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Karma of Brown Folk (00) by Prashad, Vijay [Paperback (2001)]
Karma of Brown Folk (00) by Prashad, Vijay [Paperback (2001)]
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First published January 1, 2000
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December 28, 2019
Essential. I'm glad I read this in the year when I've been reading so much India and US history, as its argument lives in the intersect. But I wish I had read it earlier, because many insights, such as the artificiality of normative Indian identity in the US/Canada, are things I've been trying to explain and ways of being I've been rebelling against for decades.
November 19, 2020
An excellent book by Vijay Prashad, from his days as an academic. There is a lot to digest here. This is the first time I read a book that is about "me", or people like me, in the sense that it is about the South Asian diaspora in North America.
While it focuses mostly on the US, on the Hindu community, and is more than 20 years old, there are still incredibly important points being made in this book. The chapter on "Yankee Hinduvta" is especially prescient. I found many of Prashad's dissections of the "cultural lives" of "Desis" hit very close to home, and he gave voice to things that remain relatable and important.
Towards the end of the book, Vijay embarks on an attempt to resurrect the spirit of "Ghadar", of revolt, that once characterized Indian immigrants on the West Coast. He ends with a touching call to solidarity, an appeal to leftist morality, and, crucially, asks Brown Folk to "commit model minority suicide". After all, "radicalism is as South Asian as Gandhi."
While it focuses mostly on the US, on the Hindu community, and is more than 20 years old, there are still incredibly important points being made in this book. The chapter on "Yankee Hinduvta" is especially prescient. I found many of Prashad's dissections of the "cultural lives" of "Desis" hit very close to home, and he gave voice to things that remain relatable and important.
Towards the end of the book, Vijay embarks on an attempt to resurrect the spirit of "Ghadar", of revolt, that once characterized Indian immigrants on the West Coast. He ends with a touching call to solidarity, an appeal to leftist morality, and, crucially, asks Brown Folk to "commit model minority suicide". After all, "radicalism is as South Asian as Gandhi."
January 16, 2012
The Karma of Brown Folk takes its inspiration from DuBois' The Souls of Black Folk and attempts to speak towards the South Asian American middle-class, where South Asia is meant to represent Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka (the emphasis is decidedly focused around India, however). It breaks down both the historical relationship between South Asia and the U.S., including legislation, migration, and political action, and it also explores how race, particularly anti-Black racism, is constructed and promoted in the South Asian American community in the U.S. It is a critique of the model minority myth and asks the reader to reconsider his/her assumptions regarding the political and legislative processes that control immigration.
That said, the book falls short when discussing the contemporary experience of those individuals who are not raised in wealth, but instead are raised in the inner city, rural, and working class communities of the U.S. The audience, as was mentioned, is decidedly middle to upper class. Such a narrow focus does not do the author or the topic justice, and it assumes a specific base of experiences among its readers. It is not writing towards those individuals "on the frindge" economically, and for that it fails to address the current schisms and challenges to the "master narrative" of South Asian American identity formation in the U.S. Altogether, though, it is an eloquent and well researched read that's good for anyone who is interested in contemporary race relations for a relatively understudied ethnic community.
That said, the book falls short when discussing the contemporary experience of those individuals who are not raised in wealth, but instead are raised in the inner city, rural, and working class communities of the U.S. The audience, as was mentioned, is decidedly middle to upper class. Such a narrow focus does not do the author or the topic justice, and it assumes a specific base of experiences among its readers. It is not writing towards those individuals "on the frindge" economically, and for that it fails to address the current schisms and challenges to the "master narrative" of South Asian American identity formation in the U.S. Altogether, though, it is an eloquent and well researched read that's good for anyone who is interested in contemporary race relations for a relatively understudied ethnic community.
July 26, 2023
Wow wow wow wow I never write reviews but WOW. If you’re South Asian/part of the diaspora PLEASE give this a read.
