Every race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, etc. has faced the challenges institutions inherently will be forced to face. I'm just here to illustrate some of my frustrations as an Indian (as in Indian subcontinent) American. Hopefully you'll find some of these interesting enough to actually change and make America as accepting as it possibly can be. A lot of these are really specific, but my main message is to encourage people to educate themselves to the best of their abilities and to encourage people to stop assuming things about others based on something as trivial as skin color or a last name.
Henna
In India, henna is a plant. It is used for mendhi, the paste applied to the hands and feet in intricate designs, especially during weddings. Henna is also used to naturally dye hair (it's a reddish-brownish color), and in beauty treatments in general. The designs you get applied at carnivals and state fairs, that's MENDHI, not HENNA.
Color Runs
Color runs are basically entirely stolen from Indian culture. Once you watch this video, come back here and realize that color runs are Holi, our "coming-of-spring" festival, just the running is in a straight line instead of towards the person you want to cover in powder.
Ghandi - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was one of the world's greatest civil rights leaders and greatest influencers. His name is spelled G-A-N-D-H-I. However, it is often misspelled to "Ghandi." I have never seen a published or marketed misspelling of "Martin Luther King Jr." or "Nelson Mandela." He signed his name in English; it's time we learn how to spell it. Use some spellcheck.
Indian vs. Hindu vs. Hindi - I am an Indian; my heritage lies in the Indian sub-continent. I am a Hindu, or a believer of Hinduism. Not all Indians are Hindu, and not all Hindus are Indian. Though I do not speak it, Hindi is the language that my grandmother grew up speaking (I am more proficient in Gujarati, the language of the state of Gujarat). I do not speak 'Indian,' just as you do not speak 'American.'
"So how do you celebrate Easter?" Well, how do you celebrate Diwali or Navaratri? I'm assuming you don't. If anything, your family might go out to an Indian restaurant, to celebrate globalization and the reminder that is auto-implanted into your calendar. That's how my family is with Easter; when we were little, we might go to the local park and collect eggs with jellybeans and quarters, but our involvement never evolved past anything Hallmark couldn't handle. Now we enjoy Good Friday off and use the extra days to go see colleges.
Bindis at Coachella - Bindis are often signs of a married woman or symbolic of a spiritual 'third eye' of the deity representing the destructive aspect of the Hindu god, who is known as Lord Shiva. However, in popular culture, especially at music festivals like Coachella, bindis are reduced as another way to misinterpret a culture other than your own. I love the idea that America is trying to incorporate new cultures; I hate that cultural appropriation is what ensues. Do not "try-out' a culture that is not yours to look "edgy"; using someone's heritage without an understanding and an intelligent intent is a form of physical plagiarism.
Religious images on tee-shirts, feet, and toilet seats - Bindis are sometimes excusable - after all, they are becoming more fashion-oriented in the motherland herself. However, I find it incredibly insensitive, when I see images of aspects of god that I've learned to love and respect on socks at Urban Outfitters, on tee-shirts at Wildfox, and toilet seats. Most people wouldn't react well to a picture of Jesus on socks; we shouldn't react well to other religious icons on socks either. I am tired of seeing the om symbol on feet, too; they are a religious and meditative symbol, not a way to be edgy. Nama-stop with the cultural insensitivity. I don't mind these symbols and images being used (I even want an om tattoo myself); I mind them being exploited and being used in an uneducated context.
Yoga - Hatha Yoga is a core aspect of Hindu philosophy. It is defined as the use of physical poses, called Asana, and mediation on a spiritual path towards God. The Hindu tradition doesn't want ownership of yoga, but it most definitely wants to be recognized as the origins of this art. However, sources like Yoga Journal have been known to avoid allusions to yoga's Hindu origins, because they claim the word Hindu "carries too much baggage." Yoga, in all its forms, is central to the Hindu experience; it deserves to be taught that way. https://www.hafsite.org/media/pr/takeyogaback
Sit-Coms/Major television characters - I look across the table to my very white friend. I ask him to name the three most prevalent Indian people on Prime Time television. I get Raj Koothrappali, from the Big Bang Theory, and Aziz Ansari from Park and Rec and now Netflix. When I ask for a third, I get "Raj Koothrappali's sister?" It doesn't help that I can only think of a few more; Mindy Kaling, Baljeet from Phineas and Ferb, Ravi from Jessie, and Priyanka Chopra on Quantico. When you look at the two Disney Channel characters (Ravi and Baljeet) they fill the vast majority of Indian stereotypes: easily bullied, thick accent that's constantly made fun of on the show, really geeky, and offensively unathletic. Priyanka Chopra is "Alex Parish" on Quantico, and she is white-washed to be only half Indian, when in reality she is an Indian citizen. Mindy Kaling, most likely because she writes her own show, The Mindy Project, fills the least of the stereotypes, but still is geeky, cheap, and of course, a doctor. Raj Koothrappali, again, a walking stereotype on a show with no shortage of tech support jokes. I understand stereotypes serve as great subject matter for comedic material, but the fact is, Indians on Prime Time television are completely misrepresented and single-faceted characters who serve to reinforce stereotypes starting from the Disney Channel years of a person's life.
"Curry" - Someone explain this one to me - I have no clue what is means. Never in my life have I ever heard an Indian person refer to anything as "curry." When people tell me they love Indian curry, I smile and nod because I have no clue what food you are trying to refer to.
Caste - A caste system in any society is not well received. However, in the public education system, it feels like the caste system is unfairly and inaccurately highlighted. It was also disbanded in 1950, so please don't teach it like it is still enforced. The ugly parts of any society take a long time to truly be abolished; India may not be perfect, but neither is America (we have our fair share of residual racial prejudices and tensions). Don't teach one place wrong just to make yours look better.
Being seen as only a poor, 3rd-world country - India is a beautiful place. It is colorful, vibrant, ancient and modern. It is cultured and diverse and absolutely breathtaking. It is, however, still developing as a consequence of its history (see: colonialism). I understand that poverty is very real, but don't show me only the ugly parts of India in the classroom. I want to see the landscapes and the rickshas and the happy people, Don't show me only the ugly, poverty-stricken slums of India; it hurts.
Assuming things about my parents - Please, stop assuming things about my parents. It's annoying. Don't assume they have an accent, or had an arranged marriage, or own a chain of Taco Bells, or are really cheap, or eat really spicy, or are doctors, or in IT, or super pushy and strict with me about school. Just don't. If you want to learn about my parents, just meet them; they're great.
"All Indians look the same" - Do all white people look the same? No. Do all brown people look the same? No. I have spent my entire life almost completely surrounded by white people, and I try my very hardest to learn everyone's name, to learn people well enough that I can differentiate them, but more importantly, differentiate them based on their looks and their personality. Please pay brown people the same respect.
"Randomly" selecting Indians - One of my favorite things is when my older cousin goes to the airport. On his Snapchat he posts "Gonna get 'randomly selected' lol." It feels like every time, right after that, there's a follow-up Snap on his Story: "Holy what I actually got selected!" Stop checking my dad every single time. Stop checking my 12-year-old brother. Your "random" selection skills suck. Also, learn the difference between Sikhs, Muslims, and all other turban wearers.
