Who Are South Asians?
Defining South Asians as a distinct group isn’t always easy. The general definition, according to SAA members, incorporates natives of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Maldives and Butan, as well as their descendants living in the U.S. SAA members said that they rarely think of themselves, or are thought of, as being “Asian.” “I don’t think of myself as Asian,” said SAA member Maitri Chowdhury ’93. “I think of East Asians and South Asians as being totally different. When I think of AAA, I think of Chinese students, Korean students, et cetera.” Chowdhury isn’t the only member who feels somewhat out of place in AAA. Though SAA members say the organization works with the AAA at times, they generally see AAA as an association of East and Southeast Asian students. There are no South Asians on AAA’s executive board. This feeling was strengthened this year by the AAA’s political theme of “Yellow Power,” a phrase which South Asian students considered to exclude members of the