June 30, 2020
A one of a kind book in terms of content––I don't think I've read another book that analyzes the South Asian role with so much thought and careful research. Until I read this book, I had no idea about the earliest waves of Indian and other South Asian immigration, as well as the history of Asian-black solidarity (as well as the lack of it). The ideas around anti-blackness and the model minority myth are still so resonant today, especially after the protests around George Floyd. His analysis there could have easily been written just a few months ago. I love the distinction he makes in his Hindutva chapter between religion and culture, and how he emphasizes that culture is not a static set of rules, but ever-changing and ever transforming. The parts about first-gen Indian Americans resonated very personally with me. The one thing I will say is that this is less of a unified analysis and more a collection of essays. Prashad covers many topics, from the rise of the Hindutva right to the conception of India as posed by US orientalists. Once I started treating the text as multiple essays, it became easier for me to follow the different moving parts. Prashad's language lends the South Asian American community a preciseness that our short history lacks: e.g, the 'state selection' of Indian American immigrants, 'we must commit model minority suicide' etc. But for every one of these highly resonant characterizations, there are plenty of terms that don't really fit the characterization as well. While I appreciated Prashad's perspective as a Marxist, for example, his use of very characteristic Marxist language sometimes got in the way of the precise language he would have otherwise used. His politics really show through here, and while I wouldn't expect anything less from a great analysis, it sometimes leads to digressions about Communist movements that seem to be only tangentially related to the main theme (there are exceptions, of course, the mentions of the Ghadar party and the Association for Indian Leftists really gave me a better sense of the history of the Indian left in the United States). It's a dense read, but an interesting one if you're looking for a great analysis of South Asian American history (of which, admittedly, not many exist).
August 1, 2022
A good book, but it completely glosses over caste.
October 23, 2020
This was my second time reading this book. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember what it was about or even that I owned a copy, so I guess the first read didn’t have a big impact on me.
The book is very well researched and covers a lot of ground. For me it was a tough read mainly because the language is so academic. It read like a dissertation. I wanted to love it but I feel like a lot of the message got lost in the academic jargon. For me, anyway.
The book is very well researched and covers a lot of ground. For me it was a tough read mainly because the language is so academic. It read like a dissertation. I wanted to love it but I feel like a lot of the message got lost in the academic jargon. For me, anyway.
February 24, 2009
My consciousness and sense of identity as a South Asian is still developing, and there is nothing so satisfying and validating as discovering a voice speaks to your experiences and sense of community.
Vijay Prashad is such a voice; he rocks my world.
Vijay Prashad is such a voice; he rocks my world.
May 17, 2018
This was a heavy dose of history & insightful truths about the Indian American experience. It’s a thoughtful look at the relationships between India, America, and the people who exist on the lines in-between— how those relationships were formed, who had power in them, and how those structures of power are maintained. I loved learning the history! but I wish more was said about showing solidarity with other marginalized communities. ★★★½.
April 4, 2021
Solid book, well written. In all, I think it sets up a nice set of themes to interrogate around South Asian (American) identity and responsibility. He covers a lions share of relevant topics and sets the stage for good conversations - I read this through a reading circle and it provided good fodder for discussion.
[Some parts of it feel dated and that’s because it is - I wonder how some of his interrogation of South Asian political space would be different if he’d written it post-9/11 and all the racial profiling and hate crimes against SA folks that followed. This part is obviously not a critique, but rather, a note to self to find another text that examines the post-9/11 landscape more closely, that isn’t Desis Divided.]
[Some parts of it feel dated and that’s because it is - I wonder how some of his interrogation of South Asian political space would be different if he’d written it post-9/11 and all the racial profiling and hate crimes against SA folks that followed. This part is obviously not a critique, but rather, a note to self to find another text that examines the post-9/11 landscape more closely, that isn’t Desis Divided.]
Read
February 14, 2024“how does it feel to be a solution?”
such a powerful and important book on the position of south asians in america; im so glad i got to read this!
such a powerful and important book on the position of south asians in america; im so glad i got to read this!
September 19, 2025
How does it feel to be a solution? (3.5)
December 28, 2019
A well-researched book that debunks the model minority myth and the associated trappings.
