Photographic Images of Early Indian Settlers on the West Coast of the USA by Mansoor Abbasi

Abstract

This is essentially a descriptive article, and it focuses on two aspects. First, I take up the background of the immigration of early Indian settlers on the West Coast of the USA. Second, I discuss the photographic images of the early Indian settlers that speak  olumes about American dream, assimilation, and acculturation. The photographs of early Indians/South Asians settlers comprise   rare archive in the collections of the Doe Library, at the University of California, Berkeley. Most of these photographs have been donated by the descendants of these early settlers/immigrants to the USA, especially to the West Coast. The photographs constitute an interesting historical record, denoting the growth and evolution of this community from the time of the earlier settlers/immigrants to comparatively more recent times. Chiefly, these photographic images tell the story of the poor peasants and yeomanry of Punjab (now divided between modern India and Pakistan) …. who were, in fact, the earliest immigrants and settlers to these parts. Usually, most of them arrived in the USA with only a few clothes and some rupees in their pockets; but over time, in American parlance, most of them “made good”. By the time of second and third generations, the immigrants of this community began to make their presence felt in mainstream American society. Some of them even ended up studying and teaching in prestigious institutions like Berkeley itself. Today, finally, they are a visible, prosperous and strong
ethnic group, or presence, on the West Coast of America in particular in the state of California