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India Today
32 minutes ago
- India Today
Snatching Diwali, giving sex-gang tag: Indians abroad reject South-Asian label
When Kamala Harris launched her presidential campaign, she also unveiled a platform titled South Asians for the People. But its messaging backfired. Many from the Indian diaspora reacted angrily to the label "South Asian" altogether. The backlash wasn't just online noise, it revealed a deeper discomfort with being grouped into a broad regional category that many feel erases India's unique identity. "India is at least 2,000–3,000 years old. 'South Asia' is a neologism meant to deny it," one comment isn't just a passing the UK and the US, many Indians are increasingly being vocal about the problems that come with this catch-all label. The term "South Asian" typically refers to people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives. Last month, Insight UK, which describes itself as a "social movement of British Hindus and Indians", raised a similar objection on its social media platforms. It also explained why many Indians are uncomfortable being lumped together with others under the term South Asian."Broader terms like 'Asian or Asian British' do not distinguish between Indian and other backgrounds as they can group together very different communities, each with distinct histories, cultures, and experiences," Manu from Insight UK told India Today term "South Asian" is increasingly seen by many Indians as a reductive label that erases India's distinct cultural and civilisational are over 1.8 million Indians in the UK and around 4.8 million in the US."Our identity is not defined just by land, it's a civilisational and cultural space that has existed for millennia. There is no confusion about who Indians are. But there is a deliberate effort to blur that clarity, to negate and dilute the distinctiveness of Indian identity," Pushpita Prasad for the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) told India Today festivals like Diwali and Holi, which are being termed South Asian, to racial profiling that isn't benefitting Indians, there's more to why Indians are questioning and rejecting the INDIANS SOUTH ASIANS BLURS CRITICAL DISTINCTIONThe term "South Asian" may sound neutral, but in practice, it often blurs critical distinctions between communities."For example, British Indians and British Pakistanis have different migration histories, religious demographics, and contributions to the UK," Insight UK explained."Labelling them together as 'Asian' or 'South Asian' obscures key differences, whether in workforce representation, health outcomes, or social experiences—making it harder to address specific needs or tackle inequalities."This broad-brush approach has real-world begins with cultural incorporation, which is more than just assimilation."Indian festivals like Diwali and Holi are increasingly being rebranded as 'South Asian' — a move that erases their Hindu roots and appropriates them into a vague regional identity," says Prasad from the New York Times recently did a piece on mithais and called them 'South Asian', when most of those sweets are unmistakably Indian in origin and cultural context."WHY SOUTH ASIAN LABEL IS DANGEROUS FOR INDIANSThe consequences aren't just cultural—they extend to how communities are perceived during moments of crisis."When negative events are reported in broad ethnic terms, reputational damage spreads unfairly," Insight UK notes."Hindus are significantly under-represented in UK prisons — making up just 0.4% of the prison population. Most Hindus in the UK are Indian. By contrast, as of March 2024, 18.1% of the prison population in England and Wales identified as Muslim," it adds."Given that most British Muslims are of South Asian origin and a large portion of them are Pakistani, it's reasonable to infer that a significant share of this group is of Pakistani background."The distinction becomes especially critical in the context of group-based child sexual Rotherham, Pakistani men were found responsible for 64% of child sexual exploitation cases and 62% of convictions under Operation for example, the infamous grooming gang crime in the UK on which PM Keir Starmer has now ordered a national euphemistic term "Asian grooming gangs" in use, has not only diluted the specificity but also unfairly stigmatises the broader Asian community, including Indians. The perpetrators of the organised sexual abuse of underage white girls are primarily Muslim men from distinction was also highlighted by Tesla boss Elon Musk in a tweet in Hindus and Indians point out that when sweeping labels like "South Asian" are used, they risk being unfairly stigmatised for crimes they had no role in. At the same time, positive achievements by Indians and Hindus in the UK often go uncredited or are diffused under the broader has led to growing calls for a more accurate and nuanced recognition of Indian and Hindu identities, distinct from other South Asian IS THIS GENERALISATION BENEFITTING?Categorising British Hindus and Indians this way also denies recognition to their achievements and what they have brought to the UK. For example, ayurveda, yoga and meditation – essentially Indian – would otherwise be labelled "South Asian".The term, many argue, not only obscures difference but also whitewashes both achievement and accountability. For British Indians, the