Want to read
May 29, 2009class and race
December 8, 2017
this completely changed how i look at the diaspora and my own identity. so necessary
June 5, 2020
What could have been a 5-star rating can be a 3-star at best (which I give primarily for his extensive research into the stories of the forgotten early immigrants from South Asia). Vijay's penchant for history and turning anecdotal reports of Indian diaspora into a hanging narrative notwithstanding, one gets away from reading this book wondering which is greater in the author's mind: His worry about pervasive racism against African-Americans or whether South Asians living relatively obscure lives without activism to fight the racial bias. His contempt for what he calls "Yankee Hindutva" is palpable in his treatment of VHPA while in a single line he avoids similar treatment to Jamaat-e-Islami, which by his admission is doing the same thing.
Despite his obvious preference for the word "bourgeois" (which I lost count of the number of times he uses), the middle class is a convenient target whose very characteristic of living a simple life (even if upwardly mobile economically) almost guarantees the author there will be scant critical reviews like mine. There is a certain quiet dignity in minding one's own business, paying taxes diligently, obeying the laws of the land and yet aspiring for a fair share of the American Dream (or the American Reality if you will). The fact that modern Indians don't identify with their own ancestors who worked as indentured labor in foreign lands in the 1800's till early 20th century, much less African-American history, is touted as some sort of affront or weakness.
Most Indians who immigrate to the West - professionals or otherwise - are aspiring to get better economically for themselves, their children and the fragments of their families left behind in their homeland. They are not prone to consider activism as a mark of having "arrived" in their adopted lands. This isn't to condone bearing with whatever racial harm parts of American society imposes on brown-skinned South Asians, but a pragmatic recognition that if you immigrated only for economic reasons (not fleeing any oppression your homeland), then economics will remain the predominant driver for your life choices to be made. In his attempt to expose a community that has worked hard to achieve success (even if it is not a "model minority" - it is not the Indians who came up with this label anyway), Vijay ends up exposing his own biases, bigotry and a thinly-veiled Western liberal playbook under the mask of historical erudition. "Weapon" is a strong word to paint a whole community of immigrants with, especially economic immigrants. And yet Vijay uses this word liberally to describe the "desis" as if they are willing participants to be weaponized by white supremacy - it's obvious he knows no desi will revolt against such characterization. In his world, they are busy padding their 401(k)'s or shopping for Costco deals!
Having spent significant part of my professional career in both India and United States, I have seen how racism is entrenched in India as much as in U.S. Of course, it isn't called "racism" in India, but whether you discriminate based on jati, varna, caste, religion, region, language or even how you look (a perennial curse of the Northeastern Indians with Mongoloid features), the aggrieved person feels the same pain as a black would feel in North America. Human brain detects even the slightest difference in facial features (scientists have long reported that facial recognition memory is strongest among all other forms of memory), so race is the first thing even the most self-aware person is likely to notice. The key is to have our rational mind ignore any default interpretations that flash after the facial recognition and then proceed to have a human conversation with the person we just met.
Activism, even if we concede to the author's point, can take on different forms, some far less obvious. There are Indians breaking the glass ceiling in every sphere. Perhaps this will get the 'white' world acclimatized to seeing people of darker color occupy high positions in academia, business and politics. You can, therefore, make the case this paves the way for other minorities and people of color to aspire for those attainments. Indians who immigrate to the West, at least based on my experience, don't have a sense of privilege and are acutely aware of the dangers of relying on a government to bail them out. If you grew up without a social safety net, it doesn't enter your normal thinking to use it even if your adopted country offers one. So, does that mean Indians are always successful? Absolutely not, and there are plenty of examples the author himself cites. A number of Indians are toiling in low paid jobs in U.S. and they don't get written about, so the author deserves some credit for shining a light on them.
