occasion. Feeding of over 50,000 people is a major undertaking and it is done with the help of volunteers who have the spirit of Seva uppermost in their minds. As many as 200,000 meals are served during the Guru Gadi Divas weekend. There is no parallel to the event in the United States.
Didar Singh Bains started the parade tradition in Yuba City. He came to the US in 1958 from Nangal in Hoshiarpur and worked as a farm laborer. He and his father bought their first farm in 1962. At one time, he was one of the biggest peach growers in California and was called “Peach King of California.” He is probably the wealthiest farmer among Indians in the United States.
There are also large Punjabi farming communities in other cities in California such as Fresno, Bakersfield, El Centro and the areas surrounding these cities. Some of the farmers have earned name, fame and fortune. A Sikh farmer from Fresno has earned the title of “Raisin King of California.” The New York Times calls Harbhajan Singh Samra “the okra king of the USA”. Samra specializes in growing Indian vegetables such as okra, mooli, tinda, bitter melon, Indian eggplant, methi, etc. near Palm Springs, California.
Punjabis have maintained their culture, religion and heritage and many Sikhs have also retained the distinguishing marks of their faith. They have invariably added to the ethnic and cultural diversity of America and have become part of the unique and distinctive multicultural character of the new society. They have contributed to the development of the country’s economy at all levels and reshaped the landscape of the cities and towns where they have their homes. At the same time, they have established themselves as a vibrant part of the society that has come to depend on their contributions in the local and national economies.
Indian Philanthropy
Philanthropy is an act of contributing personal wealth, goods, time, and/or effort to charitable or similar causes to promote the common good. Among Indian Americans, there are some socially conscious individuals who have donated liberally for various causes. One such person was Jawala Singh who in 1912 was motivated to fund the Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Educational Scholarships, which were given to students through a competition held in India for higher studies at an American university. Singh had started as an unskilled farm laborer in America and within a short span of a few years, he worked his way up to become a successful California potato farmer. He also contributed for the purchase of a hostel in Berkley by the Pacific Coast Khalsa Diwan, where Indian students could stay rent-free. Singh’s scholarships helped some Indian students including Gobind Behari Lal who came for graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley in 1912. He later became the science editor of San Francisco Examiner from 1925 to 1982 and in 1937 was the first Indian to win the coveted Pulitzer Prize.
After the liberalization of US immigration laws in 1965, Indians who migrated to the United States were educated and qualified as doctors, engineers, accountants and high-tech professionals. A majority of the students from India also adopted America as their new home after acquiring higher education from American universities. Thus, higher education and professional qualifications helped them secure high level jobs providing a gateway to middle-class life. Over a period of time, several became successful professionals and entrepreneurs and some of them became generous with their wealth. These affluent Indian Americans have been transforming the Indian philanthropic landscape by funding educational projects, establishing hospitals, and supporting medical research that benefit the public at large. Some have gifted part of their wealth for local causes in the US where they have earned their wealth while others reached back to their roots and gave for India-centric projects. There are some who have directed their contributions at both India and America. These donors first used their energy, ability and time to earn wealth and then they walked away from part of it if not all, to give back to the society that had given them. Almost all the philanthropists who have given large donations, gifted to established institutions benefitting the society at large. But, whether the beneficiary is Indian society or American, Indian American philanthropists are making a difference with their increasing level of generosity.
