Brown…or…not
From The Economist:
…For a new generation of British Muslims, such behaviour represents the stirrings of a new identity whose common denominator is not ethnic origin, but religion….…Soon after America’s invasion of Afghanistan, a poll of British Muslims found that among those over 35, some 30% saw religion as their main source of identity. For those under 35, the figure was 41%.
This is apropos of a thread at the brown-American weblog Sepia Mutiny which sparked a lot of debate over the term “South Asian.” “Asian American” was a catchall term formulated by activists in the 1960s to bring together groups who were tied together by common bonds in the United States (though not in Asia). Eventually South Asians (as well as Southeast Asians) were included under the umbrella of that identity. Asian-American activists have used the fact that Buddhism is derived from India, and has a clear relationship to Hinduism, to make a cultural argument for the coherency of the term, though the rise of desi or South Asian speaks to the reality that brown people are a people apart under the umbrella.1 The term “South Asian” seems to be analogous to Asian American in that it takes a real geographic and cultural relation and attempts to crystalize it into something with more concreteness. Obviously, removing brown people from the Indian subcontinent results in a shift in cultural context.2 For individuals of Hindu identity there seems to be a diminution of the importance of caste and ethnic barriers that were salient in the old country, so pan-Indian (brown, South Asian, desi) identitification becomes more relevant.3 But for Muslims, the relaxation of the peculiar constraints of the Indian subcontinent has resulted in the rise of religious identity because of the simultaneous emergence of non-brown ties of affinities (multi-ethnic mosques) and the loosening of a common sense of brownness (for example, dietary acculturation) among the parental generation who were strangers in a strange land. So, for South Asians of Muslim origin, I would argue that pan-brown identification becomes less relevant.4
1 – Brown and yellow don’t socialize to a great extent from what I can see, at least to a greater extent than other variables (working in the same lab for example) would make you expect.
2 – Also note that like a bottleneck, the Diaspora is usually characterized by skewed sampling toward particular regions, castes and ethnic groups, so there isn’t anything like a recapitulation of the diversity that is found in the motherlands. One reason there aren’t tensions between high castes and Dalits in the UK or the USA is that there aren’t that many Dalits who emigrate.
3 – I am speaking mostly to the modern West, but Mauritius and Trinidad and Tobogo have had 3-4 generations of people of Indian origin residing in a non-South Asian environment, and the extreme simplification of South Asian caste and ethnic markers is notable. Additionally, geographic distance has a large effect even in these two cases, Mauritius is far more “Indian” than Trinidad because it is still connected was still connected with the Indian ocean trade throughout the 20th century, and some groups, like Ismaili Gujarati Muslim merchants, have still retained a strong connection with South Asia through marriage.
4 – Among South Asian Muslim intellectuals there were always many camps. Some favored a transnational Islamic vision, which denied the importance of their Indianness. Some argued for a Muslim Indian nationalism (this was the original idea behind Pakistan, and to some extent became the grounding for the birth of Bangladesh with the “Indian” being replaced by Bengali). And then there Muslims who were more sensitive about the reconciliation of their Indian and Muslim identities. I would argue that in the West the balance of power between these tendencies has shifted toward the first because for believing Muslims the “push” of society that identifies them physically as Hindu (Indian) is not as strong as the “pull” of common religious feeling. Additionally, with the removal of South Asian environmental context many of the sentimental roots of an Indian Muslim identity, as opposed to just an unmodified Muslim one, disappeared.
Focusing just on IAs in the U.S., I’d say there is yet another phenomenon, but this time focused on the Hindu community. While the children of Bengali, Tamil, Gujarati immigrants readily join South Asian clubs, the regional Hindu practices do not dissolve. So you will see Bengali kids at a bhangra party, but they will still go to Durga Puja in the autumn. In cases where marriage takes place across linguistic/regional lines, there seems to be an expectation that the new couple will have to attend both traditional ceremonies. For instance, Diwali was no big deal among the Bengalis. In high school, when a teacher wished me a Happy Diwali, I was caught off guard. But, in one Bengali husband – Gujarati wife couple I know, he now holds Diwali celebrations in his home, while they also drive to his parents’ home for Durga Puja.
Due to the more heteogenous nature of Indian immigration into the U.S., I do not see the rise of one clear “Indian” identity for at least another generation. As for the place of Indian Muslims, region place a factor again. I find Hindu Bengalis and Muslim Bengalis interact with each other to a greater degree than Hindus and Muslims from North India.
South Indian Muslims (in Indian and the U.S.) feel more assured in their Indian background, possibly due to the slim chance of their being mistaken for a Pakistani or Arab. South Indian Muslims, while being quite conservative in some aspects, also seem to have a vibrant reform wing, headed largely by Muslim women. I guess it’s the no-nonsense reputation that South Indians have showing itsself.
RE: South Indian Muslims
It varies quite a bit. Hyderabadi Muslims, part of the mainstream Urdu speaking Indian Muslim milieu, aren’t that different from North indian Muslims or Pakistanis in the USA. Keralan Muslims, lacking the common central asian heritage and more Arab influenced, stand apart.
(Indian Muslims have a triple heritage — Sanskrit, Arabic, and Farsi. Keralans lack the Farsi.)
But I think Razib has the general trend right. If you don’t speak Hindustani (and 2 and 3 generation Desi Muslims won’t), don’t care much for Chapli Kebab, don’t care for Bollywood, what links do you have to Indian identity? You’d expect that, over time, culture will vanish and only religion remain.
Indian Muslims have a triple heritage — Sanskrit, Arabic, and Farsi.
