South Asian Americans are Americans who can trace their ancestry to the Indian subcontinent, often known as South Asia. The overwhelming majority (1.6 million) trace their ancestry to India, though there are also significant communities from Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Many South Asian Americans can trace their ancestry to countries outside South Asia; their ancestors often migrated to India during British rule. New York City has a large Indo-Caribbean community ^* whose ancestors started migrating to British-ruled lands in the Caribbean in 1838, especially Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. Many other South Asian Americans migrated from Fiji, Africa, and the United Kingdom.

Identity

Especially amongst the younger generation and individuals brought up in America, there is a tendency to identify with others within the broader South Asian community, who may not necessarily share a common national origin, language, or religion. Some of these people refer to themselves as Desis, from a Sanskrit word used in many South Asian languages and meaning "countryman", which they will also apply to people whose ancestral roots are in a different country from theirs.

See also

• Bangladeshi American
• Indian American
• Pakistani American
• Desi

External links

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• Dissection of American Media Now South Asian stories since 1857 that have made front-page news in America
• South Asian Dictionary South Asian terms ranging from geographical locations to modern pop-culture (compiled by S.A.J.A.)
• Sept. 11 Attacks A compilation of stories relating to South Asian Americans and racial profiling cases following the attacks on September 11, 2001
• A Part, yet Apart: South Asians in Asian America Lavina Dhingra Shankar and Rajini Srikanth's book exploring the South Asian diaspora in relation to Asian America
• Dalip Singh Saund: An Asian Indian American Pioneer An article on the first APA congressman
• Book: Professional Life in the US The author has assembled in one place his ideas for professionals aspiring to live and work in the U.S. and North America.
• Dr. Kalpana C. Chawla: First South Asian American in space A webpage documenting her life, her occupation as an astronaut and her death in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003
• Asian Genes This website discusses the genetic distance of different Asian groups.
• Asian Skin This website discusses the skin color of different Asian groups.
• Asian BloodA website that discusses the frequency of ABO and sickle cell blood types in Asians.

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Ethnic groups in the United States