Stereotypes are everywhere in India - "Madrasis" are cerebral and weak, "Gujjus" or "Banias" are commercially astute, "Bhaiyyas" are brutish or loud or even ill-mannered. Normal Indian conversations (even among the upper echelons of Indian society) reinforce the prejudices and clannish views that are so deep-rooted that superlative English language skills among the Indian elite only serve to couch the ugliness in ever so subtle ways and expressions. If you have encountered all of this in India, then the racism you experience in the United States - as terrible as it is - can be conveniently folded into a "reality" of life in pursuit of the aforementioned economic dream. To call this as weak or karma, well, is no different than calling the bleak future of a war-torn country as its karma.
Despite his obvious preference for the word "bourgeois" (which I lost count of the number of times he uses), the middle class is a convenient target whose very characteristic of living a simple life (even if upwardly mobile economically) almost guarantees the author there will be scant critical reviews like mine. There is a certain quiet dignity in minding one's own business, paying taxes diligently, obeying the laws of the land and yet aspiring for a fair share of the American Dream (or the American Reality if you will). The fact that modern Indians don't identify with their own ancestors who worked as indentured labor in foreign lands in the 1800's till early 20th century, much less African-American history, is touted as some sort of affront or weakness.
Most Indians who immigrate to the West - professionals or otherwise - are aspiring to get better economically for themselves, their children and the fragments of their families left behind in their homeland. They are not prone to consider activism as a mark of having "arrived" in their adopted lands. This isn't to condone bearing with whatever racial harm parts of American society imposes on brown-skinned South Asians, but a pragmatic recognition that if you immigrated only for economic reasons (not fleeing any oppression your homeland), then economics will remain the predominant driver for your life choices to be made. In his attempt to expose a community that has worked hard to achieve success (even if it is not a "model minority" - it is not the Indians who came up with this label anyway), Vijay ends up exposing his own biases, bigotry and a thinly-veiled Western liberal playbook under the mask of historical erudition. "Weapon" is a strong word to paint a whole community of immigrants with, especially economic immigrants. And yet Vijay uses this word liberally to describe the "desis" as if they are willing participants to be weaponized by white supremacy - it's obvious he knows no desi will revolt against such characterization. In his world, they are busy padding their 401(k)'s or shopping for Costco deals!
Having spent significant part of my professional career in both India and United States, I have seen how racism is entrenched in India as much as in U.S. Of course, it isn't called "racism" in India, but whether you discriminate based on jati, varna, caste, religion, region, language or even how you look (a perennial curse of the Northeastern Indians with Mongoloid features), the aggrieved person feels the same pain as a black would feel in North America. Human brain detects even the slightest difference in facial features (scientists have long reported that facial recognition memory is strongest among all other forms of memory), so race is the first thing even the most self-aware person is likely to notice. The key is to have our rational mind ignore any default interpretations that flash after the facial recognition and then proceed to have a human conversation with the person we just met.
Activism, even if we concede to the author's point, can take on different forms, some far less obvious. There are Indians breaking the glass ceiling in every sphere. Perhaps this will get the 'white' world acclimatized to seeing people of darker color occupy high positions in academia, business and politics. You can, therefore, make the case this paves the way for other minorities and people of color to aspire for those attainments. Indians who immigrate to the West, at least based on my experience, don't have a sense of privilege and are acutely aware of the dangers of relying on a government to bail them out. If you grew up without a social safety net, it doesn't enter your normal thinking to use it even if your adopted country offers one. So, does that mean Indians are always successful? Absolutely not, and there are plenty of examples the author himself cites. A number of Indians are toiling in low paid jobs in U.S. and they don't get written about, so the author deserves some credit for shining a light on them.
Stereotypes are everywhere in India - "Madrasis" are cerebral and weak, "Gujjus" or "Banias" are commercially astute, "Bhaiyyas" are brutish or loud or even ill-mannered. Normal Indian conversations (even among the upper echelons of Indian society) reinforce the prejudices and clannish views that are so deep-rooted that superlative English language skills among the Indian elite only serve to couch the ugliness in ever so subtle ways and expressions. If you have encountered all of this in India, then the racism you experience in the United States - as terrible as it is - can be conveniently folded into a "reality" of life in pursuit of the aforementioned economic dream. To call this as weak or karma, well, is no different than calling the bleak future of a war-torn country as its karma.
