Asian Indians in Michigan [1 ed.] 9781609170486, 9780870136214

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Copyright © 2002. Michigan State University Press. All rights reserved. Asian Indians in Michigan, Michigan State University Press, 2002. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2002. Michigan State University Press. All rights reserved.

Asian Indians in Michigan

Asian Indians in Michigan, Michigan State University Press, 2002. ProQuest Ebook Central,

DISCOVERING THE PEOPLES OF MICHIGAN Arthur w. Helweg and linwood H. Cousins, Series Editors Ethnicity in Michigan: Issues and People Jack Glazier, Arthur W. Helweg French Canadians in Michigan John P. DuLong African Americans in Michigan Lewis Walker, Benjamin C. Wilson, linwood H. Cousins Albanians in Michigan Frances Trix Jews in Michigan Judith Levin Cantor Amish in Michigan Gertrude Enders Huntington Italians in Michigan Russell M. Magnaghi Germans in Michigan Jeremyw. Kilar Poles in Michigan Copyright © 2002. Michigan State University Press. All rights reserved.

Dennis Badaczewski Dutch in Michigan Larry ten Harmsel Asian Indians in Michigan Arthur W. Helweg

Discovering the Peoples of Michigan is a series of publications examining the state's rich multicultural heritage. The series makes available an interesting, affordable, and varied collection of books that enables students and lay readers to explore Michigan's ethnic dynamics. A knowledge of the state's rapidly changing multicultural history has far- reaching implications for human relations, education, public policy, and planning. We believe that Discovering the Peoples of Michigan will enhance understanding of the unique contributions that diverse and often unrecognized communities have made to Michigan's history and culture.

Asian Indians in Michigan, Michigan State University Press, 2002. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Asian Indians in Michigan

Copyright © 2002. Michigan State University Press. All rights reserved.

Arthur W. Helweg

Michigan State University Press East Lansing

Asian Indians in Michigan, Michigan State University Press, 2002. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2002 by ArthurW. Helweg @ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements

of ANSIINISO Z39.48-1992 (R 1997) (Permanence of Paper) Michigan State University Press East Lansing, Michigan 48823-5245 Printed and bound in the United States of America 08 07

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-TN-PUBLICATION DATA

Helweg, Arthur Wesley, 1940Asian Indians in Michigan 1 Arthur W. Helweg. p. cm. - (Discovering the peoples of Michigan) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-87013-621-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. East Indian Americans-Michigan-History. 2. East Indian Americans-MichiganSocial conditions. 3. Immigrants-Michigan-History. 4. lmmigrants-Michigan-Social conditions. 5. Michigan-Ethnic relations.!. Title. II. Series. F575.E2 H45 2002 Copyright © 2002. Michigan State University Press. All rights reserved.

305.891/411077421-dc21

2002006335

Discovering the Peoples of Michigan. The editors wish to thank the Kellogg Foundation for their generous support.

Cover design by Ariana Grabec-Dingman Book design by Sharp Des!gns, Inc.

COVER PHOTO:

The Grewal Family, courtesy of G. S. Grewal.

Visit Michigan State University Press on the World Wide Web at:

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To Thyra Jennings counselor, educator, mentor, and aunt and Laura Helweg educator, helpmate, and mother

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In a work like this, many people gave of their time and energy to help tell the Asian Indian story completely and accurately. In Kalamazoo, I am particularly gratefule to Vijay Mehta, who was indispensable in supplying and researching material. In Detroit, special thanks goes to Gurmale Singh Grewal and his daughter Mandeep for arranging meetings and providing insight. Kam Kamruwe provided invaluable help. Special gratitude goes to my wife Monica who patiently helped, supported, and understood the sacrifices made to complete this project. My institution, Western Michigan University, has provided financial support at crucial times. Also, my appreciation goes to Fred Bohm, director of the Michigan State University Press, and Elizabeth Demers, senior editor, for putting her heart and soul into editing and making fruitful suggestions. Appreciation also goes to Sandy Judd for her meticulous copy editing. It must be remembered, however, that the integrity of what is written is entirely my responsibility and any errors or omissions are my fault. ARTHUR W HELWEG

Kalamazoo, Michigan

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SERIES ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Discovering the Peoples of Michigan is a series of publications that resulted from the cooperation and effort of many individuals. The people recognized here are not a complete representation, for the list of contributors is too numerous to mention. However, credit must be given to Jeffrey Bonevich, who worked tirelessly with me on contacting people as well as researching and organizing material. The initial idea for this project came from Mary Erwin, but I must thank Fred Bohm, director of the Michigan State University Press, for seeing the need for this project, for giving it his strong support, and for making publication possible. Also, the tireless efforts of Keith Widder and Elizabeth Demers, senior editors at Michigan State University Press, were vital in bringing DPOM to fruition. Otto Feinstein and Germaine Strobel of the Michigan Ethnic Heritage Studies Center patiently and willingly provided names for contributors and constantly gave this project their tireless support. Many of the maps in the series were drawn by Fritz Seegers while the graphics showing ethnic residential patterns in Michigan were done by the Geographical Information Center (GIS) at Western Michigan University under the directorship of David Dickason. Additional maps have been contributed by Ellen White. Russell Magnaghi must also be given special recognition for his willingness to do much more than be a contributor. He provided author contacts as well as information to the series' writers. Other authors and organizations provided comments on other aspects of the work. There are many people that were interviewed by the various authors who will remain anonymous. However, they have enabled the story of their group to be told. Unfortunately, their names are not available, but we are grateful for their cooperation. Most of all, this work is a tribute to the writers who patiently gave their time to write and share their research findings. Their contributions are noted and appreciated. To them goes most of the gratitude. ARTHUR W HELWEG, Series Co-editor

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Contents

Introduction ............................................... 1 Origins ....................................................3 Punjab ................................................ 5 Gujarat ................................................ 6 Kerala .................................................6 Other Coastal States .....................................7 Twice Migrants ......................................... 7 The Old Immigration, before 1968 .............................9 Asian Indians Come to America ............................ 9 Asian Indians Come to Michigan .......................... 15 The New Immigration, 1968 and After .........................23 Life in Michigan ...........................................35 Residence Patterns .....................................35 Concerns and Solutions .................................38 Ties with the Homeland .....................................59 Accomplishments and Contributions ..........................63 Summary ................................................. 67

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SIDEBARS

The Mythology of Emigration and Immigration ................. 10 Population Profile: Asian Indian Americans .................... 14 Asians in Michigan ......................................... 25 Profile of Asian Indians in the United States ....................33 APPENDICES

Appendix 1. A Success Story .................................69 Appendix 2. Asian Indians Enrich State ........................73

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Notes ....................................................77 For Further Reference .......................................85 Index ....................................................91

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Introduction

~ the Asian Indian population has unique characteristics. Like many of

ompared to

traditional stereotypes of immigrant groups in Michigan,

their counterparts who arrived as a result of the Immigration Act of

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1965,1 they are not tired, nor poor, nor yearning to breathe free. They

originate from a democratic country, are well educated, and come primarily from middle- and upper-class families of urban orientations. They are also a community making significant contributions to Michigan, the United States, and their homeland. Although their prominence in Michigan started in 1970, their settlement in Michigan reaches back to 1924. Members of the community are diverse in their ethnicity, religion, caste, class, region of origin, and urban/rural membership; yet, there is a unity in the diversity.

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NOT TO SCALE

Figure 1. India's efforts to draw state boundaries along ethnic and linguistic lines illustrates the degree of diversity among peoples in India.

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Origins

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I

ndia, the country of origin for Asian Indians in the United States and Michigan, is a land of variety. The region includes sixteen language groups (with hundreds of dialects), four religious communities, and three racial categories. 2 In fact, the diversity of the country is greater than that of Europe. Although people from the Punjab region of India were the first people of Indian origin to enter and settle in Michigan and the United States, Asian Indians in Michigan now come primarily from Gujarat (30 percent), followed by Punjab (15 percent), Kerala (10 percent), and Bengal (10 percent). However, coastal states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh are rapidly becoming more prominent in this immigration stream. Immigrants also come from some of the numerous Asian Indian communities established outside ofIndia, such as those in East Mrica and the Caribbean. Recently, there has developed a new ethnic category-South Asian Americans. There are sufficient cultural commonalities among the Asian Indian and other South Asian groups in Michigan and the United States to clainI a common ethnic identity. Hindu concepts such as caste ranking, purity versus pollution, and hierarchy and social position being determined by birth are also found in Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, as well as the hill countries of Nepal, Bhutan, and Sikkim.3

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Arthur W. Helweg

Figure 2. Sources ofAsian Indian Immigrants in Michigan. The regions of origin for Asian Indian immigrants to Michigan had contact with the West during British rule. There are other regions of emigration in India, but the people of those regions have not generally immigrated to the United States.

India's people have a tradition of emigration. Since ancient times, Indian traders have traveled to the far reaches of the known world. Their Hindu influence can be seen in the mythology and religion of Thailand, Burma, and other parts of Southeast Asia. In spite of the ancient trade networks, however, permanent Indian settlement in these far-off lands did not occur for centuries. The factors that led to what is now a South Asian diaspora began with the abolition of slavery in the European colonies, especially the British Empire. By the later part of

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the nineteenth century, slavery had been abolished in most British and European colonies, and a new source of cheap labor was needed to work on plantations, make and improve public works like the Ugandan Railway, and manage the lower levels of the bureaucracy in regions such as East Africa. India was experiencing much drought and famine at that time. As a result, she was a ready supplier of the cheap labor needed in the colonial world, especially the "legalized form of slavery" or "new system of slavery"4-that is, indentured labors-needed on plantations. In such arrangements, workers from India agreed to work for a fixed number of years in European colonies in exchange for a meager wage, room, and board. When the system was abolished in 1920, Indians continued to emigrate for work. Although the vast majority followed the British colonial flag, their destinations were not limited to British colonies and included French, Dutch, and other holdings as well. Thus, Asian Indians are found all over the world. There was a time when the sun never set on the British Empire; currently the sun never sets on India's diaspora.

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Punjab

The Punjab, where Michigan's initial Asian Indian immigrants originated, is a butterfly-shaped region located in the northwest portion of South Asia and bridging India and Pakistan. It lies on the invasion route into South Asia, a meeting ground for Hindu and Muslim communities. It was briefly subjugated to Greek influence, as it was on the route taken by Alexander the Great when he entered the South Asian subcontinent. Many Greeks stayed behind when Alexander's great army moved on. It is also the birthplace of the Sikh religion, and claimed by them as their homeland. 6 Sikhs comprise around 50 percent of the political unit of India's Punjab population. Hindus and Muslims also originate from Punjab and claim Punjabi identity, with all of its positive connotations. Punjabis have the reputation, among other things, of being innovative, hardworking, and mobile. They are thought of as self-confident, honest, and willing to take risks. They are a people who keep their word and promises. Their loyalty to friends and family is considered second to none.

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Development agencies have encouraged placement of programs in Punjab because Punjabi farmers readily try new ideas and techniques. Ohio State University and Michigan State University have had a strong presence in Punjab starting in the early 1960s, which has been a source of information and education for emigrants leaving for the United States.

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Gujarat

Gujarat became the most common point of origin for India's immigrants in the 1970S. Gujarat is located south of Punjab and has the longest coastline of any state in India. The region has a tradition of business and trading going back to ancient times. The Kheda District, from which most Gujaraties in the United States originate, is densely populated, and its people are highly educated. They also, like the Punjabis, have had a significant amount of contact with Americans through U.S. economic development programs and visiting professorships in institutions of higher learning. Thus, when American immigration laws changed in 1965 to favor learning and skills over race, there was a cadre of Gujaraties prepared to take advantage of the new rules. In the United States, the Gujaraties quickly went into business for themselves, focusing on the motel, 7 real estate, and retail trades. Even most of those who were students, or in the professions, had a business on the side. The ultimate goal was to have control of one's own destiny.

Kerala

Kerala is a small state located on the southwest coast of India. It is the most densely populated state in India, and it nevertheless boasts the highest literacy rate (69.17 percent). The Christian church in Kerala traces its roots back to its founder, St. Thomas, the apostle. About onefourth of the population is Christian. This is also a matrilineal society, with women having a strong input in family matters. In the United States, Keralite women are noticeable in the medical professions as well as in domestic work and childcare. The population density and high level of education in Kerala, along with chronic food shortages, all

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combine to encourage emigration, especially to the Persian Gulf region and the United States.

Other Coastal States

Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh are rapidly developing states. The Hyderabad area of Andhra Pradesh is the new Silicon Valley of the world. Emigrants have played a big role in its development. The governments of these states are becoming very progressive, and rapid economic development is taking place. Along with this economic development has come an increased rate of emigration, especially to the United States. With this emigration, in turn, have come new ideas and investment, which have contributed to the economic growth of these regions.

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Twice Migrants

"Twice Migrants" is a term coined by Parminder Bhachu8 to describe Sikhs who had settled in East Africa then migrated to England. The term has now been expanded to refer to all people who have emigrated from India and, after residing in their adopted land, in some cases for generations, emigrated again to another place. In the case of the United States, most twice migrants are South Asians from Kenya, Uganda, and the Caribbean.

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The Old Immigration, before 1968

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Asian Indians Come to America

Although there have been a few Asian Indians in North America since colonial times, the significant influx of these immigrants began at the turn of the century with Sikhs who claimed Punjab as their homeland and entered the continent through Vancouver, Canada. They learned about the city from soldiers who had paraded for Queen Victoria's Jubilee in 1887. Many of the soldiers who were serving in the British armed forces in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia passed through Vancouver on their way to and returning from the Jubilee. 9 Their brief stay in Canada while in transit was pleasant, for they were welcomed and treated like celebrities. India's Punjab region has traditionally been, and still is, an area of high agricultural productivity. At the turn of the century, however, the region was experiencing economic problems. The population pressure on the land was high and increasing, the fertility of the soil was decreasing due to waterlogging and intensive cultivation, and debt was increasing among landowners. Alternative employment was not available, and political unrest was fermenting. Past famines and plagues were fresh in the peoples' memories. Thus, when the glowing stories about life in

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Arthur W. Helweg

Canada flowed back to the Punjab, there was already a contingent ready to take advantage of the opportunities in North America. Early Sikhs in Vancouver came from land-owning families of Punjab's Malwa, Ludhiana, Jullundur, and Amritsar regions. Though the stereotypical immigrant is poor, this certainly was not the case for the first Asian Indian immigrants to North America. The rich did not need to leave India, and the poor could not afford the passage. These first immigrants were of middle-class background, often borrowing money from their parents and families in order to make the trip. Emigration and service in the military have traditionally been a means for younger sons in India to obtain a livelihood, because landholdings would be too small to support the family if they were divided among all those eligible for inheritance. Thus, the younger sons of middle-class families usually emigrated.

