American-born confused desi

"American-born confused desi" (ABCD) is an informal term and ethnic generational identifier used to refer to South Asian Americans, particularly of Indian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi origin, born or raised in the United States, in contrast to those who were born overseas and later settled in the US.

Neologism

"ABCD" or "American-born confused desi" has become a polarizing factor in the South Asian diaspora in the United States, with first-generation immigrant parents and young South Asians of second or later generations. Though the term was originally coined in reference to Indian Americans, it has been adopted by the South Asian diaspora at large. The term desi comes from the Hindi word देश (dēś, lit. 'homeland'). The word has its origin in Sanskrit, dēśa, and is pronounced desh in the Bengali language. Desi means 'of the homeland' and is generally used by diasporas of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The phrase is not frequently used in South Asia and not seen as a set identity as it is seen by diasporas. The term has been commonly known among diasporas since at least the 1980s. The term confused is used to describe the psychological state of many second-generation South Asian Americans who struggle to balance values and traditions taught at home with attitudes and practices that are more conducive to the culture of The United States.

The longer and lesser known form American born confused desi, emigrated from Gujarat, house in Jersey (A–J) is also occasionally seen; playing on the alphabet theme, it has been expanded for K–Z variously as kids learning medicine, now owning property, quite reasonable salary, two uncles visiting, white xenophobia, yet zestful or keeping lotsa motels, named Omkarnath Patel, quickly reaching success through underhanded vicious ways, xenophobic yet zestful. The former version of the A–Z expansion was proposed by South Asian immigrants as a reaction to the latter version that derogated them.