What is Sanskrit heritage?
Manju — All those “Hindu” elements that the fundies are always trying to wipe out. Milads, Pirs, Mehndi, Caste, Dance, Music, etc. It’s probably the most pervasive influence, especially at the level of the common man. Arabic and Farsi influence are more pronounced in high-culture.
(Sanskrit, like Arabic and Farsi, mean more than just language here. If you prefer, you could use the words, Indic, Iranic, and Arabic.)
It varies quite a bit. Hyderabadi Muslims, part of the mainstream Urdu speaking Indian Muslim milieu, aren’t that different from North indian Muslims or Pakistanis in the USA. Keralan Muslims, lacking the common central asian heritage and more Arab influenced, stand apart.
i think ikram is correct. my parents had many urdu-speaking hyderbadi muslims who they were close to. the main difference between they and my parents was that the hyderbadis really disliked hindus and didn’t have any hindu friends (there is/was residential segregation in bengal, but the hyderbadi acquaintance of my parents once declared that if you never left the city you didn’t ever need to talk or encounter a hindu because the muslim quarter could provide everything and no hindus came there, probably hyperbole). as for the kerala muslims, my father would joke that he heard rumors about them, but had never met one, though he was friends with several christians from kerala (those friendships resembled ones with whites in some ways, a big cultural difference and the lack of a common south asian linguistic affinity). also, here is a quote from a kerala muslim (mapilla) i read once, “the north indian muslims are turks, we are arabs.” this of course gives them a “superior” lineage, as arabs are more authentically muslim (presumably) than turks (or persians).
as for KXBs point, it is valid. but, over time how many identities can you juggle? what if your half-gujarati and half-bengali child marries a punjabi? do you weight the identities quantitatively by ancestral heritage? all “trends” are in the long term epiphenomena, but some of the localized regional communities will dissolve rather quickly. mauritius might be an illustrate example. the brown community is divided between
1) bhojpuri speaking majority hindus
2) general muslims
3) shia muslims (who tend to be high SES)
4) tamils
there have also been attemps by telugus to maintain their own culture, but i gather they tend to either fold into the bhojpuri identity or tamil identity. the point is that cultural distance matters.
Ikram – you also left out shahdis, rasms, ziyarat, stealing shoes at weddings…
and bhel and samosas. you dont need to speak hindi or love bollywood to love bhel or samosas.
or to be a chai snob, actually.
good grief! well, I’m only an ABCD out to the I. Never lived in jersey.
I was at the city museum in Pittsburgh–I forget the exact name, but it amusingly has a whole exhibit on Heinz products from the past presumably because it was funded by the late Senator or his family. Anyway, this was at the height of my immigrant rights work (shortly after Special Registration’s rounds ended) and I sat in on a film on Pittsburgh’s immigrant heritage–Lithuanian, Polish, etc. It was interesting to see the traditional garb, and all the other things–contrasted with the Whitebread culture outside. It made me sad to think that saris that my masis wear would be disappearing (along with the other things mentioned).
But such is the fate of a sentimental traditionalist–those things are changing in India too, I learn to my discontent. I hope that some things are held on to, but I know that I’m more American than desi in my worldview (including in taking on a “desi” identity) and that too makes me a bit sad. To let go of the past–even if it’s not quite your own and stands for something else–is quite difficult.
well, one of the ironies about “overseas” movements is that they are often fossilized while the “old country” moves on. the last place in the world where foot-binding was recorded was in the chinese communities of sarawak…in the 1970s! similarly, quebecois and volga germans preserve bizarre archaisms in their language. perhaps we’ll see some of that with brown americans. i can already see that with my parents, they and their friends in the USA are probably among the last people who maintain the culture of bangladesh crica 1980. last spring when we went back my mother kept complaining about all the changes.
I guess you are using the term ‘brown American’ to mean an American whose ancestors come from the Indian subcontinent. I think this is a very bad term, since I’ve already heard the term ‘brownman’ being used to refer to people either of Mexican or American Indian descent (Kind of like ‘mestizo’, I guess). If you’re going to come up with a name for yourselves, because you’re always whining about how you’re so different from Chinese people, but still called ‘Asian Americans’, come up with some name not already taken by some other favored minority.
This isn’t completely on topic, but Maurutius is economically a fairly successful nation. It has a per capita GDP of $12,800 (not far from South Korea) and has started to diversify into industries like IT and financial services. Looks like the descendants of the indentured laborers from North India have done well for themselves.
name not already taken by some other favored minority.
i’ve already stated that latinos/hispanics/chicanos have enough names.
and don’t be an asshole. whining.
South Asian seems like it should work well…
I guess you are using the term ‘brown American’ to mean an American whose ancestors come from the Indian subcontinent. I think this is a very bad term, since I’ve already heard the term ‘brownman’ being used to refer to people either of Mexican or American Indian descent (Kind of like ‘mestizo’, I guess). If you’re going to come up with a name for yourselves, because you’re always whining about how you’re so different from Chinese people, but still called ‘Asian Americans’, come up with some name not already taken by some other favored minority.
Thanks for the advice. It’s always helpful to get tips from people outside your ethnic group as to how you should define yourself.
/end sarcasm
btw, Asian Americans includes not just “Chinese people” (by which I assume you mean East Asian) and BROWN South Asian people (which also includes a diversity of nationalities, ethnicities, languages, etc.), but a whole range of other folks as well that vaguely fall under the catchall category of Southeast Asian.
Assuming they want to be included in the category–which is individually chosen as well as context specific, for me at least.