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In response to hostility and violence in Vancouver,1O some drifted across the border to the Bellingham, Washington, area. Here they worked in the lumber industry but again faced mob violence and discrimination. As a result, they followed the railroads down to the regions around Stockton and Yuba City, California, to work in the rich farming regions of the Imperial, San Joaquin, and Sacramento valleys. There they initially did farm labor, but many soon bought land and settled in the region, developing prominent Asian communities in and around Stockton, Yuba City, and Sacramento.ll Opportunities in America were communicated back to Punjab, and other immigrants were sponsored. 12 California was the state of destination for three-fourths of the Sikh immigrants to America. It was from that contingent that one Arjin Singh learned about America. In spite of his affluent background, he wanted to enter the land of "bread and honey." The vast majority of the Asian Indian population in America arrived after 1965. Of the 130,000 who immigrated between 1820 and 1976, only l7,000 arrived before 1965. During the nineteenth century only about seven hundred merchants, monks, and professional men from India entered the United States, most from North India. Of the 7,000 immigrants who arrived between 1904 and 1923, the vast majority were agricultural workers from Punjab. However, anti-Asian hostility and restrictive immigration legislation of the day, especially in 1917 and 1923, virtually halted Asian Indian immigration. Between 1920 and 1940, 3,000 Asian Indians entered the United States illegally through Mexico, while several thousand students and merchants entered legally. However, between 1911 and 1920, 1,500 returned to India, while another 3,000 left during the period between 1921 and 1930. Restrictive immigration laws, racial hostility, and the inability to bring wives to America resulted in a decline of the Asian Indian population to less than 1,500 in 1946. Between 1947 and 1965, 6,000 entered as a result of the Luce-Celler Bill loosening immigration restrictions. The experience of the Asian Indians in America during the Old Immigration period (prior to 1968) had three themes: cultural survival, fighting for India's independence, and fighting for immigrants' rights in America. In California, there was a lot of anti-Asian sentiment, just as

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Arthur W. Helweg

the East Coast championed anti-Eastern European feelings. The restrictive immigration legislation that followed not only stopped immigration from India, it also prohibited Asians from bringing family members to live in the United States, leaving little communication with the homeland and virtually no reinforcement to obey or maintain cultural norms. Without immigration to revitalize their culture and with the emigration resulting from discriminatory laws and practices, Asian Indian culture in the United States was almost eliminated. The Asian Indian society in California was predominantly made up of men, who, due to the restrictive immigration laws, could not unite their families and, according to California state laws, were prohibited from owning land. Some turned to Spanish women, and this resulted in the creation of a new ethnic community in California-Punjabi Mexican. 13 Asian Indians in the United States supported the movement for Indian independence. Prominent among those calling for the expulsion of the British from India was Taraknath Das,14 who attended the University of Washington in 1906 and worked to politicize the Asian Indian community. It was also during this time that the Ghadr Party was formed-its goal was to raise support for India's independence movement. IS In fact, in August 1914 a group of Ghadrites sailed from San Francisco to Calcutta with the goal of staging an uprising in Punjab. They were arrested and the endeavor collapsed. The movement for India's independence was centered but not confined to the West Coast. J. J. Singh, a prominent member of California's Asian Indian community, attracted considerable support for India's independence with his pamphlet Famine in India, which argued that the irresponsibility of British rulers was the cause of famine in India. In response, British agents worked very hard to have Asian Indians sympathetic to the independence movement arrested for violating America's neutrality laws. Ghadr leaders were arrested and tried in what was called the "Hindoo Conspiracy Trial." Most of the evidence was supplied by British agents. Fourteen of twenty-nine were convicted, but the trial ended in a spectacular fashion when a witness was shot to death in the courtroom. Fighting for their rights in America was a third major issue facing

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Asian Indian immigrants. Asian Indians, along with the Chinese and Japanese, were plagued by the anti-Asian sentiment of the West Coast at the turn of the century. Not only was immigration denied, but some already residing in the United States were refused citizenship based on an interpretation of 1870 Congressional legislation that stated that "aliens being free white persons and aliens of African nativity, and persons of African descent," could become citizens. A literal interpretation effectively omitted all Asians from citizenship eligibility. In actuality, Asian Indians are Caucasian by race. Their ancestry stems from the Aryans, the same as the Germans and the vast majority of Europeans. The courts were not united on the issue, but in 1923 the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Bhaghat Singh Thind that "not all 'Caucasians' were 'white persons'" and that the term "white persons" was "to be interpreted in accordance with the understanding of the common man from whose vocabulary they were taken." Although Chinese and Japanese immigration had already been virtually stopped, Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1917, also known informally as the "Indian Exclusion Act,"16 which, along with several court cases, virtually halted Asian Indian immigration by 1923. In fact, to many who entered the United States either legally or surreptitiously, it was not the land of golden opportunity, and in the decade from 1920 to 1930 at least 3,000 left. After the Supreme Court ruling, the government commenced denaturalization proceedings against a number of Asian Indians. One of the more ironic rulings was that concerning Dr. Sakaram Ganesh Pandit. He went to court arguing that Asian Indians, as Aryans, were technically "white." He won the decision only to have it overturned by a ruling that decreed that Asian Indians were not "white," regardless of their race. In the meantime, Asian Indians on the East Coast organized themselves to fight injustices. The Indian League, the National Committee for India's Friends, and the India Welfare League were but a few of the organizations trying to reverse discriminatory immigration and naturalization laws at this time. Finally, in 1946, with only 1,500 Asian Indians remaining in the United States, the Luce-Celler Bill was passed, giving Asian Indians, among others, the right to become American citizens, to

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Population P~ofile: .Asian Indian ·.Americans

Ed.ucati.on

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percent with fewer than twelve years .of schd.ol

.15.3%

own property, and to bring relatives to America. With the influx of relatives after this ruling, Asian Indian political centers and communities began to develop. Most of these discriminatory actions occurred before the birth of the Asian Indian community in Detroit. Asian Indians in Detroit, like many of their counterparts in California, worked hard and sent a lot of money back to their families in India. The people by whom they wished to be respected were in India. In Michigan they did not suffer the discrimination or anti-Asian sentiment that had swept through the West Coast. They made good money in industry.

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Asian Indians Come to Michigan

The identities of the first Asian Indians in Michigan have been lost, but it is known that Asian Indian immigrants first entered Michigan in the early 1920S. Among these early immigrants were some Bengali Muslim men who ended up marrying African American women. Their descedents claim to be Afro-Indians and are still present in the Detroit area. Little is known about them, however, in the Asian Indian community. In fact, little is known about any of these early settlers, especially those who married white women. There were also Asian Indian students at the University of Michigan and others working at the Ford Motor Company in the early 1920S. However, the present community began in 1924 with the arrival of Sarwan Singh Grewal, Arjin Singh, and four others I call the "original

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six."

Arjin Singh, a Sikh Jat who originated from India's rural Punjab, and some of his friends, moved from California to Michigan. 17 They were attracted by the high wages of the auto industry and the educational opportunities at the University of Michigan.l 8 They settled in Detroit. Their experience is typified by that of Arjin Singh. He was born in 1896 into a landed family and studied at Khalsa College in Amritsar. 19 In 1921, he left his wife, three-year-old son, and one-year-old daughter in the care of his father in his home village in Punjab. He was not to see his family and friends again for twenty-eight years. "There was a fever to go to America," he said. "One of the attractions of the States was that you could 'earn and learn.' This meant that you could work and go to college simultaneously." He further elaborated: In India my father was a landlord, and I did not have to work. He had

served the British as a Cavalry Officer and saw action in France in 1914. As a reward, he had a good pension and land in Punjab. I had a career,

but the reputation of opportunity and prestige . . . [in] America was great. Thus, I gave up a good easy life and prestige to leave India for America. My father gave me financial help, and I left Calcutta on January 19, 1922. I stopped in Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai,

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Figure 3. Arjin Singh and four fellow students while attending the University of Michigan. The individual on the left is Pratap Singh Karon, who became minister of the Indian state of Punjab. Arjin Singh is in the center. Courtesy of G. S. Grewal.

Kobi, ... Yokohama (I spent two weeks in Japan with two Sindhi friends), [and) Hawaii and landed in San Francisco on March 19, 1922.20 When I arrived in California, I was given a shovel, and I had to work, doing hard labor unlike anything I [had) experienced in India. However, we did not want to shame ourselves and our families by returning after the opportunity to make our fortune in America. Thus, we remained and worked hard on the farms in the Sacramento Valley.

While in California, Arjin Singh worked, attended classes at the University of California, and sent money back to India. 21 In fact, he, like

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many immigrants, worked harder in the United States than he had in his own country. Yet he wanted to be perceived as successful. He sent money back home, and in his communications with India he stressed the positive and neglected or downplayed the negative-something most immigrants do, even today, whether rich or poor. The automobile industry was expanding and Henry Ford was paying top wageS-$5.00 a day.22 Recruiters traveled throughout the United States, especially the rural areas, and abroad to find workers for Michigan's exploding industry.23 A Mr. Mathur was in California recruiting workers for the Ford Motor Company. As Arjin Singh related: Mathur recruited Hindus or shaven SHills, but would not include those with beards. We had the Gurdwara priest write a letter to Mr. Ford telling him that we were qualified and willing to work for him. Mr. Ford replied and asked how many Sikhs wanted to work for him. We sent a telegram saying there were 50 Sikhs ready to be employed. He had us select two representatives to meet with him in Detroit. Belvant Singh and I went, and this resulted in twenty-five Sikhs working for Mr. Ford. I started working for Mr. Ford in 1924 and remained with the com-

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pany for forty-two years-retiring in 1966. Some worked and studied at the University of Michigan. They learned agriculture so they could use their knowledge upon returning to Punjab. Western education was highly respected in India, and Lal Singh, who was educated in the States, became the Minister of Agriculture. I remained with Mr. Ford. I did everything-welding, painting, and tooling. I was never laid off. During the Depression, Mrs. Ford interceded and made sure that we had work. Mr. Ford stuck up for us. He told immigration authorities that we were in training, thus we could keep our student visas.

In 1923 and 1924 Henry Ford wanted to train students from sixteen nations to set up dealerships throughout the world. He and other manufacturers recruited and trained a number of foreign nationals, including those from India. 24 Few in the end returned home as car dealers, but

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Figure 4. Hindusthan Industrial Association-May 1930. Kirpa Singh (back row, third from left) returned to his home district of Amritsar in India, where he became a college principal. Arjin Singh (back row, fourth from left), founded the first Sikh temple in Michigan, where he died at the age of97. Channan Singh Gill (front row, third from left), from the district of Ludhiana, India, had a degree in mechanical engineering and worked for Ford Motor Company. Sarwan Singh Grewal (front row, fourth from left), also from Ludhiana, settled in Detroit where his sons established the Singh Development Company after their fathers legacy. Courtesy of G. s. Grewal.

many did return. 25 Among Arjin Singh's friends, Kirpa Singh became a priest for the Gurdwara in Stockton, California, and eventually returned to India. Darbara Singh Sodhi returned to India and became the principal of Khalsa College in Bombay. Partap Singh Kairon attended the University of Michigan and became chief minister of Punjab in January 1956.26

Arjin Singh and four friends initially lived at 250 Victor Avenue in Highland Park, which is now a factory. They shared the second floor of a two-story house. He lived there for twenty-two years, renting from a German family. When the head of the German family died, Arjin and his friends paid the $lO,OOO owed by him in back taxes, thus saving the house for the widow and her nine daughters. The house was sold in 1946, and the German lady remarried, but she and her daughters continued to include Singh in birthday, Christmas, and other celebrations.

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"During those early years, there was no discrimination towards us," Singh stated. Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Sikhs all lived together like brothers. We formed the Alllndia Brotherhood Association, and I became president. Our organization entertained ambassadors from India, such as Rama Rao and Asaf Ali. We also helped new immigrants get settled by

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hosting them and showing them American ways.

Singh and many of his compatriots were shy about making white friends, so the Asian Indians formed their own associations and had a social life within their own group. They socialized over meals and at bars. The Asian Indian community in Detroit maintained contact with other Asian Indians in the United States. To raise money for a Gurdwara, they solicited funds from Sikhs all over the United States, receiving their initial $100 contribution from Bhaghat Singh Thind, a renowned holy man whose primary notoriety came as a result of his unsuccessful legal challenge to naturalization legislation that prohibited people of Asian Indian origin from becoming citizens. Although they did not gain notoriety, the group also supported India's struggle for independence, but ties to India and communications with other revolutionaries in the United States were not efficient.27 Although significant immigration from India to the United States had begun around the turn of the century, the later implementation of restrictive legislation, active discrimination against Asian Indians, and the 1930S depression resulted in a decline in the Asian Indian population. To illustrate, there were 10,000 people ofIndian origin in California in 1914. That number dropped to 1,476 in 194028 and to 2,544 for the country as a whole. After the passage of the Luce-Celler Act in 1946, 7,000 Asian Indians entered the United States and 1,780 Asian Indians became citizens between 1948 and 1965. During this restrictive period, AIjin Singh experienced harassment by immigration officials, because Asian Indians were considered to be Asians, not whites. Singh saved $20,000 by encouraging Canadian immigration for relatives and then having them enter the United States

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Arthur W. Helweg

from Canada, as a loophole in the immigration laws allowed those coming from Canada to be treated as Europeans, not Asians. By 1991 Arjin Singh was directly or indirectly responsible for fifty people immigrating to the United States. It was not easy, as Singh related: Immigration authorities continually harassed us. When I brought my relatives, immigration authorities were always threatening to deport those I sponsored. Senators like Philip Hart of Michigan, Senator Cooper of Kentucky and John E Kennedy of Massachusetts passed special legislation so my relatives, and those of other Indians, could stay in this country. That is why I and most Indians of our generation

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are loyal to the Democratic Party.29

Singh's remittances to his family in India, like those of other Asian Indians, were used to build big houses, dig wells, buy tractors and fertilizers, purchase new seed varieties, and make the lives of his kinsmen prosperous and prestigious. Singh could not return to India without forfeiting American residence until 1947, when the Luce-Celler Billioosened restrictions. Arjin Singh became a U.S. citizen in 1948 and returned to his home village for a visit in December 1950. His mother had died in 1946 but his father was still alive. In Punjab, he saw the fruits of his remittances, including a twostory house, more than forty acres of highly productive land, and a prosperous family using high technology. The Punjabi soil was yielding a bountiful harvest. His father had maintained the family's esteem in their village, and Arjin had helped make it possible. He enabled his children to have lavish weddings, his relatives to have financial and political power, and his kinsmen to migrate to America. These all enhanced the izzat, or mann (honor) of his family.30 He returned annually and witnessed the fruits of his sacrifices. In 1952, Arjin Singh began sponsoring relatives in immigrating to America. He started with his grandchildren, posting a $6,000 bond for each. It was a good investment. Beant Singh Sandhu, one grandchild, went to Lawrence Technical School and studied engineering. He is now president of Precision Hardware Company and has eighty people

