India To America Trials And Tribulations Summary

India to America: Trials and Tribulations of Indian Americans

Overview

For my field trip report, I chose to explore the vast amount of quality information on display at the Smithsonian Institute. Since the physical institute was logistical impossible to visit, I took advantage of their online exhibits. After spending a few hours exploring the wide variety of information available at my finger tips, I discovered an exhibit called, “Beyond Bollywood.” This exhibit highlights and outlines the struggles and successes of the first people of the Indian origin to set foot on what is the modern day United States of America. Today, the Indian community is thriving in American, from laboring jobs all the way up to CEO’s of some of the worlds largest

1900’s may have been a long time ago, however, Indians have been on this land since right after the Declaration of Independence was ratified. The first Indian was documented to have reached the shores of Massachusetts in the year 1790. That was only 14 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed. Going through this exhibit, I found myself having to stop to write down names of some of the people whose stories of success and failure were on display, to later research further. Growing up I heard stories of the first generations of our family and their struggles to obtain citizenship in America. They had to leave their lives and possessions ten thousand miles behind to come to a foreign land to escape the same brutal British rule that drove the creation of the United States of America. They faced much adversity as they tried to root their new lives; the exhibit highlighted these struggles in a nonbiased and informative way. (The Smithsonian,

He was granted citizenship in 1920, yet it was revoked in 1923 on the grounds that he did not belong to the Caucasian group of people recognized as whites in America according to the Bureau of Naturalization along with the support of the U.S. Supreme Court. Thind, was a combat veteran of the U.S. Army, he was not afraid to put his life on the line for the people of America, yet the government still did not believe he was fit for an American citizenship. However, he fought for what was just and right, he continued to push and in 1936, after reapplying for citizenship again and again he was finally granted citizenship. This really stuck with me, because he was willing to die for a country that did not want him there. He saw the value in America, he was determined to plant his roots in this new country. At the time the government did not want anything to do with the Indian people, but things began to changed quite rapidly. The exhibit then turns its focus from the struggles to the trumps of the Indian American people. In 1957, Dalip Singh Saund became the first Asian to be elected to Congress, giving the Indian/Asian community a much needed voice in the government. He helped the U.S. strength relationships with Foreign countries of Asian, Indian and Middle Eastern majority. He served for 6 years in the U.S. Congress, pushing for the civil rights of