The Saffron Wave was an interesting book to read. It provided a historical perspective on how Hindu nationalism developed, as Hansen observed in the 1990s. What stood out to me the most was that Hindu nationalism was a movement beyond religion. It connects to larger anxieties about security, social order, cultural identity, and India's place in the world. Because the book was written in the 1990s, I wanted to look at several events that came afterward and consider how Hansen'

Zohran Mamdani’s rise in New York politics is significant for South Asian representation. But what is more interesting is the way he has actually engaged South Asian communities across the city. His outreach has not just been showing up at cultural events or mentioning his background. It has been through language, community organizations, religious events, social media, and a style of campaigning that feels authentic. One of the clearest examples is language. Mamdani recentl

When Kathak travels from India to places like the United States and the United Kingdom, it does not remain the same. Teachers encounter students with different cultural backgrounds, audiences who understand and react to performances differently, and dance schools that operate under new institutional structures. At first, these changes might seem like Kathak is becoming less “traditional.” But Kathak’s history in the South Asian diaspora suggests that adaptation has been one o

Every family uses a group chat, whether it be to send birthday wishes, family photos, or religious messages or just to have casual conversation. South Asians tend to use the platform WhatsApp for family group chats, and it reveals a lot about their borrowed digital identities as "avatars," Akansha Awal explains. Sahahna Udupa and Max Kramer describe the internet as a space of “multiple interfaces” connecting families, communities, organizations, and specifically South Asian d

Many view India as having just one culture, but it really is a “supreme example” of societal diversity. It contains multiple major religions, thousands of ranked caste groups, and two major language families: Indo-Aryan and Dravidian. The divide between northern and southern India extends beyond language, including differences in food, dress, religion, and broader patterns of life. These differences became especially important in southern India, where leaders argued that Tami

Contrary to what most people believe, India does not have a national language. Many might wonder why Hindi is not the national language when that is what the majority of the population speaks. This is because while 53.6% of the population fluently speaks Hindi, about half of it does not understand this language. For example, in the Southern half of India, less than 15% of speakers can understand Hindi. This leads to the question of what language the rest of India speaks, if n

Indian immigration really only started after the Immigration Act of 1965. The wave of diverse immigration post-1965 called for a revision of assimilation theories. Much of this was also due to the different economic and social contexts. The economy during the time was an hourglass economy that had lots of high-skill and low-wage jobs. Furthermore, these immigrants faced more persistent racial discrimination, leading to residential segregation and the formation of ethnic encla

Almost every country in the world has a national language that is dominant in society. India might be one of the only exceptions to this due to its deep history and cultural diversity. One might assume it's Hindi, but that does not represent all of India. People do not think it is Enlgish due to its colonial associations, but its deep roots in Indian society make it almost impossible to remove. This begs the question: what language is spoken most in India, and should that not

Pre-colonization, India had over 700 languages, seven language families, and thousands of dialects. This intense diversity created fluidity amongst languages depending on the region, situation, and purpose. This all changed with colonization, as a linguistic hierarchy was created that threatened the ease of switching between languages. Although Britain did not ban the use of Indian languages, they imposed bureaucratic and educational rules. These policies led to some languag

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 transformed immigration opportunities for South Asians. The national-origins quota system that existed from the 1920s to 1965 heavily favored Europeans; this all changed when President Lyndon B. Johnson abolished the law that based immigration on race and ethnicity. This new system focuses on accepting immigrants on the basis of family sponsorship and employment-based visas. While there were still caps on immigration with annual lim

Code-switching is defined by UC Berkeley as “ the practice of alternating between languages, dialects, or cultural behaviors (such as appearance or mannerisms) to fit into different social contexts or to navigate power dynamics.” This is used as a strategy to navigate social norms and hierarchies. Individuals from minority groups typically switch aspects of identity like race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status, age, and disability status. Many fields, like

In the U.S., 1 in 5 South Asians suffers from a mood or anxiety disorder, and suicide rates among youth are alarmingly high in comparison to other Asian groups. This issue is particularly severe among South Asian men due to cultural pressures and mental health challenges in these communities. The impact of patriarchy and toxic masculinity plays a central role, as men are often expected to suppress emotions and not show vulnerability. From a young age, South Asian men are tau

This blog article serves to answer two main questions: How does Jain art reflect Jain society, and what role does Jain art serve in their society? Jain art reflects the core beliefs of Jainism as a religious belief system and ideology. They show the focus on the ultimate goal of moksha (liberation) by having tirthankaras like Mahavira and Parshavanatha, models of attaining liberation, as the main subjects. These images serve as more than symbolic representations of Jain cul

In Caste, Society, and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age , Susan Bayly describes caste as “a real and active part of Indian life.” Caste is not presented as something distant or historical, but as deeply embedded in everyday social and political structures. Although British observers found the system outrageous, they were also the reason it expanded to what it is today. Their involvement did not eliminate caste; instead, it contributed to making

In Clothing Matters: Dress and Identity in India , Emma Tarlo explores the active role that clothing has played in “the identity construction of individuals, families, castes, regions and nations.” Her work is an example of the importance of researching history, opinions, personal stories, and more, to understand a topic. Tarlo emphasizes that it is not enough to locate a person within a historical trend without understanding the context of before and after, and how they fe

From Midnight to the Millennium is one of my favorite reads so far. Although it is not directly related to the field of anthropology,...

1. Food Choices & Diets When you walk into an ethnic neighborhood, you often see the grocery store matching the food necessities of the people. For example, when you enter a South Asian neighborhood, you would see turmeric, ghee, and such items in the local grocery stores. These products would have the labels of “Indian spices” or “veg alternatives”, etc. This is a result of anthropology studies on how food is connected to culture and geography. Such examples of anthropology

1. Food Choices & Diets When you walk into a grocery store, you immediately see labels such as fair trade, organic, or locally sourced....

This book was an incredible read. While it offered many insightful ideas, what I loved most was how the author, Veena Das, combined so...

Veena Das is currently an anthropology professor at Johns Hopkins University. She has worked extensively on researching the impacts of...