The term Indian Americans points to those who trace their origin to the Indian subcontinent. It is, however, a catchall term that masks more than as it reveals because Indian Americans have been shaped by a variety of histories, customs, cultures – which are in themselves constantly interacting and separating.
Indian Americans constitute a fraction of the American population and yet they have had a disproportionate impact in a host fields — science and technology, medicine, business, politics, academics, literature, music and the media. But they also defy the stereotypes thrown at them, including that of a model minority.
If they have among them Nobel laureates, Fields Medalists, Pulitzer and Peabody Prize winners, MacArthur Fellows and Spelling Bee champions, they also have their share of white-collar felons, killers, criminal kingpins and other ‘deplorables.’
Indian Americans also represent a broad spectrum of ideological and political positions — ranging from progressives who are at the forefront of social justice movements to right-wing conservatives and sectarian extremists. And like most people of Indian origin, they are argumentative. Each of those voices has a story to tell.
American Kahani seeks to tell those stories.