From: mps1@cec1.wustl.edu (Mihir Pramod Shah)
Subject: Re: Problems faced by Indian immigrants not common to Chinese or Japanese
Organization: Washington University, St. Louis MO
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 02:14:37 GMT

To continue the discussion futher:

Discrimination against Asian Indians is an interesting topic.  Becuase of the
extrememly small number, this is hard to describe.

As many Asian Indians are on the forefront of professional and merchant
spheres, "jealousy" type racism is more likely to play.

To elaborate, I have noticed two, perhaps three types of racism in America.
The first is the "superiority" type racism.  Blacks and Hispanics have
traditionally been victims of this type, where people believe a particular race
is below or inferior to them.  They tend to stereotype groups with crime,
drugs, lack of morality, and promiscuity.

The second type is the "jealousy" type of discrimination, and I have noticed
that the main victims tend to be Jews and more recently Asians.  Here, because
of a disproportionate amount of success by one group, others may be resentful
enough to harbor discriminatory feelings about that group.  Many fail to see
the closeness of families typical in such groups, and other values such as
emphasis on saving and education.

The third type is "reverse" discrimination.  While most racism in America
before the 1960's can be traced to the "white" power structure, recent advances
for minority rights have allowed views to be expressed that some have dubbed
racist themselves, even though they were said by minorities.  Hence we have
incidences like Ice Cube and Sister Souljah.  I also might want to point out
racism between non-white groups, such as the tensions between Blacks and
Koreans in LA and NY.

As many Indians are quite successful, many have been targets of jealousy-driven
discrimination.  This is, of course, assuming the person knows that the Indian
in question is in fact Indian.  On the other hand, some comments are simply
making fun of Indian culture, such as older women wearing saris.

Such basic discrimination (general racism based on raw "foreignness" and not
superiority or jealousy) can be exemplified by the "Dotbuster" case in NJ.
Many Indians were harrassed, beaten, and one killed, by a group calling
themselves "Dotbusters", referring to the "bindi" that many Indian women wore
on their forheads.  Most of the "Dotbusters" were Hispanic or white,
demonstrating the unique nature of this situation.  In some areas of New
Jersey, many Indians are in fact not working as professionals or merchants, but
laborers and factory workers.  Many live in quite modest middle class
apartments, partly because of a typical desire for saving and less extravagant
consumption, and partly because of high NJ rents and property values.

The "Dotbuster" sentiment has trickled down to more affluent areas such as the
NJ suburbs of Edison and Iselin.  Here, many up-and-coming Indian families have
settled down with a more traditional middle and upper-middle class atmosphere.
Thus a little "jealousy" may be playing, but not as much as in other cases.

In terms of mistaken identification, there isn't as much as you would think.
Some discrimination is targeted against Indians not as Indians specifically,
but as a result of a dislike for anything "foreign" or anything "dark-skinned".
These people probable hate many other groups and not just Indians.  This
probably describes most incidences of racial insults and scuffles.

Indians may on occasion pass for Hispanics and Arabs, depending on complexion,
which varies GREATLY among the Indian popualation.  It may range from almost
white Parsis, mainly from Gujurat, to almost black Indians, many of whom are
originally from south Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh.
Hispanics tend to have a more reddish-orange tint as a result of Native
American heritage.  Indians have a more "straight" brown appearance usually,
but mistaken identity does happen.  

In conclusion, most racism is basic abhorrance toward general alienism and
foreignness.  Much is attributed to simple ingnorance and lack of knowledge.
Some incidences have a tinge of jealousy, while a superiority feeling is
conceivable in cases such as when an Indian doesn't speak "proper" English or
in the "right" accent.

Please note that I have tried to make my comments in a neutral unbiased tone.
I've tried to make the discussion as objective as possible. 

Hope this helps
Mihir