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Figure 5. A Sikh from Detroit visits his village of origin in India's Punjab. Visiting and maintaining an ongoing relationship with friends and family in India, especially in one's village of origin, is common with the efficient global transportation and communications systems now in place. Courtesy of G. S. Grewal.

reporting to him. Another worked at Ford until 1971. Sukhdev Singh, another relative, emphasized the trades and now owns a locksmith company. The small family business he worked for was pleased with his efforts and sponsored him under the skilled persons criterion in 1974. Some of his great-grandchildren are now in medical school. California was the center of the Asian Indian community in the United States through the 1960s, and most of the writings about Asian Indians in the United States have focused on the California experience. Life in Michigan for people originating from India certainly had commonalities with that of those in California. Due to immigration laws, Asian Indians could not bring their spouses to America, nor could they return to their homeland, even for a visit, for fear of not being able reenter the United States. Thus the community in Detroit, like that in California, was composed primarily of males whose orientation was toward their village of origin. Yet there were major differences between the situation of Asian Indians in Michigan and their compatriots in California. In Michigan,

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Arthur W. Helweg

men worked in factories rather than on farms, so they did not build an ethnic economic base like they did in California, where Asian Indians bought land and continued their traditional means of obtaining a livelihood-that is, farming the land. Furthermore, unlike their compatriots in California, Asian Indians in Michigan did not marry Spanish or white women to circumvent state laws that limited property ownership to United States citizens. In fact, Michigan did not have such laws. Men like Arjin Singh have sacrificed a lot. Was it worth it? Arjin Singh was adamant. His wife was faithful to him, his family is prosperous and highly respected in Punjab, and many of his relatives have prosperous lives in America. Late in his life, his grandson made him give up living alone to move into his family's home. "That indicates the respect and love they have for me," he said with a smile, quick to add that he missed his independent lifestyle. Arjin not only served his family and home village, he also was a leader in Detroit. He was instrumental in the founding of the Gurdwara of Detroit in 1970. Due to his leadership, the Sikhs are planning a new thirty-seven acre complex, to include a Gurdwara and, subsequently, in order of priority, a retirement home for the elderly, a school for Sikh children, and social and recreational facilities for the community. The proposed Gurdwara will not be just a place of worship but also a community center for Sikhs. As Arjin Singh saw it, success such as his could only have happened in America. The pride of being a United States citizen showed on his face and a tear of joy flowed down his cheek. He blessed America for the opportunities that were provided to him.

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The New Immigration, 1968 and Afte(l

ontrary

~ Movement were not limited to freedom, equality, and rights for to popular opinion, the ramifications of the Civil Rights

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African Americans. In fact, this movement pricked the conscience of the nation so deeply that other institutions were looked into as well. U.S. immigration laws and practices were found to be racist and to promote inequality, a situation that was remedied by the Immigration Act ofI965. The effects of the 1965 immigration laws were visible by 1970, as students and highly educated people in the professions dominated the Asian Indian influx that was termed the new immigration.32 Because of the family reunification clause in U.S. immigration legislation, the uneducated element began increasing in 1980. However, the overall education level of the Asian Indians remains one of the highest in the United States. The post-1965 immigrant experience differs from that of their predecessors. The 1965 legislation eliminated quotas based on race and nation of origin and gave admission based upon qualifications of the applicant and needs of the United States. India had a ready pool of highly educated, technically trained individuals who were qualified and took advantage of the new regulations. By 1970, Asian Indians,

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Arthur W. Helweg

along with other Asians, had become a prominent part of the U.S. immigration stream. By 1975 Asian Indians in America numbered 175,000; in 1980 there were 387,223; and by 1990 their population was up to 815.447. In 1997 Asian Indians in America numbered 1.215 million and they were entering the United States at a rate of 850 per week, ranking them third among countries providing immigrants. As a result of the 1965 immigration legislation, Michigan was a major recipient of new talent. It had the industry to employ the foreign-born and foreign-trained engineers, doctors, and scientists. In addition, the University of Michigan and Michigan State University attracted Asian Indians to Michigan. The University of Michigan had an international reputation for medicine, engineering, and science. Michigan State University was noted for agriculture and veterinary medicine. Both universities had projects abroad, and friendly professors there attracted students. Those who entered these universities proved the high capability of Indian students. International companies in Michigan, from the automobile industry to pharmaceuticals, have attracted large numbers of Indian Americans to the state. By 1980 the stream of talent began to be diluted. As Asian Indians became citizens, they took advantage of the fourth preference provision of the immigration laws and brought relatives to the United States. These relatives did not have the high qualifications of their predecessors. Between the 1980 and 1990 censuses, there was an 85 percent increase in the Asian Pacific Islander category. In Kalamazoo, the increase in this category was 124 percent. 33 The industries had attracted the highly educated, who entered under the third and sixth preference categories. These educated and skilled workers laid the basis for the immigration of relatives under the first and fifth preference categories. The framers of the 1965 immigration legislation thought that Europeans would dominate the immigration stream into the United States, but the economy in Europe was too good at the time and they did not migrate. The preference system attracted the best educated and most talented to the United States, with East and West given equal preference. The new immigrants brought with them new patterns of settlement and different skills to apply to the task of building Michigan. They were independent of cultural brokers, because they were fluent in the

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ASIAN

INDIANS IN MICHIGAN

25

English language and skilled in dealing with bureaucracies and corporate structures. The Asian Indian population in Michigan has exploded. In 1974 there were only 3,561 Asian Indians in Michigan. By 1980 there were 8,879 born in India, and by 1990 there were 13,286, and 23,845 claimed Asian Indian ancestry.34 By 1998 Asian Indians made up 0.6 percent of Michigan's population, and India was the country of origin for more immigrants in the state than any other, as was also the case for Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Ohio, West Virginia, New Jersey, Mississippi, and Delaware. According to the 2000 census the Asian population in Michigan jumped from 103,201 to 176,501, a 70.5 percent increase. Since the 1990 census the number of Asian Indians in Michigan jumped to 54,631, a 129 percent increase. Asian Indians and Vietnamese are the two fastest growing Asian subgroups in Michigan, with Asian Indians being the largest Asian subgroup in Michigan, even though they rank nationally behind the Chinese and Filipinos in number. Troy, Michigan, is now 13 percent Asian, with 4,644 claiming Asian Indian ancestry, which is up from 1,755 in 1990, a 165 percent increase. Canton, Michigan, Asian Indians had a 220 percent increase in the same period to 3.405. The characteristics of this new group of immigrants can be illustrated by some statistics. Nationally, 80 percent of Asian Indian men

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Arthur W. Helweg

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Figure 6. Residence Pattern of Asian Indians in the United States. Although New York and California are considered the population centers ofAsian Indians in the United States, Chicago, Texas, North Carolina, and Detroit also have sizable concentrations, and Asian Indians are dispersed throughout the country.

hold college degrees and 65 percent work in the managerial/technical/professional category. Five percent of the doctors in the United States received their primary training in India, and the median Asian Indian household income is 25 percent higher than that of all U.S. households taken together. Tables 1 through 4 give a profile of the Asian Indian community in Kalamazoo, excluding the students at Western Michigan University. There are some interesting things to note. There are forty-four medical doctors. I would estimate that each foreign-trained doctor saves the state of Michigan at least six million dollars in education costs. The same can be said for the thirty-one engineers-the savings in education costs may not be as high as for doctors, but it comes to over two million dollars in savings for each engineer. There are thirty-eight who own their own businesses. Although these are mostly franchises and motels, they do create a number of jobs and contribute to the community's economy. Commitment to the United States is indicated by the 37 percent increase between 1990 and 2000 in those taking citizenship. The vast majority of these immigrants are employed in skilled positions. It is important to

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TABLE 1

HouseLang1l2l9.$Qf~lilian Indians

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in. K2II2Irna,zoQ.Mi~higill". 1990 21nd~OOO

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0.31

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28

Arthur W. Helweg

keep in mind that immigration is a selective process. It is the most innovative and daring that emigrate first. These people have the confidence and determination to do well and are most likely to make primary contributions to their adopted community. The new immigrant is typified by Bijoy Bhuyan, an Asian Indian who has resided in Kalamazoo for longer than any other. He is from Cuttack in Orissa. His father was Western educated; Bijoy earned his Master's degree in India. He wanted to study antibiotics and penicillin. He entered the University of Wisconsin in 1952. "In those days, our goal was to get a good education and return to India to make a contribution to the society," he stated. He entered the United States on a student "1" visa, which requires students to return to their homeland for two years after earning their degree and gaining sufficient on-the-job

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ASIAN INDIANS IN MICHIGAN

29

experience. He received his Ph.D. in 1956, then did a postdoctorate in Wisconsin for a year, and another postdoctorate at the Prairie Regional Research Institute in Saskatoon, Canada. The work in Wisconsin enabled his wife, Janet (they met and married while students at the University of Wisconsin), to finish her degree, and the work in Canada earned his passage and settlement expenses to India. He returned to India in 1958.

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TABLE 4

Occupation~·OfA.sianlJ'ldians

in Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1990 and;!OOO

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0.33

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Arthur W. Helweg

His father died while he was in America. Being the eldest son, he assumed his traditional position as head of the household. "We had to get used to poverty and dust, open sewers, flies and lack of privacy," he said. They also had to adjust to family customs and joint residence. Bijoy's younger brother's wife kept her face covered in the elder brother's presence, and Bijoy did not like it, so in consultation with his mother, he stopped the practice. Bijoy did have access to culture in his native land. Cuttack was the commercial center of Orissa, and had several colleges and the high court. Bijoy's father had been trained in engineering in the United Kingdom. He had worked with the British, and the family understood westerners and their needs and adjustment problems. Bijoy's family was sensitive to Janet's situation and respected her. She had one rule to which they all adhered: if she was in her room and the door was closed, she was not to be disturbed. Being in the joint family was engaging. They made her feel welcome, and although it was different, she was never bored. People were friendly and there was an excitement about India. She kept a journal and is currently writing a book about her experiences in India. Bijoy obtained a job in Pimpri, a city near Poona. He worked as a research scientist at Hindustan Antibiotics Limited, which produced penicillin and other antibiotics. The plant had been set up with the help of the World Health Organization. The head of the research lab and many of the scientists were educated in America. Thus, the Bhuyans made friends with fellow workers and Christian missionaries in the area. They even had a Christmas tree during the proper season. The "tree" was a Begonia given to Janet by a Parsi friend! While in India they traveled third-class and enjoyed life, but they realized that Bijoy would not be able to fulfill his duties as head of the family from there because he did not make enough money. They also realized that if they stayed in India much longer, they would not be able to return to the United States. In 1960 Bijoy and Janet borrowed money from Janet's grandmother and returned to America. They stayed with her parents in Ypsilanti, Michigan, while Bijoy looked for work. He relied on friendships developed at the University of Wisconsin to provide contacts and information.

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Arthur W. Helweg

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A fellow Ph.D. student recommended that he try Upjohn in Kalamazoo. Even here, he had to overcome preconceived notions that westerners had about Indians. The supervisor asked him if he was willing to work with his hands because of the misconception that all Indians had servants. Bijoy Bhuyan returned to the States before the 1970 influx, made possible by 1965 immigration law. This latest immigration law had set up a preference category. Professionals, scientists, and artists of exceptional ability were given third preference. Skilled and unskilled workers in occupations of short supply were given sixth preference. Higher preferences were given to various groups of kinsmen and immediate family.35 It was under the 1965 legislation that Bijoy brought his younger brother to the United States and sponsored him through Wayne State University, where he obtained an M.A. in engineering. The brother worked for General Motors for ten years and then returned to India. At present, he is employed by Telco in Jamshedpur, India. When immigrants return to India, it is a time to renew relationships with friends and relatives. To enhance his or her prestige, the emigrant often takes gifts to family and friends in India; because of the gifts, a rule ofthumb is that travel costs two dollars for every one dollar of actual travel expenses. This is also a time to renew the spirit of the emigrants. The Bhuyans visit India regularly, and Janet makes an interesting point when she explains, "When returning to India, Bijoy eats all the wrong foods. But his high cholesterol level drops. He relaxes and the physiological effects of tensions in the West quickly recede."

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life in Michigan

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l

ife for Asian Indians in Michigan in particular and in the Midwest in general differs from that of Asian Indians residing on the East or West Coasts. Even within Michigan, there is a difference between life in Detroit and in a smaller city like Kalamazoo. To further complicate the matter, the patterns of living of the old immigrants differ from those of the new immigrants. To understand Asian Indian behavior in Michigan, I will examine some behavioral patterns and institutions of Asian Indians in Michigan. An in-depth analysis will help the reader to better comprehend Asian Indian behavior.

Residence Patterns

The new immigrants, generally already proficient in the English language, do not form ethnic enclaves such as the Irish developed in Cork Town or the Greeks created in Greek Town in Detroit. For the new Asian Indians in Detroit, residence patterns are determined by when they arrived in the city, proximity to work, ability to be independent, profession, and desire for privacy. The old immigrants, on the other hand, whether European or Asian, usually did not know the English language or American ways. They therefore lived together for mutual support

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Arthur W. Helweg

and protection. They formed enclaves or ghettos out of the necessity of living with their own kind. For the new Asian Indian immigrants, like Bijoy Bhuyan, who already know the English language and are acquainted with American ways, privacy has become valued. They do not want the whole Asian Indian community knowing about their private family concerns. Privacy brings loneliness, but good roads, private cars, and excellent telephone service can overcome this problem. The ease of a phone call or the convenience of jumping into an automobile and driving a hundred miles to see friends on a weekend all help to alleviate feelings of isolation and alienation. Thus an Asian Indian wife on the average spends an hour or more on the phone every day, talking to friends and family. Consequently, the immigrant can maintain privacy and still avoid loneliness. Next, as immigrants take on professions, they tend to move out of the ghetto and into the suburbs. Class and professional membership become more important in finding a residence than ethnic considerations. Hence, Asian Indians in Detroit who are at an equal economic level and profession tend to cluster, but not so closely as to lose privacy-ethnicity is becoming symbolic, rather than instrumental.36 Yet, the tendency toward symbolic ethnicity, where people feel ethnic but do not actively participate in ethnic institutions or maintain cultural practices, is being countered by the revitalization forces resulting from the ongoing immigration from India. The close communications with the wider, non-Indian community as well as the homeland, especially family and friends in the areas of origin, and the perception that they are discriminated against by the wider American community, whether true or not, are forces that promote Asian Indian culture and encourage the members of this community to maintain their distinctiveness and a social boundary from white society.37 This is illustrated by the situation in Kalamazoo. A perusal of the directory of the members of the India Association shows that very few Asian Indian families live on the same street. Some congregate in affluent areas or elite developments, but they are not neighbors. Furthermore, social gatherings, especially among the affluent, are not exclusively Asian Indian but often include people of other ethnicities of

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37

ASIAN INDIANS IN MICHIGAN

MICmGAN: Asian Indian Population 1990

i Number of People (S-digit Zip Code Areas) ~Otol

_2to2S _26tu159

_o160to;~

40

60

Miles

SOURCE: U.S. BUREAU OF THE CENSUS

W.M.U. GIS Research Center

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G.P. Anderson 6/95

Figure 7. Distribution of Michigan's Population Claiming Asian Indian Ancestry (1990). The above map shows the distribution of Asian Indians in Michigan by postal code. As the map shows, they are concentrated in the urban areas, but a closer perusal indicates a general dispersal as well.

comparable professional and economic levels, although Asian Indians tend to dominate in the social network. In Detroit, the pattern is similar. Asian Indians do not take over streets, but in general South Asian doctors live in Bloomfield Hills; engineers live in Troy, Rochester, and Northville; and blue-collar families are found in Madison Heights, Oak Park, and Dearborn, where industry is located. Thus, economic assets, profession, social position, ability to obtain social support when needed or desired, and the value of privacy are all considerations for the Asian Indian educated professional in choosing a place to live. Bijoy

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Bhuyan came to America speaking English, was acquainted with Western ways, and was politically astute and able to be independent of the social agencies and cultural brokers. He did not have to seek the support and protection of fellow Asian Indians to survive in Michigan. He did, however, have the help of friends and contacts and had an American family by marriage, like most native-born Americans, and he did not suffer racial discrimination. Still, he sought out the company of fellow Asian Indians for emotional support, because he felt more at ease with them in dealing with certain private matters, as he knew they would understand his situation.

