Indians in USA - How to Meet People and Make New Friends in the Indian Community

Indians in USA today make up one of the most successful minority ethnic groups in the country. Little wonder that increasingly more people from India are eager to migrate to the USA for better life opportunities. However the process of striking roots in a new land and having a fulfilling social life, even if one has been living in the country for some time, is not an easy one for a minority community. Here are a few ways for members of the Indian Diaspora in the USA to meet people and make new friends.

The history of Indian migration to the North American continent goes back to the turn of the twentieth century when men from Punjab in northwestern India set for the lumber camps and farms of West Coast to work as manual laborers. However the wave of immigration soon came to a halt due to the anti-immigration and anti-miscegenation laws brought into force during the two World Wars. Only after President Truman signed into law the Luce-Celler Act in 1946, the Indian Americans were granted the right to be counted as naturalized citizens of the United States. Subsequent waves of Indian immigration consisted of family-reunification programs and then academicians and researchers till the 1980s when the booming information technology sector began to attract young software professionals and entrepreneurs which still make up the majority of skilled Indian immigrants to the United States.

Latest figures from 2003 American Community Survey show that the Indian American community is today the second largest Asian ethnic group in the country, numbering more than two million with only the Chinese-origin population ahead of it. Furthermore, Indian Americans not only exceed the national average for annual income but are also ahead in areas like higher education and professional qualification, according to the data from the 2000 US Census as well as the Indian American Center for Political Awareness. The states with the biggest concentration of the Indian American community in order of their population are California, New York, New Jersey, Texas and Illinois. With a population of 600,000 Indian Americans in 2009, the New York Metropolitan Area - consisting of New York City and adjacent areas in the state of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania - had the largest concentration of the community among all metropolitan areas in the country.

Other similar areas with sizeable Indian American population are San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington/Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, Houston, Dallas, North Carolina and Atlanta.

Among the most accessible options for Indians in United States looking to socialize within their own community are several Indian American associations. These associations were primarily set up with the aim of helping newly arrived members adjust to the ways of a new country besides providing a platform for social and cultural interaction among the Indian Americans who have been here for a longer time. The website usaindian.net has a very helpful link to a list of Indian Associations in the United States. While some of these are organized on broader lines of Indian-American cultural exchange like Whittier, California-based Indian American Friendship Council or the Monroeville, PA-based Indian American Federation of Greater Philadelphia, many cater to the cultural and social needs of a specific community. Most of these are formed on linguistic lines like separate associations for Bengalis, Punjabis, Gujaratis, Tamilians and some on religious ones like the Hindu Temple Society, the Jain Center or the Sikh Gurudwaras, all of which have branches in various states. The cultural events and religious celebrations organized by associations like Telugu Association of North America, Tamil Organization in the US, Bengali Association of Baton Rouge and National Punjabi Heritage ensure the congregation of large numbers of young people from similar backgrounds and thus are a great way of meeting people and making new friends within a particular community.

In recent years Indian immigration to the United States has been dominated by skilled workers and highly-qualified professionals who seek to move to the new country in search of more lucrative and a better quality of life. Consequently software engineers, doctors, academicians, finance executives and entrepreneurs from India have their own associations which provide networking opportunities for Indian members of the same professional community besides helping new arrivals to adjust to new conditions.  Some of the these associations like the Indian Medical Association have branches in several US states - one of the biggest being the IMA of Southern California - while others like the Silicon Valley Professionals Association are more localized. Then there are also associations like the Network of Indian Professionals which are not geared to any particular profession but function more as an interactive and social platform for members of the community.

The student population makes up a vibrant and energetic segment of the young Indian American community. Since the last century, the best American universities have attracted the brightest minds from India. With the rise in middle class incomes across India and availability of student loans, education opportunities in United States have become more accessible than ever. The campus has thus emerged a hotspot for social and cultural interaction where students newly arrived from India can rub shoulders with the second or third generation Indian American besides meeting young people from a vast range of ethnic backgrounds. Helping the process are a huge number of student’s bodies like Surabhi, the Indian Students Association at UCI or the Seattle, WA-based Indian Student Association which are not only there to help the freshly arrived desis to adjust to the American way of life but also work towards bringing about greater social and cultural interaction.

Finally there is the Internet. With punishing deadlines and back-to-back courses, Indian professionals and students are left with little time to go exploring the social scene on their own. For them the plethora of social networking and dating websites is a boon since these sites allow them to reach out to a vast number of young Indian Americans across the country from the comfort of their own homes. Many of these are popular American dating sites like eHarmony.com which also cater to specific ethnic groups like Indian Americans or those which particularly target Indian American singles like IndianDating.com and IndianFriendfinder.com

Despite having certain cultural similarities, Indians in America do not form a homogenous block. The religious, linguistic and sometimes even caste differences can have a bearing on how friendships are formed and new relationships negotiated in a different country. However today there are more ways than ever of meeting new people and judging by the popularity of Indian cultural events and Indian speed dating venues, the young members of the community seem to be making the best possible use of them.