Contrary to popular belief, Indian Americans’ acknowledgement and appreciation of their Indianness seems to be rising, rather than falling, according to a new study by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Debunking another common belief that diaspora members born in the United States are disconnected from India, the Washington think points to evidence suggesting that there are multiple forms of connectivity, many of which are actively practiced even by those born in the United States.
While much of the media reporting around Indian Americans emphasizes their achievements and successes, they are neither immune to discrimination nor isolated from the rising tides of nationalism, the study says.
Finally, there are real gaps in the knowledge the diaspora has both about India and the United States, despite the community’s elevated educational attainment.
“To the extent the diaspora is a force multiplier for U.S.-India relations, these knowledge gaps could lead to misunderstandings or even confusion,” the study suggests saying, “Immigrants’ self-identities can be a contentious political issue, not least within the community itself.”
READ: Indian Americans second-largest Asian group in the US: Pew (May 6, 2025)
The third in a series of three empirical papers on Indian Americans’ views during the 2024 U.S. election cycle, the study offers a broad overview of the social realities of Indian Americans.
It highlights several key issues pertaining to how Indian Americans engage with civic and political institutions, relate to India, navigate questions of identity, confront discrimination, and assess the threat posed by rising nationalism.
Numbering more than 5.2 million, Indian Americans now comprise the second-largest immigrant group in the United States by country of origin. The community is also growing at a rapid clip: 70% of all Indian immigrants residing in the United States arrived in the last quarter-century.
An extremely heterogeneous community, embodying much of the diversity that India itself possesses, the diaspora includes representatives of myriad faiths, caste identities, and the full spectrum of India’s geographic regions and subregions.
The study highlights how this diverse group engages with civic and political institutions in the United States and its members maintain connections with their Indian roots while establishing their identities in America
It also examines in what ways are they excluded from social life in the United States due to discrimination or rising nationalism and to what extent do identity markers like religion and caste shape their daily lives and themselves become markers of discrimination and exclusion.
READ: Rise and rise of Indian Americans (August 25, 2021)
The first, study in the series released in October 2024, explored the political attitudes and preferences of Indian Americans in advance of the November presidential election. The second, published in March 2025, examined their foreign policy attitudes.
Key findings:
- There were clear gaps in the diaspora’s pattern of civic and political engagement. S.-born citizens boasted the highest levels of civic and political engagement, sometimes by a large margin. While there was no clear pattern regarding how foreign-born citizens and noncitizens engaged in civic life, foreign-born citizens were more likely to engage politically than noncitizens across multiple measures, which is understandable given that only U.S. citizens have voting rights.
- Connectivity with India came in many forms.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.
READ: Narendra Modi and the proud Indian diaspora’s Indianness (June 20, 2023)
- Indian Americans were displaying more, not less, affinity toward their Indian identity. The share of U.S.-born respondents reporting that the Indian component of their identity was important grew substantially since 2020. The proportion of respondents identifying as “Indian American” dropped, while the proportion identifying as “Asian Indian” rose. Similarly, compared to four years ago, a greater share of U.S.-born citizens reported feeling equally Indian and American (as opposed to more American than Indian).
- Indian Americans were in favor of measures prohibiting caste discrimination. 32% of survey respondents reported that they did not identify with any caste. 46% identified as General or Upper caste. The overwhelming majority of Indian American respondents supported measures to formally outlaw caste discrimination.
- Indian Americans routinely experienced discrimination themselves. 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.