Rajendra Vattikuti made his fortune resolving computer software problems connected with Y2K and donated $40 million in 2001 to support cancer research. The gift created the Vattikuti Urology Institute at the Henry Ford Health System and the Vattikuti Cancer Institute at William Beaumont Hospitals in Detroit. Monte Ahuja, like most of the students who came in the 1950s and 1960, brought barely enough money to buy food for a day, donated $30 million to University Hospital in Cleveland to build the Ahuja Medical Center. Monte and Usha Ahuja’s donation was the largest single donation in the 140-year history of the university. Monte founded Transtar Industries and built it into the most successful after-market transmission parts distributor in the world. Gururaj Deshpande, co-founder and chairman of Sycamore Networks in Boston, Massachusetts, and his wife Jaishree Deshpande, established the Deshpande Center for Technology Innovation at the MIT School of Engineering with a $20 million gift in 2002. The Deshpande Foundation funds over 50 NGOs in India in the areas of agriculture, microfinance, livelihood, education and health. Dr Kiran Patel and his wife Dr Pallavi Patel gave $18.5 million in 2005 to the University of South Florida to build the Kiran C Patel Center for Global Solutions on the university campus. The large donation entitled the university to get state matching funds of $16 million totaling the donation worth $34.5-million. Both the Patels have contributed generously to several other philanthropic projects in Tampa such as a performing arts conservatory and a research center at Pepin Heart Hospital. In India they have set up a rural village restoration project in Gujarat while in Zambia they have set up Patel Hospice Center in Lusaka, Zambia and a heart hospital in Dar-e-Salaam, Tanzania.
Vinod Gupta, founder and CEO of InfoUSA, has set up Vinod Gupta Charitable Foundation and established the Vinod Gupta School of Management and the Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur and at his birth place Rampur, Shrimati Ram Rati Gupta Women's College, William Jefferson Clinton Science and Technology Center, and Hillary Rodham Clinton Mass Communication Center for Journalism and Media Management. Raj Soin, chairman of MTC Technologies in Dayton, Ohio, donated $20 million to establish a business school at Wright State University. He also supports the Soin Scholar Program, which funds the MBA education at Wright State University for three graduates every year from Delhi College of Engineering, his alma mater. He has established a non-profit 55-bed Sukh Dev Raj Soin Hospital in rural Haryana. Krishan Joshi, founder and chairman of UES, Inc, a high-technology research company in Dayton, Ohio established the Krishan and Vicky Joshi Research Center in 2006 at the Wright State University College of Engineering and Computer Science with his donation of $10 million. John P. Kapoor, a native of Amritsar, who came to the USA for graduate studies with a fellowship from the University of Buffalo, in Buffalo, New York, gave $11 million towards the construction of new building for the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2008. Romesh Wadhwani, a Silicone Valley entrepreneur donated $5 million for bioscience center to his alma mater Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 2008.
In the past few years, the number of India related chairs or programs in the universities have increased several folds. Today, such programs are in existence at Columbia, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, University of Texas, Austin, and University of California at Berkeley, University of California at Los Angeles, University of Chicago, Indiana University and State University of New York at Stony Brook.
The primary goal of funding a chair or program at a university is to create awareness and understanding of some aspect of India’s culture such as arts, music, literature, drama, philosophy, religion, languages, social and political system. The income from the grant is used in a variety of ways such as hosting of lectures, seminars, research conferences, publication of books, offering courses to students, encouraging study abroad, etc. to achieve the objectives outlined by the endowment. In 1992, the Indian community made contributions for an India chair at University of California, Berkeley. At the same time, Prof. Thomas Kailath established Sara Kailath Chair in India Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Narpat Bhandari, a co-founder of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE) in Santa Clara, California, endowed the Chandra Bhandari Chair in India Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1997. The Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Talat and Kamil Hasan established the Kamil and Talat Hasan Endowed Chair in Classical Indian Music with their donation at University of California, Santa Clara. Navin Doshi donated funds to create Doshi chair of Indian History in University of California, Los Angeles, and an annual Bridge Builder Award of $10,000 at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. Uka Solanki funded the Yadunandan India Center at California State University, Long Beach. Dr. Prem Sagar Reddy, a cardiologist in Victorville donated $1 million to Victor Valley Community College District Foundation to support School of Allied Health and Nursing in 2003. He has also donated about $8 million to various health care causes. Bhupesh Parikh and his wife Kumud contributed $1 million for the Bhupesh Parikh Health Sciences and Technology building at Glendale Community College, California.
