Asian Indian Migration Facts

Where did they come from?

• The early Asian Indian immigrants to the west were mostly from the Punjab region of India.
  
  

Reasons for Migrating

• Most Asian Indians came to the United States for economic opportunities. Due to British rule, the Punjab state of India had gotten very bad economically - there were few jobs and not much money.

• At first they started coming for agricultural jobs, but the second wave of migrants came for various jobs in cities and businesses. During that time, and to this day, many Asian Indians come to America as professionals, not as laborers like other immigrant groups.

Where did they settle?

• Many went to the farms of central California, the railroads in California, and the lumbar mills in Washington.

• After racist violence broke out in the lumbar mills, many went to work as agricultural laborers in the San Joaquin valley.

What happened as a result of their arrival?

• When the Asian Indians began getting lots of jobs at the lumbar mills, white Americans started racist violence that forced the Indians to work in the fields.

• As a group the Indians have done well in the United States. Today they have extremely good education levels and economic success.
  
  

For More Information About Asian Indian Migration Visit These Links:

http://www.everyculture.com/multi/A-Br/Asian-Indian-Americans.html

http://www.weareca.org/index.php/en/era/1960s-Present/punjabi_sikhs.html