Who is an Asian American?

This question has confused me a great deal in the past and to some extent it still does, especially as a South Asian.

Growing up in Detroit, I did not have much interaction with Asian Americans outside of those in the Indian community. It did not take much for me to realize that I was Asian American. India is in Asia and I am a resident of America so I concluded that I must be Asian American.

It wasn't until I was a little bit older that I realized that to others the concept was not so simple. This became apparent to me in three different situations.

The first account occured in high school while one of my friends was proofreading my English paper. He was confused about a line in which I discribed myself as an Asian American. He said "but you are an Indian. There is no way you are Asian!" Now does that make any sense?

The second account occured while I was taking a standardized test. I came to the race/ethinicity section and I had to fill in a bubble. The options present were Caucasian, African American, Asian, From the Indian Subcontinent, Hispanic, etc. It perplexed me that there was a different bubble for South Asians and the rest of the Asians. At first thought I figured it might be that South Asians have such a large population so it might make sense to divide it into different categories. However, I did not see a sign for those from China. It was starting to become more and more clear that people saw South Asians as being different from Asians.

This last account is one that disturbed me the most. I telling some of my Indian friends how I had this amazing oppurtunity to be a part of a cultural show called GenAPA. She responded "Why would you want to do that? You're not Asian, you are Indian." To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I found this sentiment to be common among most South Asians. They do not consider themselves to be Asian. At the same time a lot of other Asians don't consider South Asians to be Asian.

Overtime the word Asian has increasingly been used to describe those of East Asian origin. Thus the connotation of the word has been used to describe mostly those of East Asian origin. This disturbs me because where there should be solidarity there is a lack of unity. Personally I do not understand why there is a divide between South Asians and the rest of the Asian community. The only possible explanation is that they look different. Surely this cannot be a plausible explanation though. Most Asian Americans, South Asians included, face the same problems. Most people from Asia share the same fundamental family/cultural values. In America there are many South Asians who are very well off and there are many other Asians who are also well established. At the same time there are South Asians who are discriminated against and struggle to make a living. There are also other Asians who go through the same problems. We all go through the same basic struggles and triumphs. We all also hail, at one point or another, from Asia.

So why is there a divide, especially in America, when we should all be standing in solidarity?

Ravi