Concerns and Solutions

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Ethnic Survival

The urge to maintain one's ethnicity is one of the most powerful forces influencing human behavior today.38 There are many reasons why this is the case. Alignment with an ethnic community means that one belongs to a group of people who share a common language, homeland, culture, mythology, and history-what I like to call the "five components of ethnicity." These five components promote the mythology of a people who have existed from the beginning of time and will continue on forever. The members want the community to survive because they have invested their lives in the survival of their community, and its demise would destroy all that they had lived and worked for-their lives and efforts would all be for nothing if their ethnic group disappeared. The cultural system provides the rules and criteria for evaluating one's life. In other words, two important factors are at work here. First, by being a member of an ethnic community one finds meaning in life by contributing to making a better life for those who follow-that is, the next generation. It must be kept in mind that having a purpose in life is crucial for an individual's survival. Being part of an ethnic community and adhering to that community's culture provides that purpose for many. Second, the cultural system provides the rules and principles by which one makes life better for the next generation. It enables us to explain what is happening around us and where we fit in the cosmos of things. It enables us to explain why good or bad things happen to us. It

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gives us the rules and means to contribute to the lives of the next generation. It enables us to answer the questions, "Why am I here?" and "How should I live?" Culture is a symbolic system composed primarily of values, meanings, and beliefs. In other words, our culture is a shared system of goals, priorities, and interpretations, and it is those shared assumptions upon which different groups build. To illustrate, Asian Indians have some cultural constructs that are diametrically opposed to American culture. One has to do with the Hindu caste system. Asian Indians believe in inequality-that is, that your social position is determined by birth and that social mobility is not possible. These are concepts that are opposed to the American ideas of equality and social mobility. Of course, the ideal does not necessarily fit reality; social mobility does take place in India, and immutable social stratification is present in Michigan. What culture sets forth is an ideal or a myth that people believe about themselves. This ideal may not always be adhered to. The whole situation is complicated by the fact that ethnicity and resultant behaviors can change according to time and context. Ajit Singh is an Asian Indian in the United States. He is also a Punjabi, an Indian, and a Sikh. As he moves from one group to another, he changes his behavior accordingly. In India, he does not talk about or play the role of an Asian Indian. Yet, depending on the context, he may be an Indian, a Punjabi, and a Sikh all at the same time in India. In some contexts he may claim only his Sikh identity. Fortunately for Ajit Singh, none of the ethnicities to which he belongs have norms or values in opposition to one another. Other groups are not so lucky. For example, some Muslim groups believe that a woman should remain secluded and completely covered. Those of European cultural origins may interpret this as oppression and exploitation while the Muslims may consider it exemplifying respect and honor. How do the Asian Indians deal with this situation? First of all, it must be realized that people and communities do not gain or lose their culture. They continually adopt, discard, modify, and borrow. Thus, cultures are always changing. When that change occurs too quickly or a crucial part is deemed lost or inappropriate, than a people may feel that they have lost their culture. For example, religion is usually a very

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important cultural component. Some members of the Sikh faith feel that a true Sikh must wear the 5Ks (see note 6). If a member of the community has cast off those symbols, he is not a true Sikh, according to these people, because he has lost or forsaken his culture. There are several tactics used by Asian Indians to deal with such conflicts. They rationalize, compartmentalize their lives, modify, and set up social boundaries between themselves and the wider society. A good example of rationalization is that of Roshen Seth, who was told by his vegetarian mother, "When you go to America, it is OK to eat beefthey don't have the holy Indian cow there." Roshen's mother came up with a justification for her son to eat beef in America because she understood how difficult it was to be a vegetarian there. Many people compartmentalize their lives in one way or another.39 This compartmentalization is exemplified by the life of Anmol Mehra. At work, Anmol dresses like a stockbroker, which is his profession. While at the office, he speaks with an American accent and jokes with his colleagues in the American way. When Anmol goes home, however, he changes into his kurta pajama, demands Indian food, speaks Hindi or English with an Indian accent, and plays Indian music on the stereo. If he goes to a party, his behavior varies according to the people present. If the party is hosted by an Indian, Anmol behaves with the loudness and gusto of his fellow Indians. In essence Anmol's life is divided into compartments. As he steps in and out of each compartment, his cultural framework changes, along with his behavior. Another way to deal with cultural conflicts is to erect a social barrier. The Sikhs erect a social barrier by insisting that coreligionists wear the 5Ks. This makes them different from the host society-they are clearly identified with the Sikh faith. As a result, they cannot be westerners' but instead are representatives of their faith to the outside world. Thus, if a person violates cultural dictates, that person not only suffers at the hands of his own community but has brought shame upon them all by his errors. Martyrdom is also a primary theme in Sikh culture. Even if they have not been actively pursued in America and butchered as they were in Punjab, the ideology of martyrdom encourages Sikhs to be wary of outsiders and always on guard.

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Figure 8. Players on the sidelines during a soccer match. Sports are an important aspect of maintaining and building a cohesive community. Thus cricket and soccer leagues are an important part of the Asian Indian experience. Here, players wait their turns as their teammates are on the field. Courtesy of G. s. Grewal.

Behavior modification is another tactic used to accommodate cultural conflicts. A good example has to do with women's dress. It is not culturally proper for an Indian woman to bare her legs in front of men. Generally, Indian women in America behave like Sita Mahotra. If Sita is among only Western men, she doesn't mind wearing a dress. If she is among Indian men, however, she wears slacks. This is especially the case in winter, because Indian clothes are impractical to wear in the snow. She never wore slacks in India, although they are acceptable dress there. Educating children in the culture of their homeland is becoming more and more common. Asian Indian parents are now monitoring more closely how their culture is being presented in the elementary and secondary schools. Also, in Detroit and smaller cities like Kalamazoo, there are weekend classes in the Sikh Gurdwara or the Hindu Temple. Often there is also someone who teaches classical Indian dance or music. Building a unity among community members is very important,

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and one way to do this is have a sports program-this is especially effective among men. Asian Indian sports leagues usually encompass teams within a three-hundred-mile radius. The games played are soccer and cricket, not baseball and basketball-another reminder that the participants are different and not of this community. During the period of the old immigration the issue of maintaining identity was very different from what it is today. Before the turn of the century, the voyage across the oceans was extremely hazardous, even in steamships. Once the voyage was over, the immigrant knew that he was cut off from his homeland and return trips, experiences to which no one really looked forward, and in fact most really dreaded, would be infrequent and few if they happened at all. His life would be in America, and it was in America his future lay. For Asians the situation was particularly ominous because they could not bring spouses with them, and women of their own nationality were absent. Thus, the society for the Asian Indians of the nineteenth century was not balanced in gender, and contact with the homeland was slow and difficult at best. Contact was inhibited by poor communications and abysmal traveling conditions. Ironically, however, the famed "American Letters" continued to flow back, extolling the "easy wealth that was here for the taking." Immigrants want to be well thought of in their land of origin. They want to have prestige in their homeland. They don't want anyone to think they made a mistake by leaving. Therefore, they glorify life in America. This was certainly the case during the period of the old migration. Their feelings of superiority, however, even further isolated them from their homeland. For those who did not return, America was their permanent home, and they therefore had come to terms with being American. Further complicating the issue of maintaining a cultural identity during the period of the old migration was the restrictive legislation in the United States that prohibited Asian women from joining their husbands and men from bringing in women to marry. Women especially were adamant about maintaining the Indian culture. Without them, men tended to lose or discard cultural traits that made them different from the wider society. In addition, because of poor communications, there was no ongoing influence from family and friends in India to support Asian Indians in America in adhering to cultural values and norms.

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A final factor impacting the maintenance of cultural identity among the Asian Indian immigrants was the American ideology that immigrants should cast off the ways of the Old World and melt into the American scene. Over and over the immigrants were told that they should lose their distinctiveness and adopt American ways so that they might be accepted by mainstream America. In this the immigrants were helped by the public school system, which was a powerful homogenizing force encouraging the assimilation of children, who then pressured their parents to "become American." For the individual who did not assimilate, life held alienation and dependency. Those who could not communicate in English were reduced to dependency on others to translate and explain, because they could not read sufficiently or understand adequately enough to be able to discern issues and items for themselves. In spite of these forces for assimilation, however, there were people like Arjin Singh, who maintained contact with his family in India and sacrificially gave money to enable them to have a better quality of life. With the advent of telephones, plane travel, and immigration laws that were blind to national origins, immigration from India and the influx of more women brought a revitalization of Indian culture to the communities across Michigan and the United States. The Asian Indian is no longer cut off from his place of origin. Parents in India are quickly informed if their son is misbehaving. They then have a family member or trusted friend look in on their offspring to see if there is a problem, and, if so, to determine what it is. The point is that with the efficient and rapid transportation and communications systems in place today, physical distance is less of a barrier, and people living on opposite sides of the globe are subject to virtually the same controls as those remaining in the village of origin. Thus, there are other constructs that encourage emigrants to maintain or revitalize their culture overseas. The first of these is the corporate mentality of Asian Indians, and another, which is related to it, is the concept of izzat or mann. Asian Indians have a "corporate mentality" in that they think in terms of the group, rather than in terms of the individual. One's selfesteem, according to Indian culture, lies not in individual prowess but in how the community looks at one's family. This is all tied into the concept

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of izzat, or mann, the Punjabi and Hindi words, respectively, for the concept of honor. An izzatwali family is a family that carries honor with their name. Each member of the family by his or her actions positively or negatively influences the placement of the family on the honor I shame continuum on which communal evaluation is done. To bring shame on the family is a terrible burden of guilt to bear, for not only is the person doing the offense harmed, but this person is also harming his or her father, mother, siblings, cousins, and so on. A case in point is that of Gurinder Shah. He was not doing well in his studies at Michigan State University. Flunking or doing badly would reflect negatively on his aunts, uncles, parents, and brother and sister. When it came time to arrange a marriage for his sister or younger brother, his not having graduated or having done badly would reflect negatively on the evaluation from the family of a potential spouse for either sibling. Furthermore, Gurinder's parents would be regarded negatively for not having raised their son properly. Gurinder's failure also would reflect negatively on his aunts and uncles and their families. So the family talked to Gurinder's father to ensure steps were taken to guarantee Gurinder's success. Gurinder's father acted. He pulled Gurinder out of the dorm and rented him an apartment. Gurinder's mother stayed with him, cooked for and looked after him, and made sure he studied. His father visited his professors and hired tutors as necessary. The result of all of this was a remarkable turnaround in Gurinder's academic performance. An advantage of the corporate mentality is that one seldom has to face adversity alone. Since one's family is held responsible, they will also be there to help. It is very comforting to know that help is always there when you need it, and this makes for economic and emotional security. A person's family might berate him or her in private, but publicly they will stand behind him or her and do what is necessary to ensure success, for the individual's success is also the family's success. This has far-reaching implications. For example, the decision about whether to emigrate or remain at home is almost always a family decision, not an individual one. The pressures on the emigrant to be successful are immense, for ifhe or she does not do well, his or her parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, and cousins will all be judged negatively. With the superb communications and ease of travel now possible

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between India and the United States, few escape from the pressures of their family's quest to maintain the honor of the kin group. The social network has thus become so tight that it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the rules and dictates of family and community, whether living nearby or in India. As time goes on, ties with the homeland may diminish; however, that cannot be assumed, for there are many cases where Asian Indians in America are "more Indian" in the privacy of their own homes than are their counterparts in India. For Asian Indians in America, this background in corporate mentality provides positive dividends, as it allows them to easily fit into a corporate situation. Put another way, Asian Indians understand patronclient relationships. They realize that their future lies with their superiors and that, in one way or another, they have to show deference to these superiors. Appearances are very important in Indian society. (They are in our society also, but we don't like to admit it to ourselves.) Thus, the Asian Indian is very sensitive to how he is perceived by others. This sensitivity to outside perceptions, along with an understanding of power relationships and one's place in a hierarchy, makes for an individual who manages very well in an organization, whether it be a pharmaceutical company or a university. In the Asian Indian community in America today, then, forces of assimilation are continually being countered by forces promoting the revitalization of the ethnic community as immigration from India continues. A preference among Asian Indians in America for marriage partners from India, and the ease of travel, which helps to maintain the visitations of family, friends, holy men, and entertainers from the home country, are forces working to revitalize Asian Indian culture among the Indian diaspora. Of course, the news media from India is also active in North America. India Today, which is modeled after Time, is very popular and includes a special section on the Asian Indian community in North America. These media, too, work to encourage adherence to cultural traditions within the Asian Indian community in America. In the final analysis, then, what we find is that in the face of these competing pressures to assimilate and to maintain cultural heritage, Asian Indian immigrants neither keep nor lose their culture but instead compartmentalize their lives. 40 In this way they accommodate the

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positive aspects of each impulse while avoiding the negative aspects associated with entirely committing to either strategy.

