South Asian Americans

South Asian Americans are Americans of South Asian ancestry. The term refers to those who can trace back their heritage to South Asia, which includes the countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives. The South Asian American diaspora also includes generations of South Asians from other areas in the world who then moved to the United States, areas such as Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritius, Singapore, Malaysia, Suriname, other parts of the Caribbean. In the United States census, they are a subcategory of Asian Americans, although individual racial classification is based on self-identification and the categorization is "not an attempt to define race biologically, anthropologically, or genetically".

Background

History

In the United States, South Asian Americans have had a presence since the 1700s, emigrating from British India. Classically, they were known as East Indians or Hindoos (regardless of whether they were followers of Hinduism or not) in North America to differentiate them from the Native Americans, who were also known as Indians, as well as from Black West Indians. With the arrival of immigrants from Bengal and Punjab, their population increased significantly in the 1800s. Since interracial marriage with white persons was illegal and South Asian immigrant men were unable to bring over wives from their home countries, Hindu and Muslim South Asian immigrant men married Catholic Mexican women.

Identification

Most Indian Americans do not identify as South Asian American or Asian American, raising concerns for the viability of it as a classification. The term "South Asia" is considered synonymous to the Indian subcontinent.