Indian-Americans are leaning more towards their Indian identity than before and they feel they are equally Indian and American, though they are born in the US, a report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace revealed. The report based on the 2024 Indian-American Attitude Survey revealed that 86 per cent of US-born Indian-Americans said being Indian is an important party of their upbringing, while the figure was 70 per cent in 2020. The proportion of respondents identifying as “Indian American” dropped, while the proportion identifying as “Asian Indian” rose, the report said. The survey was conducted online over 1206 Indian-American adults by polling firm YouGov including both US citizens and non-citizen respondents. “The idea of being both Indian and American is becoming stronger,” the report said.

Role of Indian food and culture

“Noncitizens had the greatest degree of personal, ongoing connection with India, but both U.S.-born and naturalized citizens did exhibit significant cultural connections with their Indian roots. For instance, in aggregate, eight in ten Indian Americans reported eating Indian food in the month prior to the survey,” the report said. 65 per cent watched Indian television or movies in the past month when the survey was done, while 38 per cent engaged with Indian dance, music, or art in some form or fashion in the past six months. Only 7 per cent of respondents reported engaging in none of these cultural practices.

On caste identity

The report said 32 per cent of survey respondents reported that they did not identify with any caste. 46 per cent identified as General or Upper caste. The overwhelming majority of Indian American respondents supported measures to formally outlaw caste discrimination. “One in two respondents reported experiencing discrimination in the past one year, the most common form of which was biased treatment based on skin color. Indian Americans perceived discrimination against Muslims to be especially common,” it said.