Indian immigrants have had a lot of problems coming into the United States and finding a new life because the culture is so different. Assimilation and integration is something many immigrants from any foreign country has a tough time understanding as well as working towards. This especially holds true for migrants coming from India, as their culture is extremely hard to adapt into their new American lives for numerous reasons. First, let’s look at the cultural implications of Indian immigration and some of the factors behind it.

History of Indian Immigration
Indian immigration’s first major wave into the United States started at around the early 19th Century. While this wave was rather small compared to the other types of waves, it was significant since it laid the groundworks for other immigrants to come to the U.S. from India. Indians wanted to come to the U.S. because they saw opportunities here that they didn’t have in their homeland. This was due to several factors. First, the caste system oppressed people of the lower class and didn’t let anyone climb the social ladder. In other words, if you were born as a peasant, you’d be destined to stay a peasant your entire life. While many of the first wave of Indian immigrants came here as low-skilled farm laborers, they at least figured that they’d be able to climb the social ladder. Secondly, the U.S. was a much more developed country with technology that far surpassed India’s. And lastly, the British imperial rulers made many Indians want out of their country, so they went to America thanks to its reputation of being at the forefront of the “free world.” While the U.S. may have not been the first choice of Indians since many wanted to go to Canada, it’s important to note that they decided to go to North America rather than Western Europe. As mentioned above, most of the Indian migrants came to the U.S. as agricultural workers, and many of them found work on the railroads and timber industries. Because many of the immigrants were males who were willing to work overtime for very low wages, Americans grew skeptical of not only Indian immigration but other chains of migration such as Japanese, Chinese, and Irish immigration.

U.S. workers often saw these people as a threat who came here to take their jobs away. Anyways, as more and more Indians migrated to the U.S., many found their way to Califonia where they worked on farms in California’s rich agricultural valleys. Later on as more and more workers came, U.S. workers began to demand Indian’s be removed from their jobs and replaced with Americans who needed work. Reacting to the skepticism from Americans, Indians created organizations where they pooled their money and bought shelters so they could be safe. In the year 1919, Indian immigrants owned a large portion of land in California and produced rice, cotton, nuts, fruit, and potatoes. Oftentimes, large businesses exploited these Indians and were able to take most of their money away from them using methods such as blackmail, extortion, or just threats. In 1947, about six-thousand Asian immigrants came to the U.S. where it paved the way for mass migration from these areas in the future. Immigration only rose by about 9.5 percent between 2000 and 2010. Indians were often, and are still often, stereotyped in America, and this may be due to the fact that the Indian people are slow to dispute these stereotypes. In other words, Indians are very peaceful people who feel the desire to maintain group harmony, even if it means exposing themselves. Racism has been experienced by Indian Americans in the United States since they’ve come here, and this is due to the fact that America is a nation that prided itself on white privilege. While the nation as a whole has gotten better, there is still a long way to go when it comes to making America less racist and more inclusive.

Racism among Americans
While many Americans aren’t directly racist, many of them still benefit from the advantages they are given at birth over other such people such as blacks, Hispanics, and yes, Indians. Indians are often stereotyped as Asian Americans and they are lumped into the same category. While it’s true that India is a part of Asia, it’s also true that the Indian culture is uniquely different than any other culture throughout all of Asia.

Now there are many solutions to this issue. Solution number one would be acknowledgement. Americans must acknowledge the racism that exists in society rather that turning a blind eye. Solution number two would be to create a universal basic income for the oppressed which would level the playing field. Lastly, solution number three would be to enact more legislation to protect Indian immigrants and Indian Americans from racism which can include tighter discrimination laws.

Conclusion
America has come a long way, but it is still not a truly open nor tolerant country when it comes to accepting people with different values. Indian immigrants have suffered because of this, and just because it’s not their country doesn’t mean they can’t come here and enjoy the same fruits and benefits of other Americans. With the implementation of the solutions I’ve listed above, I believe that it would move America towards being more tolerant and help level the playing field between Americans and immigrants who come here with almost nothing.