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Religion

As the number of aged increase in a community, religion becomes a more important issue. The elders are facing the end of their lives, death is knocking on their doors, and they want things right for their transition into the next life. Religion is the institution that deals with these kinds of issues. As a result, temples, Gurdwaras, and mosques are blooming on the American landscape. The Asian Indian community in Kalamazoo has recently faced what all Asian Indian communities eventually face: the issue of having a temple that will be Asian Indian and yet be a house of worship for all community members. There are numerous ways that communities have tried to solve this issue. The Sikhs, for instance, have a Gurdwara to which all are welcome, and indeed, community members of a variety of faiths worship there. A Hindu Temple started in Kalamazoo in 1996, restricted its focus to religions that have India as their place of origin, ruling out Islam and Christianity. Priests and holy men come from India on a regular basis and make their rounds, visiting devotees, congregations, and seekers of enlightenment. Contrary to Western stereotypes, a true holy man is quite easy to spot. A true man of God seeks neither converts nor money; in fact, many are self-supporting. Social Networks

Social networks are very important. Among the Asian Indians, close friendships are formed primarily within the Asian Indian community first and with other immigrant groups only secondarily. In addition, networks tend to form based on social class. Asian Indian doctors, professors, and successful businessmen will sometimes include people of like profession of a variety of nationalities in their social network, while omitting less affluent Asian Indians. In general, however, Asian Indians maintain relations with people at work, but find the Americans too formal for social occasions outside of the workplace. "One must call before visiting a white person, whereas Asian Indians feel at ease just dropping

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Figure 9. New immigrants, representative ofAsian Indian migrants. They are both medical doctors, he a heart specialist and she an anesthesiologist. Yet both place a high priority on instilling Indian culture and family unity into their children. Courtesy ofArthur Helweg.

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in on each other," said Arjin Singh. He continued, "Among our own, we dance with more gusto, smile wider, and laugh louder." Asian Indian behavior thus changes, depending on the context of interaction. Among the wider white community, Asian Indians are proper and reserved. They laugh at the right jokes and engage in sophisticated conversation, but are proper and discerning. Among their own, however, they are much more relaxed. To an outside observer, the difference in behavior is so great that one might think some two different people. Social networks among young Asian Indians keep a very active party schedule that is booked months in advance. The party is a crucial ritual in binding the group together. It is also a source of information on everything from investment opportunities to available jobs to news of India and community gossip. It is not unusual for a student or job applicant at a party to ask for and readily receive help from another Asian Indian. Parties keep issues and the welfare of members in the forefront so that mutual support is maintained. This mutual support

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system was made manifest to the author of this book when his wife was diagnosed with cancer. People learned of her condition at a party. One attendee made a phone call to a friend in the medical community that resulted in her becoming a patient of the top oncologist in Kalamazoo, an Asian Indian. The support of the community was overwhelming. It was like having a large family ready to help and support-a family that freely gave out of love and concern without asking any favor or payment in return. It is a very comforting experience to know that such tremendous resources and talent are available to one simply because of one's membership in the Asian Indian community. Among individuals, however, friendships are often determined by degree of commonality. In the early 1970S two people from South Asia were automatically friends. India and Pakistan might be at odds politically, but in Michigan, Indians and Pakistanis shared a common language and culture that bound them together. As the Asian Indian community in Michigan became larger, however, regional, caste, religious, and ethnic divergences developed greater emphasis. For example, Gujaraties now associate less with Punjabis than in times when the number of Asian Indians in Michigan was smaller, and after the invasion of the Golden Temple by the Indian Army in 1989, the Sikhs began to feel estranged from the Hindus. 41 Prayer meetings that once were ecumenical are now specialized. Sikhs worship separately from Hindus. Among some groups in Detroit, there is even a division between those of rural origins and those of urban origins. In some areas there has been a resurgent emphasis on caste identity, an emphasis ignored in the early years. As Bijoy Bhuyan put it: In the early years, we were all united and one. As we grew, the community has become divided. In the Kalamazoo India Association, regional groups such as the Punjabis and Gujaraties compete for control. And one group is easily offended if they feel that their culture is not represented well.

Being or becoming a professional has a profound effect on identity. Those immigrants who are also professionals live in two worlds: that of the Asian Indian and that of the wider American society. As profession-

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als move out into the affluent suburbs, the men begin to wear business suits and shed noticeable symbols. The women who are not working tend to keep traditional dress, while those who are employed generally wear slacks and those in high positions may include dresses. Both outside and inside the Asian Indian community, these men and women talk sports, stocks, current events, and investments with their colleagues or clients. One exception to this rule are Sikhs, who maintain their 5Ks-the most noticeable being the beard and turban.42 In the homes of these professionals, however, Indian food is often still the fare, if the wife has time to cook it.43 As the community grows, associations are formed to fulfill specialized goals, such as to promote religion or specific agendas. Such is the case for the Asian Indian community of Michigan. Organizations such as the India Association of Kalamazoo sponsor communal functions such as Diwali, Indian Republic Day, and Independence Day celebrations. At their functions in the 1970S the local people worked, with the women cooking and men setting the tables. By the 1980s functions in Kalamazoo had become more impersonal, with events being professionally catered by a Chicago caterer. At celebrations today, dances of the region of origin are performed, children do skits about Indian epics, and politicians and Indian leaders give speeches. Another result of the growth of the Kalamazoo Asian Indian community has been an increase in resentment between the various groups. Punjabis resent that association leadership is dominated by Gujaraties, and the association has thus become less active. At one point, there was hope that the primarily female leadership of the association would cause it to become more active, but this has not been the case. They faced the same problems with the same results as their predecessors. In spite of the formal leadership of these organizations, however, there is usually an individual, an unsung hero, who keeps things going. In Kalamazoo it is Vijay Mehta, who is willing to invest the time and effort to organize and keep membership rosters. Formal leadership changes, but Mr. Mehta maintains the continuity. One of the major social events in the community in the 1960s and 1970S was the monthly Indian movie, held at a lecture hall at Western

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Michigan University. For one dollar, people could be treated to the fantasies of their home culture, along with popcorn and a Coke. Children ran in the aisles while the movie played, but the people did not mind the children's noise, the poor sound quality, or the antiquity of the production. This event ended, however, with the advent of the VCR in the 1980s; at that time people obtained videotapes of their favorite movies and began to show them in their own homes. Conversation and interaction became negligible as they watched the television screen. Local associations, such as the one in Kalamazoo, participate in national issues and associations like the National Federation of Indian Associations in America. Although national and state organizations have their own agendas, local groups give priority to their own concerns. Asian Indian newspapers, such as India Abroad or India West, emphasize such issues as discrimination, ties with India, investment in India, dual citizenship, recognition of credentials earned in India, immigration laws that support family reunification, and keeping the culture. These are the overall concerns of the U.S. Asian Indian groups. When Congressman Howard Wolpe met with the local Asian Indian community in Kalamazoo in 1984, however, they were concerned with their immediate needs, not those of the national ethnic press. For example, a doctor wanted to know why Wolpe supported socialized medicine, for he did not like the paperwork it created. An employee at Upjohn wanted to know why Wolpe supported divestiture in South Africa, for he felt that it hurt his employer. Another question was related to a relative obtaining a visa. The concerns were personal, not national. Fred Upton, the current U.S. representative from Kalamazoo, meets regularly with members of the Asian Indian community. He listens to their concerns and is very generous with his help, especially concerning visa issues. Representative Upton is a Republican, and Asian Indians tend to align with the Democratic Party, but as one Asian Indian said, "Mr. Upton helps us, he has my support, I do not care what party he belongs to." Representative Upton recognizes that even though the Asian Indian community is numerically small, its members command a sizable amount of economic power. The Asian Indians always help him at election time with generous financial support.

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Not all Asian Indian organizations in Michigan exist solely to promote Indian culture in the local community.44 Some, such as the Association of Indian Engineers in America or the Association of Indian Physicians, promote the special interests of Asian Indians in particular professions. For physicians, one of the major issues is the recognition of the credentials earned in their home country. Asian Indians in Michigan have been working with national groups to have their training in India recognized. Other associations, such as the national India League of America, which has had a branch in Michigan for more than seventeen years, focus on communal issues on the state and national level. They fight to have the contribution of the Asian Indian community recognized. They also work to stop discrimination, have foreign medical degrees recognized, influence foreign policy toward India, include family reunification on immigration legislation, keep contacts with the Embassy of India, educate community members on investment, and promote Indian arts in local libraries and museums.

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Discrimination According to the Asian immigrant press, discrimination is a problem. Both successful, affluent Asian Indians and other members of the community in Michigan are unanimous in this perception. However the vast majority interviewed for this study felt that they had been treated fairly. Although Asian Indians have a distinctive heritage, their appearance and identity are often mistaken. While this is not a problem in Kalamazoo, in Detroit during the IranlIraq War and the Gulf War many Americans assumed Asian Indians were from the Persian Gulf region and discriminated against them. At such times the Asian Indian community has maintained a low profile. Some businesses have concealed their names or ethnic origins so the average American would not realize they were owned by Asian Indian families. Other Asian Indian concerns vary according to residence in the United States, place of origin in India, and identity. Though not a problem in Kalamazoo, Asian Indians in Detroit, especially those in the notso-affluent suburbs, have at times been concerned for their physical safety and security from violent racial discrimination. They may not have

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experienced such problems directly, or even indirectly, but the news and experiences of their counterparts in other parts of the country, especially in major cities, promotes the feeling of vulnerability. The Asian Indian press regularly carries stories dealing with discrimination faced by members of their community, and the bad experiences of other minorities reinforce such fears. In the late 1980s, gangs in New Jersey who called themselves "dot-busters," a reference to the bindi or colored dot placed by some Hindu women on their forehead between the eyebrows, attacked Asian Indians. The incidents sent a shockwave throughout the Asian Indian community, but it was in the urban areas where the concern was greatest. Concerns over the glass ceiling were also prominent among those interviewed for this study. Some felt that they were not given the authority and promotions they deserved because of their skin color or ethnic identification. This is a difficult issue to prove, but whether it was the case or not, many Asian Indians believed it was the case, and it affected their perceptions and behavior. Another issue concerns how India and Indian culture are taught in the schools. Asian Indians actively participate in school boards and Parent Teacher Associations, and in some areas, they have also fought to have textbooks give a proper representation of Indian culture. It is not uncommon for a teacher to encounter an Asian Indian child who states that his or her parents will choose the child's spouse. The Asian Indians want the teachers to understand the value of doing things their way. In Indian culture, people work to enhance the group, not the individual. Family members work to enhance the izzat, or honor, of the kin group. Thus, all people behave in a manner that brings honor to their family. However, at least for the first generation, family and friends in India are the evaluators with whom the immigrant is primarily concerned. Thus, behaving properly in the United States and sending money back to India are important factors in maintaining or enhancing izzat. Old Age

One day a psychologist friend and I were talking about Erik Erikson's five stages of personality development. The conversation shifted to

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Stage 5, integrity versus despair. Erikson maintains that when people enter old age, they have to face the issue, "Was their life contributory? Was their existence of benefit to the next generation?" I pointed out to my friend that that stage does not exist in Asian Indian culture, as long as they live in the joint residence system, for every morning when the elder gets out of bed, he sees his children and grandchildren and is proud of their existence, knowing that they live as a result of him. This is in sharp contrast to the old people in the West who wake up to see bare wa1ls, if living by themselves, or sickness and death, if living in an old people's home. The issue of the elderly is now coming to the fore among Asian Indians in America. Elders in the Asian Indian community fear loneliness and abandonment in their old age. In India, because of the absence of socia1 security benefits, elders cater to their sons so that they will be looked after in their twilight years. The socia1 security benefits of the United States may give monetary security, but this, in itself, is not enough. Elders fear being placed in "living graves," or senior homes. They want to live with their children and grandchildren and want to glory in the accomplishments of their offspring. They fear loneliness. In Indian culture, duty to elders, responsibility to family, and loya1ty to the kin group are strongly emphasized. These duties are doubly important in America because the American educationa1 system and culture stress individua1ism and enhancement of the person, without regard to family or society.45 Marriage

The first Asian Indians to arrive in America perceived that marriage with someone from India made a better match. 46 Yet before 1965, when immigration laws were loosened, there were a number of mixed marriages between Indians and other Caucasians, especially in Ca1ifornia, where Asian Indian men married women of MeXican heritage. The 1980s, however, brought forth a resurgence of preference for an Indian spouse, especially one raised in India. A fema1e marriage partner from India was perceived as upholding the traditiona1 va1ues of the family, being 10ya1 to her husband, accepting joint family residence, and willingly staying at home to look after the children, without career aspira-

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tions. She was perceived as putting husband, children, and elders before herself. The Asian Indian stereotype of the Caucasian woman is that she is promiscuous, draws her husband away from the family, puts her self-interests above those of her husband and children, and will put the elders away in a senior home. The reality is that if and when the Asian Indian woman discovers the feeling of getting her own paycheck, she charges ahead, wanting also to have a successful career. For the Asian Indian woman, an Indian spouse is preferred because it is believed that he will continue to uphold Indian values and will be submissive and respectful to his wife's parents because he is beholden to them. Thus, he is in a position of weakness. This is, in essence, a way of ensuring that a woman will not be mistreated by her husband. In some cases, a bride's parents feel that they are, in essence gaining a son, not losing a daughterY More recently, there is not always agreement as to which arrangement is best. Indian women raised in America find that husbands raised in India expect them to behave like traditional Indian wives, which means they are obedient in public and walk three paces behind their husbands, and so on. Asian Indian boys raised in the United States have a hard time with women raised in India because they have nothing in common to talk about, and the women often do not understand many of the things they encounter in the States. Briefly stated, these mixed couples have a hard time relating to each other. One consequence of the influx of spouses from the Indian homeland is a revitalization of traditional culture. 48 The new arrivals often insist that the culture of the homeland be upheld. They also establish communication links with the home society. Thus, the behavior of Asian Indians in Michigan is judged by family and friends in India. This has also happened among people of Asian Indian origins in California.49 The process may not be as pronounced among the educated professional group as it is among those communities dominated by rural origins, yet in either case revitalization takes place as emigration from the home region expands.

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Gender Issues

The position of the Asian Indian woman can be precarious at best. If she has no family in the United States, she is completely at the mercy of her husband. If she is abused, she may be afraid to tell other members of the community for fear of the retribution she will receive. She may not be familiar with the American legal system or know how to find protection. Organizations are now being established within the Asian Indian community to help abused Asian Indian women. The community recognizes the problem and is dealing with it. If the woman has family members in the area and they are strong enough and are willing to look after her welfare, then there is no problem. However, there are often big question marks as to what a family will be willing to do, for maintaining izzat is the primary consideration for many families.