July 23, 2021
Hi,
I hope all is progressing well.
I enjoy learning about anthropological-cultural progressions (which I find the text to be informative of, respectively). I'm glad to be in connection with individuals of varying backgrounds willing to converse respectfully on varying topics. During a meeting at work, I express an interest in one of the topic options concerning the "Model Minority Myth." After conversations ensue around the topic, one of my colleagues recommends The Karma of Brown Folk by Vijay Prashad. I write the name of the book down, and I'm glad I decide to read the book. The text covers aspects of Asians and South Asians (Desi) in relation to individuals of the African diaspora as well as to cultural progress as Asians and South Asians (Desi) in connection to freedom, economy, equality, identity, multiculturalism, racialness, socialness, and solidarity ranging from historical roots of about the past two centuries abroad as well as in America.
Ultimately, the text leads to a point of cheering, and encouraging solidarity. While reading the text, I ponder of scenes in a film, The Rainbow (1989), concerning ideas of war, the way some view parts of life as a game in a way or so that is far more real to others--far more, affecting--present. Nurturing is a part of every culture, a responsibility of each human, whether self-nurturing, or nurturing another. I hope nurturing tends toward good, the betterment of humanity overall, from each individual of and through proper nurturing.
In the film House Bunny (2008), there's a scene containing a point about not knowing about Aztec culture though having fun with an experience of an aspect of the Aztec culture in a celebratory form (which I think is actually a nod of respect in a tasteful way--especially in a comedy) some may find fun, honorable, offensive, be opinionless, etc. At the beginning of the Aztec party scenes, I cautiously think about social points that may be problematic concerning the party though I don't assume anything, the party looks like it's a success. I do not know any details concerning the proceeds of the film. Yet, in a situation no one is being disrespectful and/or making a profit from a different culture while crediting a particular culture at an event, open to any, from an aspect of a culture, with invitations out to members of all ethnic groups, is it problematic?
Will Critical Race Theorists be in proper spaces to properly guide students concerning anthropological-cultural relations? Will individuals be able to civilly communicate beyond cultural economic-political understandings toward resolves benefitial toward future generations without bias? Individuals may be doing so already. Still, nurturing properly is lifelong. Realistically, there are a lot of individuals that are like the bus driver that kicks the trouble making kids off the bus in The Long Walk Home (1990). It's nice to get to one's destination(s) without any problems. It's the responsibility of each individual to check individuals nearest first about the potentially problematic as well as the good especially in tandem with social relations (which do not just concern race). If there's no one near to properly nurture, one must be willing to learn, and listen-- self-responsiblity, and self-nurturing are very important: both need proper tending to be done well.
Onward and Upward,
Kevin Dufresne
www.Piatures.com
IG: @Dufreshest
I hope all is progressing well.
I enjoy learning about anthropological-cultural progressions (which I find the text to be informative of, respectively). I'm glad to be in connection with individuals of varying backgrounds willing to converse respectfully on varying topics. During a meeting at work, I express an interest in one of the topic options concerning the "Model Minority Myth." After conversations ensue around the topic, one of my colleagues recommends The Karma of Brown Folk by Vijay Prashad. I write the name of the book down, and I'm glad I decide to read the book. The text covers aspects of Asians and South Asians (Desi) in relation to individuals of the African diaspora as well as to cultural progress as Asians and South Asians (Desi) in connection to freedom, economy, equality, identity, multiculturalism, racialness, socialness, and solidarity ranging from historical roots of about the past two centuries abroad as well as in America.
Ultimately, the text leads to a point of cheering, and encouraging solidarity. While reading the text, I ponder of scenes in a film, The Rainbow (1989), concerning ideas of war, the way some view parts of life as a game in a way or so that is far more real to others--far more, affecting--present. Nurturing is a part of every culture, a responsibility of each human, whether self-nurturing, or nurturing another. I hope nurturing tends toward good, the betterment of humanity overall, from each individual of and through proper nurturing.
