jha@uiucdcsp.Uiuc.ARPA (09/17/85)
Did you hear the expression "Oreos", or "Coconuts", :-) Seriously, the phrase "Asian-Indians" is fine by me. It has been in use for quite some time. BTW, a non-Indian is called a "firangi". Manoj K. Jha University of Illinois
dsouza@waltz (09/18/85)
How about simply "Indians" for Indians from India? Then American Indians can be called "Red Indians". Alternatively, "deshis" may be a good term. Or "janta", used on India campuses to mean "people" or "friends". What's nice about "janta" is the friendly "slap-on-the-back" kind of feeling it conveys. And, since it is a Hindi word, it need refer only to Indians. Non-Indians? How about "firangis" or "angrezis"? -dilip. TI/Austin.
raghu@rlgvax.UUCP (Raghu Raghunathan) (09/21/85)
> > Seriously, the phrase "Asian-Indians" is fine by me. It has > been in use for quite some time. > Manoj K. Jha The shortcoming with the phrase "Asian-Indians" is the fact that it ignores the "americanization" of these Indians. It gives no indication of the fact that these Indians have settled in America and may even be partly Americans (by citizenship or otherwise). To me "Asian Indians" could equally refer to people living in India, as opposed to Indo-Americans, who have partly severed their ties to India and are of divided loyalty. When they fully sever their ties to India, then they become just "Americans". - raghu PS: I like to refer to myself as an Indo-American since I feel an equal "sense of belonging" towards America as I do towards India (at present). If someone refers to me as Asian-Indian, I feel they are saying "Hey, you don't belong here; you are just a temporary guest in this country".