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Maintaining Language

Maintaining the traditional language is important because its words and meanings are designed to best communicate the culture of the particular ethnic community. Keeping the language alive in America is frequently talked about but not often practiced. As one old Punjabi lady put it, "maintaining language is like keeping the trunk of a tree, they are the base on which everything else rests." Language classes are held in private homes and temples, but they have to be taught in the evenings or on weekends. The extracurricular activities of the young people often take priority over the arduous language training classes. Some students of Asian Indian origin at the University of Michigan successfully fought to have Hindi taught at the university. Instruction for children in other aspects of South Asian culture, such as classical dance and music, is done by private lesson, through classes in the temple or gurdwara, and at summer camps and conferences. Communicating values, beliefs, and meanings through instruction in myths, religion, and ritual is important, for they provide the measure by which people evaluate their lives. They set forth the criteria for determining what is right, what is wrong, and whether a life is a success or a failure. Parents want these things instilled in their children, for having their children follow in their path gives the parents a sense

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of having led a worthwhile life, knowing that what they have lived for and considered important will be adhered to by the next generation. Thus, children are encouraged to respect their parents' beliefs. Those who fail to follow the religion practiced by their parents show contempt toward everything for which their parents have lived. For such parents, their lives are seen a failure. For the second generation, the situation is difficult at best. Peer pressure in America is very strong and often conflicts with the ideology of the elders. One extreme example is that of Munju Singh. She was elected homecoming queen in her high school, but her parents would not let her participate because the formal dress had bare shoulders, and they did not want her paraded around where men might look at her in a lecherous manner. However, it has been the experience of this author that the children are generally respectful and understanding of their parents' situation.

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The Second Generation

"Will our children carry the banner of our religion and culture after we are gone?" "Will they be corrupted by American behaviors and lose their way?" These two questions are typical of the feelings of many Asian Indians, especially parents. In India, the stereotype of American culture is that it is amoral. My wife was often asked by villagers, "Is it true that Americans do not marry, they just hop from bed partner to bed partner?" For families with children, the stereotype of America as a decadent society is a factor inhibiting them from migrating. However, the opportunity to gain wealth leads many potential emigrants to find a solution that gives them the best of both worlds: they decide to emigrate with the intention of returning to India when the children are of school age. What often happens, however, is that the family gets used to life in the States, and when the children are of school age, the return to India is postponed until the children are teenagers. By the time the youngsters are teenagers, their parents realize that returning to India is not a viable option, and they try instead to isolate their children from the bad aspects of American society, which generally results in the parents being very strict, especially with their girls.

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Sometimes the child is sent back to India for instruction at a prestigious boarding school such as Welhelm Girls School or Dune School for boys. In other cases, the child is sent back to be cared for by grandparents or uncles and aunts. Yet the vast majority keep the family together in the United States. The goals of Asian Indian children who remain in the United States are different from those of their white counterparts. Praise for the Asian Indian child comes from doing well in academics, not in sports. In the average Asian Indian home, every night, at a set time, the children go to their rooms to study. Even if there is no homework assigned, there is always more to learn, or preparation for college entrance exams can be worked on. If the child has trouble, a tutor will be found, for getting top grades and being an honor student are the top priorities for Asian Indian students and their parents.

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Ties with the Homeland

e primary reference group of evaluation for the Asian Indian immigrants is their home community. They want their families to be well thought of and family honor to be enhanced by their accomplishments. The speed of current communications technology enables the immigrants' actions to be evaluated as easily as if they were still living in the village in India. Current efficient communications and travel have rendered physical topography and distance less of a boundary than in times past. As a result, in the study of population movements some of our theories, assumptions, and policies may need to be rethought. Arjin Singh was a good example of the old immigration period, in that he sent money and ideas back to his family and village mates. Today, as one travels through Punjab or Gujarat, the evidence of emigration is obvious. Large houses with modern conveniences stand out, as luxuries and conspicuous consumption have become the norm as soon as the basic necessities for good food and nutrition have been met. Also visible are public works, such as a hospital, staffed by medical personnel, roads, or a village library. Some families have a tractor and other machinery. Some farms are managed and run by returnees who have used the money earned abroad to live a life of affluence. Some

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TI

.

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emigrants have bought land as an investment or a retirement and are trusting its management to a relative, friend, or individual who specializes in managing emigrant affairs. Others have returned to India to retire, yet these are not numerous, for most emigrants who try to return quickly learn that they "cannot go home again." Life in the homeland for them is not what they remembered it to be. As the emigrants live abroad, they forget the negative and menial aspects of village life. For those who return, the readjustment is difficult. There is also much emigrant influence that is not so readily visible. New ideas and seed varieties have been transmitted from abroad. Some of the local farmers have made comparatively much more money because they have raised the new variety for seed, which brings a price eight times higher than that for crops raised for food. Money from abroad has catapulted some families to economic and political influence and affluence. In some cases the emigrant faction has challenged and usurped the traditional leadership. For those not so fortunate as to have relatives abroad remitting money to them, the inflation of the local economy caused by emigrant money has been terribly damaging. Some have been made destitute. One thing is sure: emigration has changed the economy and society of the villages of origin. The Asian Indians of Detroit are part of this process, and as communications with the homeland increase, the emigrant becomes less of a passive monetary contributor and more of an active influence in the local affairs. In some cases he may even determine how his contributions will be spent. He may run for a political office and become part of the governing body of the village. With regular phone calls and periodic visits, the emigrant can now be an active part of affairs in India-a situation which is now becoming quite common among Asian Indians in Detroit. The Asian Indians of Detroit are part of a large process that has helped transform India into a world economic power. The New Silicon Valley in Hyderabad, India, is in large part a direct result of emigrant investment and management. The increased prominence of Indianmade clothes and other products on the American market, the inroads of Asian Indians into the computer industry, the changes in American foreign policy toward India as well as those in Indian foreign policy toward the United States are all subject to Asian Indian influence. The

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impact of the Asian Indians of Michigan on their homeland has been great, but it is also part of a larger process that is not limited to a local villages or regions, but impacts both India and the United States as a whole.

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Accomplishments and Contributions

e

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~Michigan are numerous. Rajuta Bhatt is but one example. In

accomplishments and contributions of the Asian Indians in 1993, as a student at Michigan State University, she was the sixth student and the fifth woman at MSU to receive a Rhodes Scholarship.50 Another is Madhu Anderson, who is the deputy treasurer of the State of Michigan and can take credit for saving taxpayers about $70 million. 51 In fact, one need only read the newspapers in cities like Kalamazoo, where there is a sizable Asian Indian community, to see that the members of this community are consistently represented among those receiving the highest local and national scholastic honors. Asian Indian influence on the wider communities in Michigan has been extensive. There are many public service projects being performed by local Asian Indian organizations. Sikhs have conducted two blood drives, and the Sikh community in Detroit contributes $100.00 per month to a homeless shelter. They also help the poor and provide money for students to go to school (all in addition to the free food and lodging provided by the Gurdwara). Asian Indian organizations have used their influence to put issues such as the recognition of foreign medical graduate credentials in the United States in the public eye.

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Figure 10. Sikh Youngsters Doing Community Service. Responsibility to one's community is a strong tenet of the Sikh faith. Here Sikh youth are helping to renovate a home in the inner city of Detroit. Courtesy of G. S. Grewal.

Asian Indians, on the individual level, have a strong sense of community responsibility. The Sikhs have participated in projects to help renovate inner city Detroit. They are also active participants in Parent Teacher Associations, political parties, and community service associations such as the Red Cross. As Bijoy Bhuyan states, "This country has treated me well and I want to give back some of the bounty I have received." To do this, he has been involved in volunteer efforts through the years, including the Patwood Apartments, where he lived, and hospice. For the past few years, he has been a counseling volunteer at the Kalamazoo Consultation Center (for which he has been recognized). His efforts illustrate that although the Indian press focuses on internal concerns, many, like Bijoy, look outward to the larger community rather than inward to their own Indianness. Asian Indians have also influenced Michigan senators and representatives regarding United States foreign policy toward India. Their numbers are small, but their monetary contributions ensure that they will be heard. Since Asian Indians are generally politically astute and know how to deal with political and bureaucratic systems, they have made an impact on the state's politics. They are not afraid to visit peo-

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pIe in high offices, and are good at arguing their points, knowing when to back off and when to push their point in a verbal exchange. The contribution of talented medical people, engineers, scientists and university professors to America has been great. Asian Indian doctors work in rural, inner city, federal, and state health facilities. Their contributions are crucial to keeping some clinics and hospitals from collapsing. Companies like Upjohn have a large research segment of Asian Indians as well as other immigrants. Asian Indians, like other immigrant groups, have provided the United States with some of the best brains in the world, and they continue to do so. Michigan has been fortunate enough to be a prominent recipient of this talent. Members of the Asian Indian community in Michigan have made significant contributions to their home regions. Like their counterparts throughout the country, they have invested and continue to invest in their home country, providing much needed foreign exchange. They give medical, technical, and financial assistance to their communities of origin, and have helped the national government of India. Indians maintain close ties with their ambassador, and the last four Indian ambassadors have visited them in Detroit.

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Summary

e Asian

~of Punjabis in

Indian community in Michigan was started by a small group 1924.52 The major influx, however, came after u.s.

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immigration laws were revised in 1965. With those changes, Michigan, like the rest of the United States, became the recipient of a cadre of highly motivated, technically skilled, well-educated, and professionally oriented people. These new immigrants knew the English language and were knowledgeable about and functioned well in both the urban and rural settings of Michigan. Their contributions to both India and Michigan have been tremendous.

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APPENDIX 1

ASuccess Story

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B

e Grewal brothers of Detroit are decedents of one of the "original six" Asian Indians to settle in Detroit. Their grandfather, Sarwan Singh Grewal, left Punjab in 1921, and after staying in California for more than a year he traveled to Detroit with the group that included Arjin Singh. Sarwan Singh Grewal was a Sikh Tat from the village of Sahouli located in the Ludhiana District of India's Punjab. He learned about the opportunities in California from his cousin, Ishar Singh Dhillon who was studying at the University of California at Berkeley. With reluctance, Sarwan's father gave him passage money. Sarwan obtained his passport in Lahore and than took the train to Calcutta, where he boarded a freighter for Hong Kong. After nine days in Hong Kong he boarded a steamer for the month-long trip to California. In California, he and his companions initially worked for 20 cents an hour. Sarwan Singh and some of his friends realized that they could not survive on such a low wage and turned to contract farming. 53 After a few years they bought a car and drove East. After a month in Chicago, they continued on to Detroit, where they settled in 1924. Sarwan Singh had a bill passed in Congress enabling him to bring his grandsons, Tahil, Lushman, Teat, and Gurmale the four Grewal

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Figure 11. Mr. G. S. Grewal being honored by his village of origin for the many ways he has helped and invested to make the community have a comparatively higher standard of living than surrounding villages. Courtesy of G. S. Grewal.

brothers, to America. 54 Thus at the tender age of 13, the youngest brother Gurmale Singh Grewale began a new life in a new country. The Detroit riots it 1967 were devastating for the Grewals. The value of their real estate holdings dropped drastically, and the family suffered the untimely death of their grandfather in 1968. Young Gurmale Singh Grewal, at the age of 19, took on the responsibility for renovating the family-owned Wolverine Hotel for the city. The project and its success turned into the Singh Development Company with the Mission Statement: Develop high quality real estate properties that will meet market needs, enhance the communities they serve and improve the quality of life of the people who live and work in them.

With each brother heading key sections of the company, the Singh Development Company has grown to being one of the top five development companies in Michigan. Qualified and capable family mem-

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bers work in the firm. Nonfamily but capable individuals are treated with respect, paid well, and loyal to the firm. Gurmale the CEO attributes much of the firm's success to being sensitive to the desires of his clients as well as treating his employees with dignity and respect. Thus, turnover is low. Also, having brothers

Figures 12 and 13. Grewal family snapshots. Courtesy of G. S. Grewal.

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and family members in key positions of the company has added to its efficiency, for family members take a greater interest in the business and communications among them are more informal and efficient. Also those nonfamily employees in key positions are treated so well they do not want to leave and are "adopted" into family. The Grewal brothers set aside every Friday evening for a family dinner, a ritual that promotes unity and a cohesiveness. It also provides a setting where business and other family matters can be dealt with informally. The brothers have kept one foot in India and the other in Detroit, so to speak. They have been a tremendous asset to Detroit and their home village of Sahouli. Through the company in Detroit, they have created 2,448 permanent jobs and generated $80 million in wages and $4 million in tax revenues. 55 Gurmale, the CE056 is active in the Democratic Party and respected and consulted by officials and representatives from both the United States and India. Gurmale, like his brothers, has not forgotten his village. He set up a computer center in the village that is tied to the internet. Through his brothers and family members in India he has also invested in land as well as being involved in the internal and external affairs of Sahouli. He visits Sahouli about twice a year, and more often if needed. The Grewal brothers, like many immigrants from India are making very positive contributions to their communities in Michigan as well as their region of origin. In fact, they were honored in 200l by capturing two Building Industry Association Awards. Gurmale Singh Gurmale, CEO of Singh Development Company, received the Developer of the Year award from the Building Industry Association (BIA) of Southwestern Michigan. Singh Development builds premier apartment communities, commercial office buildings, luxury single-family subdivisions and senior living communities. The other recipient was Darshan Singh Grewal, president of Singh Homes, a division of Singh Development Corporation that specializes in luxury single-family homes.

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APPENDIX 2

Asian Indians fnrich State

eema

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~ Entrepreneurship."

Chaturvedi has a term for repeated business success: "Serial

"Come and try it." she says, "One shouldn't be limited to creating one company in a lifetime." Likewise, a new call to arms, businesswise, comes from Rajesh U. Kotharia, "How do we help entrepreneurs? Coaching, mentoring, access to capital." These two Metro Detroiters are among the founders of the Detroit chapter of TiE, an acronym for the IndUS Entrepreneurs, a budding worldwide group dedicated to the spread of business enlightenment. But what they represent in a more profound sense is the rising force of Metro Detroit's Asian Indian community. Growing in numbers, visibility, influence and economic power, it is now ready to begin asserting itself as another of Detroit's ethnic gems. Chaturvedi, a consultant at Amherst Capital Partners in Birmingham, said TiE is grounded in the ancient Hindi relationship of guru to chela, teacher to pupil. It was founded in Silicon Valley in 1994 by a number of successful of successful Asian Indian business people, but membership is open to all. It hopes to transmit business experience,

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encourage entrepreneurship, and give members a new window on America's dominant culture. The name IndUS, is meant to symbolize the growing link between America and India. "We don't want to be wholly for the Indian community," says Kothari, a director at GMA Capital in Farmington Hills. People with track records of business success will share advice, and perhaps even contribute to some funding. Michigan seems ripe for this. It currently lists 19 venture capital firms offering $2.3 billion, according to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. That's well below some Eastern and Western states, but represents a steep increase of 56 percent from $1.6 billion in 2000. This dovetails in many ways with the rising local profile of immigration from India, which has long enthralled us with exotic literature, art, music and food, but that is peopling us with physicians, engineers, managers, hoteliers, and business risk-takers. The 1990 census counted 16,096 Asian Indians in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and Livingston counties. It is estimated that the 2000 tally will show that figure has more than doubled to around 35,000. Want to see some of the impact of that for yourself? "Drive down

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Orchard Lake Road some time," recommends Kothari. Indian stores, restaurants, and temples are springing up around the region, particularly along some stretches of Ford Road in Garden City, Orchard Lake in Farmington Hills, and Dequindre in Sterling Heights. And Indian immigrants are beginning to feel more comfortable with Detroit, which has not always been kind to waves of foreign workers. For instance, the region's perception of Japanese workers, mostly executives with car companies and auto parts manufacturers, has ranged in the past from cool to hostile. When they learned of assignments here, Japanese officials and their families once fretted over reports of Japanese cars being stoned or pursued the streets, ritually pounded into scrap with sledge hammers or crushed beneath a creaking Sherman tank in a local car dealer's commercial that played widely in Asian news programs. The 1982 murder of Chinese-American Vincent Chin outside a Highland Park striptease bar was seen in Japan as another example of

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our cultural savagery; in fact, Japanese reporters visiting Detroit once made a point of macho pride to say they had had a drink in the bar Chin visited that night. The climate is changing, thank goodness, because of the increasingly cosmopolitan nature of Michigan-based businesses. "For me it has not been a cultural shock," says Chaturvedi. The people who have been coming in the past few years consider themselves more international citizens. 57

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Notes

1. Public Law 89-236, which became effective in 1968, abolished the old

national-origins system. It gave Asians and Africans equal status with Europeans for immigration. It also created a preference scale, as follows: (1) persons related to United States citizens or legal alien residents; (2) persons in possession of special skills or who otherwise were needed to fill labor

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shortages in the United States; and (3) refugees or other displaced persons fleeing as a result of political, religious, or racial persecutions. See Arthur W. Helweg and Usha M. Helweg, An Immigrant Success Story: East Indians in

North America (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990), 58-60, 252-53.

