Namaste America

At some point during the 1990s the size of the Asian Indian population in the United States surpassed the one million mark. Today's Indians in America are a diverse group. They come from every state in India as well as from around the globe: England, Canada, South Africa, Tanzania, Fiji, Guyana, and Trinidad. They also belong to many religious faiths, including Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Jainism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism. Many have high professional skills and are fluent in English and familiar with Western culture. They have settled throughout the United States, largely in metropolitan areas. Namaste America tells this story of Indian immigrants in America, focusing on one of the largest communities, Chicago.Padma Rangaswamy is Project Coordinator for the Neighborhood History Project at the Chicago Historical Society. She is also a Visiting Assistant Professor of History at Loyola University and the University of Illinois at Chicago.