From: dogar@rtsg.mot.com (Haroon H. Dogar)
Subject: Re: Problems faced by Indian immigrants not common to Chinese or Japanese
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 22:44:54 GMT

amiller@almaden.ibm.com (Alex Miller) writes:

>(1) Religious misunderstanding

>There is little understanding of Hinduism and Islam in the U.S..
>Many Chinese immigrants and some Japanese immigrants converted
>to Christianity and received acculturation help from church
>groups.  Few (if any) Hindus or Muslims have converted to
>Christianity.  The caste system does not transport outside of
>India, making it difficult to maintain traditions.

Religous differences may have caused other problems.
Even those Chinese and Japanese who did not convert to Christianity
were not as restricted in their activities. The moral code and dietary
restrictions may have presented the South Asian with different problems.
[Eg. Alcohol, sex, pork (Muslims); Long hair, Turbans (Sikhs); Meat, Eggs
 (Hindus)]. In many ways, these problems faced by the more orthodox might
be considered more like the problems faced by more orthodox Jews than those
faced by Chinese or Japanese immigrants.

>(2) The U.S. image of India

>The 1900s romantic/exotic/mystic poor third-world image of India
>seen in American movies makes it hard to reconcile the highly
>skilled and educated professionals that have immigrated in the
>1970s and 80s.  In some cases, the image of Gandhi suggests that
>Asian Indians are no "threat", whereas the image of Hare
>Krishnas might be an embarrassment.

You might also consider the Indian image of the West.
Neither Japan nor China was "colonized" to the extent of
India. All of the psychological baggage associated with having once
been subservient to a perceived "better" culture presents its own
set of problems. In some instances it may lead to feelings of inferiority
and fear and an unwillingness to speak out against perceived injustices
or perhaps even a belief in the justice of those injustices [rationalizing
being past over for promotions by a less-qualified white co-worker].
In extreme cases, it may lead to a self-hating racism that leads one
to dislike other Indians. Of course, the opposite also occurs where 
the psychological baggage of colonialism leads to a hatred of everythin
Western except the material gains. Such people then try to dissociate
from the society and form little West-hating pieces of India in America.
These attitudes are projected onto the local populace which responds in kind,
thus proving the validity of the initial observations ["See? I told you 
we couldn't trust those people."]

>(4) Group Support

>Are Asian Indians less likely to form immigrant supports groups
>than Chinese or Japanese?  India's history was full of large
>empires with many different languages and little mixing.  Some
>of this is reflected in the caste system.  Is there less sense
>of unity and more focus on individualism?

I agree with your observation here.
It is a large and disparate region. There are different languages,
different religions, different customs and different values. There
is, to a certain extent, a great deal of group dis-support. It is 
not that people from different regions and different religions try
to hurt one another as much as that they don't trust one another.
I believe that the Chinese are slightly more and the Japanese much
more homogenous and thus less likely to face these problems. Recently,
the type of immigrant has also changed and this exacerbates the problem
because many of the prejudices and hatreds that existed "over there"
are now coming here. Initially, the immigrants from South Asia were 
laborers or "coolies" [from quli], but their effect was marginal. 
Later immigrants were from the educated classes. Recently, however,
not only are the immigrants from all levels of society, but the educational
institutions in South Asia have themselves become the modern battlefields
for the ancient wars of prejudice and hatred so that even the "educated"
immigrants often add to the problem. The diversity of religions, classes,
castes, races, regions, and languages make South Asia about as homogenous as
all of Europe with all of its ancient hatreds.


>I'd appreciate any comments, suggestions, and even arguments
>with the above.  My paper is due next Monday and I've discovered
>the internet is a fantastic way to discuss ideas.  I apologize
>in advance if my comments or questions are insulting to anyone,
>my intention is to learn.

Hope this helps,
-hd