2. See Mark S. Hoffman, "India," in Information Please Almanac (New York: World Almanac, 1989),718-19. 3. See Zekie Eglar, A Punjabi Village in Pakistan (New York: Columbia University Press, 1960); Louis Dumont, Homo Hierarchicus: The Caste

System and Its Implications (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1966); Hugh Tinker, South Asia: A Short History, rev. ed. (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1989); and Iftikhar Haider Malik, Pakistanis in Michigan: A

Study of Third Culture and Acculturation (New York: AMS Press, 1989). 4. The terminology was coined by Hugh Tinker in his classic work A New

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System of Slavery: The Export of Indian Labour Overseas 1830-1920 (London, New York, Bombay: Oxford University Press, 1974). 5. The indenture system was used in colonizing the Americas also. In this system a person contracts to work for another for a specified period of time, with rights and duties specified in the contract. In the system used by the British, there were numerous abuses. See Tinker, Slavery, for a fuller treatment of the topic. 6. Sikhism is one of the youngest of the world religions. Since the faith's beginning with Guru Nanak (1469-1539) its followers have suffered and defended themselves against persecution. The Sikhs are noticeable for their distinctive symbols, cohesiveness, and strong communal pride, their adaptability to new and different situations, and their martial spirit. Although neatly ordered under a turban, uncut hair (kes) is their most distinctive symbol; others include an iron bracelet on the right wrist (karaha), a sword (kir-

pan), a comb in the hair (kangha), and specially designed undershorts (kachla). These 5Ks, as they are called, represent the soldier-saint ideal of the community-thus, Sikhs believe that it is right to draw the sword when the cause is just. The religion is, in essence, a soldier-saint brotherhood, and its members are highly respected for their martial qualities by Asian Indians and British alike. Thus, Sikhs were prominent in the Indian military both dur-

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ing British rule and after India obtained her independence. Emigration has been a prominent aspect of Sikh tradition. The joke is often told that when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, a Sikh was already there plowing the ground. See Arthur W. Helweg, Sikhs in England (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1986),2-6. 7. Gujaraties took over a dying institution-the "mom and pop" motel business-and gave it rebirth. "Patel" is one of the most common names in Gujarat; hence the term "Patel Motels." Later they went into real estate, franchises, store renovation, and other businesses. 8. See Parminder Bhachu, Twice Migrants: East African Sikh Settlers in Britain (London and New York: Tavistock Publications, 1985). 9. See Hugh Tinker, Separate and Unequal (Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 1976),28. 10. The most publicized incident was the voyage of the Kamagata Maru in

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1914. The incident started when a Japanese ship was chartered to transport

some Sikhs across the Pacific to Vancouver, Canada. The passages were not allowed to disembark when they reached their destination, however, an incident that was humiliating for both India, their country of origin, and the Asian Indian residents in Canada. For more information, see Hugh Johnston, The Voyage of the Kamagata Maru: The Sikh Challenge to Canada's Colour Bar (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1979). II. See Bruce La Brack, The Sikhs ofNorthern California, 1904--1975 (New York: AMS Press, 1988), 104-16. 12. The Sikh community, along with other Asian Indians, initially settled in

California. Other Asian Indians were scattered throughout the United States. The Michigan settlement was an outgrowth of the Sikhs of California. 13. See Karen Leonard, Making Ethnic Choices: California's Punjabi Mexican

Americans (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992). 14. See Arthur W. Helweg, "Das, Taraknath (1884-1958)," in Making It In

America: A Sourcebook on Eminent Ethnic Americans, ed. Elliott R. Barkan (Santa Barbara, Denver, Oxford: ABC Clio, 2001). 15. Chadr means "revolutionary" or "mutinous." It took its name from the Chadr, a newspaper in San Francisco advocating the expUlsion of the British from India.

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16. SeeArthurw. Helweg, "Immigration Act of 1917: The Asian Indian Exclusion

Act," in Asian Americans and Congress: A Documentary History, ed. HyungChan Kim (Westport, London: Greenwood Press, 1996). 17. The Jats are a dominant and highly respected agricultural caste in India. 18. Asian Indian enrollment in Michigan universities and colleges continues to

be high. Western Michigan University hosts 144 Asian Indians out of a student body of 22,249; Northern Michigan University hosts 4 out of 7,884; Wayne State University hosts 355 out of 33,872; Central Michigan University hosts 24 out of 15,443; Michigan State University hosts 186 out of 42,785; the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor hosts 310 out of 34,661; the University of Michigan at Dearborn hosts 100 out of 7,726; and Eastern Michigan University hosts 134 out of 24,079. In 2001, Western Michigan University received 1,300 applications from India alone. 19. When he arrived in the United States, he claimed that he had been born in

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1899 so that he could work three extra years before having to retire. like many of his contemporaries, he thought ahead to maximize his earning power. 20. Sikhs are a mobile people and have Gurdwaras-places of worship-all over the world. Gurdwaras take people in for the night and also feed them, and it is here that many Sikh migrants stay as they wait to continue their journeys. Such benefits are furthermore not limited to the Sikhs. See Helweg, Sikhs in England, 6. 21. In 1929 he posted a remittance the day before the banks closed. 22. Word of Henry Ford's offer of $5.00 a day spread throughout the world. It is largely because of this offer that Michigan, and especially Detroit, is the multicultural area it is. 23. Ironically, at the writing of this book (2001), workers and professionals are being recruited from overseas to work in Michigan's research facilities and industries. 24. The ventures never really materialized. After India's independence in 1947, the American car manufacturers were unwilling to reinvest their profits into India as demanded by the country's government. As a result, the market went to British manufacturers and indigenous enterprises. 25. Only entrants are counted in immigration statistics. Contrary to popular opinion, however, many immigrants did return to their homelands.

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Between 1880 and 1930, for example, one-fourth to one-third of U.S. immigrants returned. See Mark Wyman, Round- Trip to America: The Immigrants Return to Europe, 1880-1930 (Ithaca, N.Y., and London: Cornell University

Press, 1993),6. 26. See Joyce Pettigrew, Robber Noblemen (New Delhi: Ambika, 1978),85-104. 27. In California, where the Ghadr (revolutionary) Party was active and its newspaper, the Ghadr, was published, the independence movement for India was much more visible. Activists for India's freedom from British rule were actively prosecuted, especially in the Hindu Conspiracy Trial of 1917. 28. See Vinay Lal, "Establishing Roots, Engendering Awareness: A Political History of Asian Indians in the United States," in Live Like the Banyan Tree: Images of the Indian American Experience (Philadelphia: Balch Institute for

Ethnic Studies, 1999). 29. Asian Indians today are no longer unified behind the Democrats as was the generation of Arjin Singh. The affluent vote Republican.

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30. Izzat (the Hindi term) or Mann (the Punjabi term) refers to the honor or esteem of a family as determined by the consensus of the society. See Helweg, Sikhs in England, 12-21. 31. The term "new immigrants" was initially used to refer to immigrants from Eastern Europe in the 1880s. It now follows the usage of Charles Keely, who uses it to denote the unique characteristics of those arriving under the 1965 immigration law. They are well educated, often list a professional occupation, and are likely to be of Asian origin. See Richard Easterlin, David Ward, William S. Bernard, and Reed Ueda, Immigration (Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press,1982); Charles Keely, "Effects of the Immigration Act of 1965-1976," in Sourcebook on the New Immigration:

Implications for the United States and the International Community, ed. Roy Simon Bryce-Laporte (New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Books, 1980), 15-26; and Helweg and Helweg, Immigrant Success Story, xiii. 32. Asian Indians are people from India. South Asia refers to the subcontinent comprising India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the hill countries of Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan. 33. See Edward Hoogterp and Charlotte Channing, "Minority Gains Pace on Local Growth," Kalamazoo Gazette, 28 February 1991, C 1; Charlotte Channing, "Census Shows Little Desegregation," Kalamazoo Gazette, 1 March 1991, C 1.

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34. There were only thirty Sikh families in Detroit in 1930. In 1970 there were one hundred Sikh families, and now there are three hundred Sikh families in the Detroit area. 35. Unmarried children of citizens have first preference, unmarried sons and daughters of lawful aliens or permanent residents are next, with married sons and daughters of citizens having fourth preference. Fifth preference goes to siblings of citizens and seventh goes to refugees. 36. The concept of "symbolic ethnicity," where people "feel" ethnic but do not participate in ethnic institutions or cultural practices that define the group, was first developed by Herbert Gans. The concept is superbly explained by Jack Glazier. See Herbert Gans, "Symbolic Identity: The Future of Ethnic Groups and Cultures in America," Ethnic and Racial Studies 2, no. 1: 1-19; and Jack Glazier, "Issues in Ethnicity," in Ethnicity in Michigan: Issues and

People, ed. Jack Glazier and Arthur W. Helweg (East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2001), 7-9.

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37. It must be kept in mind that people act on perceptions, rather than reality. Thus, it makes no difference whether Asian Indians are truly discriminated against, if they perceive themselves as being disadvantaged they will act accordingly. 38. See Jack Glazier and Arthur W. Helweg, Ethnicity in Michigan: Issues and People (East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2001), for a more

complete treatment of ethnic dynamics in general and in Michigan. 39. See Helweg and Helweg, Success Story, 108-33. 40. See Helweg and Helweg, Success Story, 77--89. 41. Sikhs and Hindus are often friendly. Even in India, there are many unreported instances of Sikhs and Hindus saving each other. Yet the trend of separation is present. 42. See note 6. 43. Preparing Indian food is very labor intensive. It is almost impossible for a wife to have a full-time job and serve Indian cuisine. For the wife who does not have a full-time job, fulfilling her husband's demands for fresh chapaties and curries is a given. 44. See James M. Anderson, Ethnic Organizations in Michigan (Detroit: Ethnos

Press, 1983), 11-14, 96; and Otto Feinstein, Michigan Ethnic Directory (Detroit: Ethnic Heritage Center, n.d.). 45. See Helweg, Sikhs in England, 12-21; Helweg and Helweg, Success Story,

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77-92. 46. In England, this view is changing. A woman from a middle- or upper-class family is used to servants and is unwilling to do the work required in the West. A woman from the village often does not have the education and social skills needed to do well in the West. 47. In traditional Indian culture, a male who lives with his wife's family is considered a "house husband," a derogatory term for a man who is unable to support his family. 48. See Anthony F. C. Wallace, Culture and Personality, 2d ed. (New York: Random House, 1961), 189-99; Anthony F. C. Wallace. Religion: An Anthropological View (New York: Random House, 1966), 29-15, 156-66, 303-9; and

Helweg, Sikhs in England, 52-57. 49. See La Brack, Sikhs of Northern California, 216-21 50. She also was awarded an Alumni Distinguished Scholarship, MSU's most prestigious scholarship, and a Harry S. Truman Scholarship, and she served

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as an intern at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. See Tom Oswald, "Student Receives Rhodes Scholarship," MSU Today 12 (winter 1993): 1. 51. Vijay Sundaram, "Tackling High-Profile Economic Issues for Mich.," India

West, 16 July 1993, 53. 52. Although the majority were Silms, Muslims and Hindus were also present.

All were from Punjab. 53. They learned early on that working for an hourly wage did not yield enough to live on. 54. Mandeep Kaur Grewal, "The Sikh Diaspora: A Century of Sikh Struggles in the United States" (unpublished, 2000). 55. These figures do not include employees, assets, taxes, or revenues of the Singh Development Corporation. 56. As one watches the Singh brothers operate, consensus and listening are practiced. No one seems to have authority over the other-decisions are generally by consensus and all are listened to. 57. James V. Higgins, ''Asian Indians Enrich State," Detroit News, March 14,

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2001.

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for further Reference

Anderson, James M. Ethnic Organizations in Michigan. Detroit: Ethnos Press, 1983. Anderson, James M., and Iva A. Smith. Ethnic Groups in Michigan. Detroit: Ethnos Press, 1983. Butterfield, Fox. "Asians Spread across a Land, and Help Change It." New York

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Times, 24 February 1991, 14. Channing, Charlotte. "Census Shows Little Desegregation." Kalamazoo Gazette 1 March 1991, C 1. Dumont, Louis. Homo Hierarchicus: The Caste System and Its Implications. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1966. Easterlin, Richard, David Ward, William S. Bernard, and Reed U eda.

Immigration. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1982. Eglar, Zekie. A Punjabi Village in Pakistan. New York: Columbia University Press, 1960. Helweg, Arthur W. "The Indian Diaspsora: Influence on International Relations." In Modern Diasporas in International Relations, edited by Gabriel Sheffer. London: Croom Helm, 1986.

- - - . Sikhs in England. 2d ed. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1986. - - - . "Immigration Act of 1917: The Asian Indian Exclusion Act." In Asian

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85

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Americans and Congress: A Documentary History, Edited by Hyung-Chan Kim. Westport, Conn. and London: Greenwood Press, 1996. Helweg, Arthur

w.,

and Usha M. Helweg. An Immigrant Success Story: East

Indians in America. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, London: C. Hurst & Co., 1990. Hoffman, Mark S. "India." In Information Please Almanac. New York: World Almanac, 1989. Hoogterp, Edward, and Charlotte Channing. "Minority Gains Pace On Local Growth." Kalamazoo Gazette, 28 February 1991, C l. Johnston, Hugh. The Voyage of the Kamamgata Maru: The Sikh Challenge to

Canada's Colour Bar. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1979. Keely, Charles. "Effects of the Immigration Act of 1965-1976." In Sourcebook on

the New Immigration: Implications for the United States and the International Community, edited by Roy Simon Bryce-Laporte. New Brunswick: Transaction Books, 1980. La Brack, Bruce. The Sikhs of Northern California, 1904-1975. New York: AMS Press, 1988. Lal, Vinay. "Establishing Roots, Engendering Awareness: A Political History of Asian Indians in the United States." In Live Like the Banyan Tree: Images of

the Indian American Experience, 42-48. Philadelphia: Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, 1999.

