From the Ganges to the Hudson: Indian Immigrants in New York City

Rating:
Summary: Obsolete Obsessions
Review: This book once again made an interesting reading. Several of the scenes narrated in the book reminded me of my own immigrant life here in USA. Clearly, the author has done extensive research to observe the Indian immigrants. Some of the clashes described such as between genders and between different generations were also quite vividly described. ... she compares the categories of "South Asian" versus "Indian". It is true that second generation of immigrants prefers the former category whereas the first generation prefers the latter one. And the reason is not just the political rivalry between India and Pakistan. While India represents a free, democratic and secular country, Pakistan and Bangladesh are autocratic and theocratic countries. Therefore, by packaging the uniqueness of India into "South Asia" is not completely accurate categorization. At the same time, Indians have to take the heat several times due to this category.... the author presents an anti-racism perspective shared by Vijay Prashad. One wonders if this perspective is kind of a new trend of progressive scholars. Do the Marxist scholars always need a target to fight against? In India, it is the "Evil Brahmanical Conspiracy". In USA, it is the "Evil White Conspiracy". Such outdated notions may be the reason that Hindutva folk would call them "Evil Marxist Conspiracy".
On page 32, the author fails to understand a simple Bollywood movie and presents a skewed version of the story which in reality is an epitome of Indian family values. However, on the same page she accurately mentions about the concerns of Indians about the portrayal of India in the popular media. Sadly, for the general American public, India still translates into "caste, curry and cows" despite India being the second fastest growing economy in the world, one of the largest producers of technical professionals and many other achievements. ...she correctly depicts the close family ties among several relatives. This feature is one of the many commonalities among the Indians. ... she narrates various activist groups who are trying to be saviors for South Asians and why some South Asians oppose them. gives the gist of such activists who blame Indian traditions for today's social problems. However, recent scholars have accused the centuries of colonization for some of these problems such as women oppression, Casteism etc. Sadly, most of these organizations are still stuck with the outdated ideologies of colonizers. Few have any idea of the root causes of any social problems and still claim to be the reformers. Hence, some of the intellectuals have gone to the extent of calling these "activists" as sepoys of the neo-colonizers.
Finally, I think that such books seem to severely obsolete. None of the books mention that the NRIs have invested billion[s] in India and therefore the notion of brain-drain needs to be changed. Obviously, Indian techno-professionals do not face the racism the books seem to be so worried about. None of the books have cared to study the movements such as Swadhyay which is NOT based on any sectarian, regional, linguistic, ethnic or national agenda and still appeals to Indians all over the globe. None of the book have discussed about the racism prevalent in academy against South Asians. They have also failed to take into account the modern feminist scholar such as Madhu Kishwar who has challenged the feminist organizations which the Lessinger book seems to be praising about. Also, I would like to debate the categorization of India as a third world country or an undeveloped country. One just needs to take a trip to India to see the massive changes in telecom, IT and other infra-structure now taking place.