In the film House Bunny (2008), there's a scene containing a point about not knowing about Aztec culture though having fun with an experience of an aspect of the Aztec culture in a celebratory form (which I think is actually a nod of respect in a tasteful way--especially in a comedy) some may find fun, honorable, offensive, be opinionless, etc. At the beginning of the Aztec party scenes, I cautiously think about social points that may be problematic concerning the party though I don't assume anything, the party looks like it's a success. I do not know any details concerning the proceeds of the film. Yet, in a situation no one is being disrespectful and/or making a profit from a different culture while crediting a particular culture at an event, open to any, from an aspect of a culture, with invitations out to members of all ethnic groups, is it problematic?
Will Critical Race Theorists be in proper spaces to properly guide students concerning anthropological-cultural relations? Will individuals be able to civilly communicate beyond cultural economic-political understandings toward resolves benefitial toward future generations without bias? Individuals may be doing so already. Still, nurturing properly is lifelong. Realistically, there are a lot of individuals that are like the bus driver that kicks the trouble making kids off the bus in The Long Walk Home (1990). It's nice to get to one's destination(s) without any problems. It's the responsibility of each individual to check individuals nearest first about the potentially problematic as well as the good especially in tandem with social relations (which do not just concern race). If there's no one near to properly nurture, one must be willing to learn, and listen-- self-responsiblity, and self-nurturing are very important: both need proper tending to be done well.
Onward and Upward,
Kevin Dufresne
www.Piatures.com
IG: @Dufreshest
September 5, 2025
i cant remember the last time i felt this conflicted reading a book. i simultaneously feel like this text has massive importance for understanding the fraught ways south asians navigate racism in the states... and that its got some skeletons in its closet
for the most part, the book is an excellent exposition of a core logic that feels broadly accurate to me: desis have experienced white supremacist racism at every turn in their presence in the west. this racism was tinged with seeds of paternalistic admiration of the spirituality and perceived cultural development of the subcontinent. a confluence of factors beginning circa the 60s - whitelash to the black power movement, changes to immigration law, desis feelings of alienation from the culture of their homeland, desis being pushed out of mainstream culture, and those seeds of paternalistic admiration - have congealed into a toxic dynamic where powerful desis throughout the diaspora welcome culturally insecure desis in the west into a narrative surrounding south asian “culture”: the features of which are submissivenes, conservatism, religious homogeny, cultural greatness, islamophobia, and anti-blackness. white america looks on approvingly. which brings us to the moment prashad writes about which feels very similar to the moment we're in now: large swaths of desis affirming the model minority myth and thereby denying the realities of systemic racism. he holds out an inspiring alternative: grabbing hold of the roots of resistance and solidarity in the history of the south asian diaspora.
but like I mentioned there’s some skeletons. there are a couple moments where prashad glosses over caste and colorism in india in ways that feel quite problematic
- He claims caste is not a real category
- He makes snarky comments about caste being overemphasizes in Indian scholarship
- He holds up Gandhi as an uncomplicated ideal future of south Asian resistance, offering zero engagement with his anti blackness and casteism
- He argues that, lest the reader be concerned, skin color preferences in marriage advertisements are not and indication of unequal treatment of darker skinned Indian people
This is all extremely concerning. It casts significant suspicion on his overarching case that Indians basically become racist and problematic in the west because of white supremacy. It seems more likely to me that existing casteist and/or colorist attitudes which definitely (in the case of casteism - as many Dalit scholars have pointed out) or probably (in the case or colorism) precede colonization, are transmuted into racism and anti blackness upon migrating to the west.