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Leonard, Karen Isaksen. Making Ethnic Choices: California's Punjabi Americans. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992.

- - - . The South Asian American. Westport, Conn., and London: Greenwood Press, 1997. Malik, Iftikhar Haider. Pakistanis in Michigan: A Study of Third Culture and

Acculturation. New York: AMS Press, 1989. Oberai, A. S., and H. K. Manmohan Singh. "Migration, Remittances and Rural Development: Findings of a Case Study in the Indian Punjab." International

Labour Review. 59 (1980): 2. - - - . Causes and Consequences of International Migration: A Study in the Indian Punjab. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1983. Oswald, Tom. "Student Receives Rhodes Scholarship." MSU Today 12, no. 1 (winter 1993). Pettigrew, Joyce. Robber Noblemen. New Delhi: Ambika Publications, 1978.

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Singer, Milton. When a Great Tradition Modernizes: An Anthropoloogical Ap-

proach to Indian Civilization. London: Pall Mall Press, 1972. Sundaram, Vijay. "Tackling High-Profile Economic Issues for Mich.," India West, 16 July, 1993, 3. Tinker, Hugh. A New System of Slavery: The Export of Indian Labour Overseas 1830-1920. London, New York, Bombay: Oxford University Press, 1974.

- - . Separate and Unequal. Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 1976. - - - . South Asia: A Short History. Revi. ed. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1989. Wallace, Anthony E C. Culture and Personality. 2d ed. New York: Random House, 1961. - - . 1966. Religion: An Anthropological View. New York: Random House, 1966. Wyman, Mark. Round- Trip to America: The Immigrants Return to Europe, 1880-1930. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1993.

Selected Sources Asian Indians in North America Helweg, Arthur

w.,

and Usha M. Helweg. An Immigrant Success Story: East

Indians in America. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, London: C. Hurst & Co., 1990.

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La Brack, Bruce. The Sikhs of Northern California, 1904-1975. New York: AMS Press, 1988. Leonard, Karen. The South Asian American. Westport, Conn., and London: Greenwood Press, 1997.

India Lannoy, Richard. The Speaking Tree: A Study of Indian Culture and Society. London, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 1973. Tinker, Hugh. South Asia: A Short History. Rev. ed. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1989.

Overseas Indian Communities Clarke, Colin, Ceri Peach, & Steven Vertvec, eds. South Asians Overseas: Migration

and Ethnicity. Cambridge, New York, Port Chester, Melbourne, Sydney: Cambridge University Press, 1990.

Asian Indians in Michigan, Michigan State University Press, 2002. ProQuest Ebook Central,

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Arthur W. Helweg

Vertovec, Steven, ed. Aspects of the South Asian Diaspora. Oxford University Papers on India, vol 2, part 2. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1991.

Videos India

Indus to Independence, Films for the Humanities & Sciences, Princeton, N.J. V. S. Naipaul, The Enigma of Writing, Films for the Humanities & Sciences,

Princeton, N.J. Saheri's Choice: Arranged Marriages in India, Films for the Humanities & Sciences, Princeton, N.J. Partition of India: Legacy of Blood, Films for the Humanities & Sciences, Princeton, N.J. ChaCha]i: My Poor Relation: A Memoir by Ved Mehta, WGBH, Boston, Mass. Hinduism: An Introduction, Films for the Humanities & Sciences, Princeton, N.J. Images of India: Its land and People, Films for the Humanities & Sciences, Princeton, N.J. Mahatma Gandhi: The Great Soul Lives, Films for the Humanities & Sciences, Princeton, N.J. Sikhism: The Golden Temple, Films for the Humanities & Sciences, Princeton,

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N.J.

Web Sites http://www.miindia.comis the best place to locate Asian Indian organizations, cultural events, and other information http://www-users.cs. umn.edul-seetalalIndialArticleslarticle001.html http://www.augsburug.edulpoliticaCsciencelapaclbooks.html http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edulaasplAASP540Narayan.html http://www.indiaabroadonline.comIPublicAccesslindex.htm http://www.economictimes.comltodaylpagehome.htm

Associations Almost every community and university has an India Association. Besides these, here are some others:

Asian Indians in Michigan, Michigan State University Press, 2002. ProQuest Ebook Central,

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89

Performing Nadanta Inc., 30362 Southfield Rd., Southfield, MI48076; (313) 642-6663 Vidyanjali Dance Troupe of Michigan, 24611 Senaca, Oak Park, MI; (313) 3990259

Media Beetanjali Music of India, WCAAR-AM 1090, 42010 Raintree Circle, Northville, MI48167

Religious International Society for Krishna, Bharatiya Temple, 6850 North Adams Road, Troy, MI 49098; (313) 825-0110 The India Temple, 4972 Cogswell, Wayne, MI 48184; (313) 455-9269

Service and Cultural India League of America, P.O. Box 641, Birmingham, MI 48201; (313) 851-5220 Marthoma Church of Malabar, c/o St. Peter Episcopal Church, 1950 Trumbull,

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Detroit, MI 48216

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Index

A accomplishments, 63-67 African Americans, 15, 23 Afro-Indians, 15 Alexander the Great,S Ali, Asaf, 19 America(n), 11, 12, 15, 18,37,46,70 Amritsar, 11, 15 Anderson, Madhu, 63 Andhra Pradesh, 3, 7 anti-Asian, 11, 13 Armstrong, Neil, 10 Aryan, 13 Asia(n), 9, 25, 35 Asian Indian(s), 1,3, 4, 5, 9-22, 23-28,35,36,37,59-61,63,74, 79, 82; concerns, 38-58; contributions, 64-69; country of citizenship of, in Kalamazoo, 29; culture, 38, 42; occupation of, in Kalamazoo, 30, 31; population distribution of, in Michigan, 37; population profile of, in the United States, 14; profile of, in

the United States, 33; religious affiliations of, in Kalamazoo, 28 Asian Indian population distribution,37 Asian Pacific Islanders, 24 Asians, 24 assimilation, 43, 45 Association of Indian Engineers of America, 50 Association of Indian Physicians, 50 B Bangladesh, 3, 81 Bellingham, 11 Bengal(i), 3, 15 Bhachu, Parrninder, 7 Bhatt, Rajuta, 63 Bhutan, 3, 81 Bhuyan, Bijoy, 28, 32, 34, 36, 37, 65 Bloomfield Hills, 37 Bombay, 18 British, 4, 9, 12. 15 British Empire,S Burma, 3, 4

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C Calcutta, 12, 69 California, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 21, 22, 26,69 Canada, 9, 10, 18,79 Caribbean, 3, 7 Caucasian, 13 Census 2000, 25 Chaturvedi, Seema, 73, 75 Chicago, 26 Chief Minister, 18 Chin, Vincent, 74, 75 Chinese, 13, 25 Chinese American, 74 Christian(s), 6, 19; missionaries, 32 Christianity, 28, 46 Civil Rights Movement, 23 community service, 64 congress, 69 Cooper, John Sherman, 20 corporate mentality, 43 cricket, 41 cultural brokers, 24, 37 culture shock, 75 Cuttack, 28, 32 D Das, Taraknath, 12 Dearborn, 37 Delaware, 25 Democratic Party, 20, 50 Dequindre, 74 Detroit, 14, 17, 18, 19,21,22,26,35, 36,51,59,60,64,69,70,73,75, 80,81 Dhillon, Ishar Singh, 69 discrimination, 19,51-52 "dot-busters," 52 Dutch,5 E East Africa, 3, 5, 7 East Coast, 12, 23

Eastern European, 12, 81 Eastern Michigan University, 79 economic power, 60 elderly, 52-53 emigrants, 7 England,7 English, 35, 37 Erikson, Erik, 52 ethnic survival, 38--45 ethnicity, 36, 81, 82; five components of, 38 Europe(ans), 3, 20, 24, 35, 39 European colonies, 5 F Famine in India, 12 Farmington Hills, 74 5Ks, 78 Ford, Henry, 17, 80 Ford Motor Company, 15, 17, 18,21 Ford Road, 74 foreign policy, 64 French,5

G Ganesh, Sakaram, 13 Gans, Herbert, 81 Garden City, 74 gender issues, 54-55 General Motors, 34 Germans, 13, 18 Ghadr, 12, 79, 80 Ghadrites, 12 Gill, Channan Singh, 18 glass ceiling, 53 Greek, 5, 35 Greek Town, 35 Grewal brothers, 69, 72 Grewal, Sarwan Singh, 15, 18, 69 Gujarat, 3, 6 Gujaraties, 6, 78 Gulf War, 51 Gurdwara, 17, 18,22,41,46,63,80

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Gurmale, 69-70, 71 Guru Nanak, 78

Jeat,69 joint residence, 52 Jullundur, 10, 69

H Hart, Philip, 20 Highland Park, 18 Hindoo Conspiracy Trial, 12 Hindu(s), 3, 4, 5, 19, 37, 82 Hindustan Antibiotics Limited, 32 Hindustan Industrial Association, 18,80 homeland, 59--61 Hong Kong 9, 15, 69 Hyderabad, 7, 60

identity, 42 Immigration Act of 1917, 13 Immigration Act of 1965, 1, 23 Immigration Laws of 1965, 24

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Imperial Valley, 11 indenture, 5 India, 3, 1, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 32, 34, 50,69,81 India Abroad, 50 India Association, 36 India Brotherhood Association, 19 India League, 13, 36, 60 India League of America, 51 India Welfare League, 13 India West, 50 Indian(s), 4, 19,34,40 Indian Exclusion Act, 13 Indus Entrepreneurs, 73, 74 IranlIraq War, 51 Islam, 28 izzat, 20, 43, 52, 81

J

''J'' visa, 28 Jainism,28 Jamshedpur, 34 Japan(ese), 16, 75

K Kalamazoo, 24, 28, 34, 35, 36, 46, 50, 51 Kalamazoo Consultation Center, 65 Kamagata Maru, 78, 79 Kanga, 78 Karaha, 78 Karon, Pratap Singh, 16, 18 Keely, Charles, 81 kes, 78 Kennedy, John E, 20, Kentucky, 20 Kenya, 7 Kerala, 3, 6, 7 Keralite women, 6 Khalsa College, 15, 18 Kheda District, 6 kirpan, 78 Kobi,16 Kotharia, Rajesh, 73, 74

L Lahore, 69 language, 55--56 Lawrence Technical School, 20 libraries, 59 Livingston, 74 Luce-Celler, 11, 19,20, Ludhiana, 10, 18,69 Lushman,69 M Macomb, 74 Madison Heights, 37 Maharashtra, 3, 7 Malwa,10 mann, 20, 43 marriage, 53 Massachusetts, 20

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Mathur, 17 meaning in life, 38 Mexico, 11, 46 Nlichigan, 1,3,4,5, 14, 15-22,24, 25,27,32,35-57,75,80,81 Michigan Economic Development Corporation, 74 Michigan State University, 6, 24, 44, 63, 79 Midwest, 35 Minister of Agriculture, 17 Mississippi, 25 Muslim(s), 5, 15, 19, 39 Mythology of Immigration, 10 N National Committee for India's Friends, 13 National Federation of Indian Associations in America, 50 Nepal,81 network(s),44 New Hampshire, 25, New Immigrant(s), 23, 28, 35, 81 New Immigration, 23 New Jersey, 25 North America, 9, 10 North Carolina, 26 North India, 11 Northern Michigan University, 79

p

Pakistan, 3, 5, 81 Parsi,32 Patel,78 "Patel Motel," 78 Pennsylvania, 25, Persian Gulf, 7 Pimpri,32 plantation, 5 Poona,32 Precision Hardware Company, 20 Public Law, 77 public works, 59 Punjab, 3, 5, 9-22, 69 Punabi, 5, 12 Punjabi Mexican, 12 Q

Queen Victoria, 9 R Rao, Rama, 19 religion, 28, 45-46 remittances, 20 Republican Party, 20, 50, 80 Residence Patterns, 35, Revitalization 36, 43, 54 roads, 59 Rhodes Scholarship, 63

S

o OakPark,37 Oakland,74 Ohio, 25 Ohio State University, 6 old age, 52-53 old immigration, 9, 42, 59 Orchard Lake, 74 organizations, 49 Orissa, 28, 32

Sacramento, 11 Sahouli,69 St. Thomas, 6 San Francisco, 12 San Joaquin, 11 Sandhu, Beant Singh, 20 second generation, 56-57 Shah, Gurinder, 44 Sikh(s), 5, 9,10,17,19,21,39,41, 64,79,80,81,82 Sikhism, 28, 78, 81 Sikkim,3,

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ASIAN INDIANS IN MICHIGAN

Silicon Valley, 7, 60 Singapore, 15 Singh, Arjin, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19,20,43, 46,59,69,80 Singh, Belvant, 17 Singh, Gurmale, 70 Singh, J. J., 12 Singh, Lal, 17 Singh, Kirpa, 18 Singh, Sukhdev, 21 Singh Development Company, 18, 70 slavery, 5, 78 soccer, 41 social entrepreneurship, 73 social networks, 46--51 Sodhi, Darbara Singh, 18 Soldier-saint, 78, South Asia, 3 South Asian Diaspora, 4 South Asians, 7 Southeast Asia, 4 Spanish,12 sports, 41 Sri Lanka, 3, 81 Sterling Heights, 74 Stockton, 11, 18 success story, 69-72 symbolic ethnicity, 35, 81 symbolic system, 38, 39

T Tabil,69 Tamil Nadu, 3, 7 Telco, 34, Texas, 26 Thailand,4 Thind, Bhaghat Singh, 19 TIE,73 Troy,25 1\vi.ce Migrants, 7, 78

U Uganda, 7 Ugandan Railway, 5 United Kingdom, 32 United States, 1, 3-7, 12, 17, 19, 23. 24,32,43,79 U.S. Immigration Laws, 23, U.S. Supreme Court, 13 United States us. Bhaghat Singh Thind,13 University of California, 16, 69 University of Michigan, 15, 16, 17, 18,24,79 University of Washington, 12 University of Wisconsin, 28, 32 Upjohn,34 Upton, Fred, 30

v Vancouver, 9,10,11,79 Vietnamese, 25 village, 59-61 W Washington, 11 Wayne State University, 34 West Coast, 12, 13, 14 West Virginia, 25 Western Michigan University, 79 Wolpe, Howard, 50 women, 42 World Health Organization, 32 y

Ypsilanti, 32 Yuba City, 11

Z Zoroastrian, 28

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