Life as an Indian American

Life as an Indian American — page 1 — U S families with roots in the country of India are known as Indian Americans 4

Life as an Indian American — page 2 — WHO ARE INDIAN AMERICANS An Indian American is a resident of the United States who was born in India or who is descended from parents born in India Sometimes they are referred to as Asian Indian Americans so people do not confuse them with the indigenous peoples of North America Native Americans While all Indian Americans have roots in India they come from many different religions ethnic groups regions and economic backgrounds Some Indian Americans come straight to the United States from India Some come from other countries Many Indian Americans combine parts of Indian culture and American culture in their lives Some hold on to cultural traditions and values from their homeland These often include a reverence for their family celebrating holidays such as Diwali pronounced divali cooking foods from their homeland and valuing education 5

Life as an Indian American — page 3 — Indian Americans are the most educated United States ethnic group By age 25 about 73 percent have at least one college degree About 4 million people in the United States can trace their roots to India That is about 1 in 95 Americans The United States currently receives more legal immigrants from India than from any other nation In 2014 147,500 Indian immigrants arrived in the United States even more than from China or Mexico In 2015 the number of people living in the U S who were born in India soared to 2 4 million More than three-quarters of arriving Indian Americans are fluent in English so language is not a barrier for their school or work 6

Life as an Indian American — page 4 — Most Indian Americans are college educated and are able to find good jobs Indian Americans work in all kinds of fields such as business science engineering medicine technology art and politics DID YOU KNOW Many Religions Indian Americans practice many different religions According to a study by the Pew Research Center in 2012 about 51 percent of Indian Americans are Hindu meaning they practice the religion Hinduism Many Indian Americans are Christian Muslim Sikh or Jain Some are Parsi Buddhist or Jewish About 10 percent of Indian Americans do not practice a religion Hinduism was born in India in 1500 BC It is considered by some to be the world’s oldest religion Its followers believe they live in a constant cycle of birth death and reincarnation living many lives They also believe in karma which is the idea that your fate depends on your actions in life Buddhism was founded in India in the fifth century BC Today its leader the 14th Dalai Lama lives in India’s Himalaya Mountains Christianity and Islam later came to India from other parts of the world Through rulers and conquerors they became part of Indian life and culture 7

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