Dr. Mohinder Sambhi, Professor Emeritus at David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California donated $2 million in 2007 to John Hopkins University in Washington for setting up the Centre of India Studies in memory of his wife Minno. Dr. Sambhi who was born in Ludhiana, had donated $1 million for a chair in Indian classical music in UCLA in memory of his late wife. Drs. Amrik Singh Chattha and Jaswinder Kaur Chattha of West Virginia endowed a chair of Sikh Studies at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in the memory of their parents. Dr. Awtar Singh established a fully funded annual fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley for a top student from Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh for graduate studies. He also established a fully endowed fellowship with the University of Colorado, Boulder that pays $5000 annually to a graduate or an undergraduate student with a parent or grandparent of Indian Origin. Lajpat Rai Munger of California donated a computer institute and land worth Rs 20 crores to the Punjab University in 2006 for setting up law and nursing institutes. Jagdish Khangura, an electrical engineer turned businessman, started “Baba Kartar Singh Dukki Higher Secondary School in village Larata, district Ludhiana, Punjab. He created “Baba Kartar Singh Dukki Educational Trust with endowment of Rs. 30 lakhs to meet the needs of students for books, bikes, clothes, scholarships, etc.
Darshan Singh Dhaliwal who operates over 1000 gas stations has donated $2.5 million to Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, $1 million for a chair at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, $200,000 for Modern Language Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin, Parkside, $100,000 for a soccer park and the list of his beneficiaries runs long. Dr. Narinder Singh Kapany established the Kundan Kaur Kapany Chair of Sikh Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1998. He also has established Satinder Kaur Kapany Gallery of Sikh Art at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. University of California, Riverside has Dr. Jasbir Singh Saini Endowed Chair in Sikh and Punjabi Studies. California native Hardit Singh Aurora has gifted an endowed chair in Sikh and Punjabi studies at the History Department of the University of California, Santa Cruz in memory of his son Sarabjit Singh Aurora. Ishar Singh Bindra and family have established the Sardarni Kuljit Bindra Chair at Hofstra University in Long Island, New York, to promote the study of Sikh religion, culture and history. In the same university, Dr. Hakam Singh of Los Angeles, a scientist and a scholar, has established the Sardarni Harbans Kaur Chair in Sikh Musicology (Gurmat Sangeet).
There are many more Indian Americans who continue to give their charitable donations to support various causes undertaken by nonprofit organizations. They want to make a difference if their donation is used effectively. According to Navneet Chugh (India Journal, Nov 30, 2007), India “centric” charities raised $30 million in the US in 2006. Some of the leading non-profit organizations which have been regularly raising funds in the United States, include America India Foundation (AIF), Share & Care, Asha for Education, Pratham and Sankara Eye Foundation. AIF whose honorary chair is President Bill Clinton, has raised $45 million since its inception in 2001. AIF’s initiatives center around education, livelihood, and public health projects in India – with emphases on elementary education, women’s empowerment, and HIV/AIDS, respectively. (www.aifoundation.org). Share & Care raises funds for a variety of projects in India and the US, Asha for Education collects donations for education of underprivileged children in India, Pratham focuses on primary education, and Sankara Eye Foundation supports eye-care programs in three eye hospitals in India. There are a number of other similar but smaller outfits which are engaged in doing an equally good work serving the people.
Conclusion
There are over 3 million Americans of Indian origin including those who are twice migrants and their number keeps growing rapidly. The pioneering generation of Indian immigrants suffered prejudice, bigotry and humiliation when India was herself a slave nation and was haven of poverty and disease. India obtained political independence in 1947 but economic emancipation came in the 1990s. Since then, India has been steadily gaining new respect in the comity of nations. Indian Americans have been contributing their due share in India’s emergence as an economic power and have added a special glitter to the resurgence of India.
The Indian community in the United States, considered as an affluent community, has become an integral part of the American landscape. Indian Americans have higher levels of education, large majority of them are professionals, several are well-to-do businessmen, and their average income is among the highest in America. They are also involved in the political process of their new country. In short, they have become a viable and contributing constituent of the American mainstream society and contribute significantly to the country of their adoption – the United States of America.
Inder Singh regularly writes and speaks on Indian diaspora. He is President of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) and chairman of Indian American Heritage Foundation. He was president of National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA) from 1988-92 and chairman from 1992-96. He was founding president of Federation of Indian Associations in Southern California. He can be reached at indersingh-usa@hotmail.com