consequences of being mislabelled run deep, impacting how they are seen in policy discussions, media narratives, and even statistical response, Indian community groups in the UK are preparing to push back more term itself emerged during 19th-century British colonial rule, initially used by colonial administrations as a label for people from the at times, it was deployed as a derogatory term, especially to describe individuals of mixed ancestry or those considered racially 'other' by colonial authorities. Over time, 'South Asian' became a more neutral and widely accepted descriptor for people from this region and their descendants living in the in the diaspora oppose the usage of the word 'South Asian'."The Indian diaspora reject the use of the term 'South Asian,' which is frequently employed by Western academics and media. They argue that this label, intended as a convenient regional grouping, tends to obscure India's unique cultural identity rather than celebrate it," Manu from Insight UK told India Today pushback against the term "South Asian" is not about semantics, it's about identity, representation, and fairness. For many Indians in the diaspora, being called South Asian feels like erasure. As calls grow for more precise recognition, it's clear: labels should reflect, not flatten, the rich diversity of those they claim to represent.- Ends advertisement
India Today
32 minutes ago
- India Today
He is attacking me because…: Zohran Mamdani on Trump's deportation threat
Zohran Mamdani, New York's Indian-origin mayoral candidate, has hit back at US President Donald Trump over his deportation threats. Mamdani accused Trump of stoking division and using personal attacks to divert attention from his administration's failures toward working-class 33-year-old politician posted a video on his social media handle and vowed not to back down, declaring that he would continue his work and "fight back" against Republican efforts to silence Trump is attacking me because he is desperate to distract from his war on working people. We must and we will fight back. Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) July 2, 2025advertisement"Yesterday, Donald Trump said that I should be arrested. He said that I should be deported. He said that I should be denaturalised. And he said those things about me, someone who stands to be the first immigrant mayor of this city in generations, someone who would also be the first Muslim and the first South Asian mayor in this city's history," Mamdani said during a rally at the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council headquarters in New York. "It is less so because of who I am, because of where I come from, because of how I look or how I speak, and more so because he wants to distract from what I fight for. I fight for working people," Mamdani Mamdani's electoral victory, Trump has launched multiple personal attacks against him, labeling him a 'communist' and a 'lunatic' while also making remarks about his back at Trump, Mamdani said the president was choosing to fuel division rather than admit how he has let down working-class Americans, not only in New York City but across the Democrat also took aim at Trump's signature tax and spending proposal, known as the 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' which is set for a crucial vote in the US Congress on argued that Trump is focusing on attacking him to avoid discussing the bill, which, according to Mamdani, would result in Americans losing access to healthcare and take away the food from the statements came a day after Donald Trump threatened to arrest New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani if he follows through on his pledge to limit city cooperation with federal immigration enforcement during a July 1 visit to a Florida detention center.'Well then, we'll have to arrest him,' Trump said, referring to Mamdani's vow not to assist ICE. He added, 'We'll be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation.'Trump also made a false claim about Mamdani's immigration status, stating, 'A lot of people are saying he's here illegally.'- EndsMust Watch IN THIS STORY#United States of America#Donald Trump
News18
41 minutes ago
- News18
Pakistani Celebrities' Social Media Accounts Blocked Again In India After Emergency Review: Sources
Last Updated: After backlash over brief visibility of Pakistani celebrity accounts, the government has reinstated the block on over 18,000 handles across platforms. News18 Just a day after several Pakistani actors' and cricketers' social media accounts became accessible in India, the government has once again blocked them following an emergency internal review, government sources told News18. On July 2, Instagram accounts of actors like Mawra Hocane, Saba Qamar, Ahad Raza Mir, Yumna Zaidi, and Danish Taimoor had briefly become visible to Indian users. YouTube channels of cricketers Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar, along with entertainment platforms like Hum TV, ARY Digital, and Har Pal Geo, were also accessible. However, by Thursday morning, these accounts were once again geo-restricted. Users searching for them were met with the familiar message: 'Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content." According to government sources, over 18,000 Pakistani social media handles across platforms have now been blocked in India. First Published:
