Description |
The Indian population in the United States has grown dramatically since 1965 due to changes in immigration laws which now favor those who have technical skill sets and who come from privileged caste backgrounds. The guidelines and restrictions on immigration for Indians resulted in the phenomenon of the "triple selection" of post-1965 immigrants. With the changing demographics of the Indian immigrant population (compared to pre-1965 immigration) also came various attitudes brought from their home country. Triple selection resulted in caste privileged immigrants creating a culture of Brahminical supremacy and perpetuating caste-based discrimination against caste oppressed Indian immigrants. While caste-based oppression is often denied by caste privileged immigrants, ultimately their political alignment is with Hindu Nationalist parties and organizations and which they are supporting financially both in the US and in India. Current literature individually outlines caste-based discrimination, immigration patterns from India to the US, and the Hindutva in the US, but few do an in-depth analysis of how the phenomenon of triple selection led to an overrepresentation of caste privileged Indian immigrants who have created a culture of Brahminical supremacy and who produce caste-based violence. Through this analysis, I will further explore and nuance the connection of immigration patterns from India to the US post-1965, the rise of the Hindutva in the US, caste-based violence in the US, and resistance to caste apartheid. |