class 9 respond

Rapid modernization and famine were the main factors that drove the first South Asian Americans to migrate to the U.S to seek better opportunities. An interesting fact that surprised me is that the first wave of South Asian Americans came into the U.S from Canada where they had initially emigrated to in the late nineteenth century. These Indians who had gone to Canada encountered exclusionary policies and discrimination, and this forced them to migrate to the U.S. Also, most of the first South Asian emigrants were predominantly younger men, and since during the time there were anti-miscegenation laws that prevented them from marrying whites, they ended up marrying Mexican women. As such the early South Asian community in the U.S reflected a mix of culture that included the Punjabi and Mexican customs and traditions.