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Introduction to Asian Indian Immigration. Population trends Called “Hindus” but 1/3 Muslim, majority Sikh 16-35 yrs 1/3 left wives or children in India <1% women 47% illiterate Most unskilled laborers or agricultural workers. Context of Emigration. British colonialism Famine
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Introduction to Asian Indian Immigration • Population trends • Called “Hindus” but 1/3 Muslim, majority Sikh • 16-35 yrs • 1/3 left wives or children in India • <1% women • 47% illiterate • Most unskilled laborers or agricultural workers ICS 20 Week 3 -- Chinese Immigration
Context of Emigration • British colonialism • Famine • Work available in British Empire (W. Indies, Uganda, Britain, Guiana, New Zealand, Australia) ICS 20 Week 3 -- Chinese Immigration
Takaki’s Main Argument • Immigration of Asian Indians was important and interesting because it represented a new diversity in Asian migration to the U.S. Though Asian Indians were also considered “strangers from a different shore,” they were also “Caucasian.” ICS 20 Week 3 -- Chinese Immigration
What is the story of Asian Indian immigrants that Takaki tells? Ethnic Antagonism, Violence, Exclusion: • called “Hindoos,” the new “Yellow Peril” • attacked (1907 700 driven out of WA) • targeted by Asiatic Exclusion League • 1908-1920: 3,453 Asian Indians denied entry to U.S. as potential “public charges” • 1917 Immigration Act restricts immigration from “barred zone” of Asia ICS 20 Week 3 -- Chinese Immigration
Citizenship Could Asian Indians gain naturalized citizenship as “Caucasians”? 1910 Asiatic Exclusion League 1910 U.S. v Balsara 1913 Ajkoy Kumar Mazumdar decision 1922 Ozawa Case 1923 U.S. v Bhagat Singh Thind ICS 20 Week 3 -- Chinese Immigration
1923 U.S. v Bhagat Singh Thind • Asian Indians are agreed to be of “Caucasian” race by Supreme Court • Quote p. 299 • Court decides definition of race should be based on “understanding of common man.” • Asian Indians are “Caucasian” but not “white” ICS 20 Week 3 -- Chinese Immigration
Implications of Thind Case 1924 Immigration Act – Asian Indians now subject to restrictions (“aliens ineligible to citizenship”) • Anti-miscegenation laws (CA 1880, 1934) • Denial of land ownership and leasing of land (CA 1913, 1920, 1923) ICS 20 Week 3 -- Chinese Immigration
Independence / Nationalist Movement 1908 “Free Hindustan” newspaper first published 1910 Ghadr Party formed 1914 400 Asian Indians join Ghadr uprising in India ICS 20 Week 3 -- Chinese Immigration
Employment • RR workers and lumber mills • Agriculture in CA • Paid less than Japanese farm workers • Work gangs, 10-14 hour-days • Adopted strategies to cope with low wage and harsh conditions ICS 20 Week 3 -- Chinese Immigration
Patterns of Settlement: Mexican-Punjabi Families 1913-1946 N. CA 47% married Mexican women C. CA 76% S. CA 92% Families blended and mixed elements of both cultures. ICS 20 Week 3 -- Chinese Immigration