for the most part, the book is an excellent exposition of a core logic that feels broadly accurate to me: desis have experienced white supremacist racism at every turn in their presence in the west. this racism was tinged with seeds of paternalistic admiration of the spirituality and perceived cultural development of the subcontinent. a confluence of factors beginning circa the 60s - whitelash to the black power movement, changes to immigration law, desis feelings of alienation from the culture of their homeland, desis being pushed out of mainstream culture, and those seeds of paternalistic admiration - have congealed into a toxic dynamic where powerful desis throughout the diaspora welcome culturally insecure desis in the west into a narrative surrounding south asian “culture”: the features of which are submissivenes, conservatism, religious homogeny, cultural greatness, islamophobia, and anti-blackness. white america looks on approvingly. which brings us to the moment prashad writes about which feels very similar to the moment we're in now: large swaths of desis affirming the model minority myth and thereby denying the realities of systemic racism. he holds out an inspiring alternative: grabbing hold of the roots of resistance and solidarity in the history of the south asian diaspora.
but like I mentioned there’s some skeletons. there are a couple moments where prashad glosses over caste and colorism in india in ways that feel quite problematic
- He claims caste is not a real category
- He makes snarky comments about caste being overemphasizes in Indian scholarship
- He holds up Gandhi as an uncomplicated ideal future of south Asian resistance, offering zero engagement with his anti blackness and casteism
- He argues that, lest the reader be concerned, skin color preferences in marriage advertisements are not and indication of unequal treatment of darker skinned Indian people
This is all extremely concerning. It casts significant suspicion on his overarching case that Indians basically become racist and problematic in the west because of white supremacy. It seems more likely to me that existing casteist and/or colorist attitudes which definitely (in the case of casteism - as many Dalit scholars have pointed out) or probably (in the case or colorism) precede colonization, are transmuted into racism and anti blackness upon migrating to the west.
September 24, 2025
4.5 stars—
Important critical analysis of South Asian relations with other ethnicities and groups. Details history of South Asians in America and the concurrent threads of radical heritage from the subcontinent and the trend to conservatism among immigrants to maintain “social status” with the oppressor privileged class. Very intentionally dismantles the idea that South Asian Americans will ever achieve the same kind of privilege and status as white Americans no matter who they choose to sell out and draws from the mercurial relations of white America and immigrants through policies in quotas, family reunification, and H1-B preferences.
Could have more analysis on South Asian relations with various groups other than white Americans and black Americans, and also look deeper into the determinant impacts of model minority on interracial and interclass solidarity.
Important critical analysis of South Asian relations with other ethnicities and groups. Details history of South Asians in America and the concurrent threads of radical heritage from the subcontinent and the trend to conservatism among immigrants to maintain “social status” with the oppressor privileged class. Very intentionally dismantles the idea that South Asian Americans will ever achieve the same kind of privilege and status as white Americans no matter who they choose to sell out and draws from the mercurial relations of white America and immigrants through policies in quotas, family reunification, and H1-B preferences.
Could have more analysis on South Asian relations with various groups other than white Americans and black Americans, and also look deeper into the determinant impacts of model minority on interracial and interclass solidarity.
January 10, 2022
An excellent analysis of the role South Asians play in upholding anti-blackness and American Imperialist values. The chapters on anti-blackness, crafting an "authentic" cultural experience as a desi in the US, and Yankee Hindutva were the chapters I found to be most interesting.
There were so many small things mentioned in the book that I had noticed or thought about but was never able to properly articulate, such as "reverse-assimilation"- the rediscovery of desi identity and belonging in college after previously shunning it, or how the parameters of being a successful desi lie less in one's actual experience on the Indian subcontinent but more so how well one upholds capitalist and Imperialist values submissively.
There were so many small things mentioned in the book that I had noticed or thought about but was never able to properly articulate, such as "reverse-assimilation"- the rediscovery of desi identity and belonging in college after previously shunning it, or how the parameters of being a successful desi lie less in one's actual experience on the Indian subcontinent but more so how well one upholds capitalist and Imperialist values submissively.
January 19, 2023
As a second generation Bangladeshi American who’s always not been able to understand why so much racism exists within the South Asian American community, this book was a total eye opener. The contradictions to create these racist ideas of the “brown” community in America towards African Americans was shown, and I am glad to say that Prashad helped me understand this. From time to time the book felt a bit cyclical and jagged at times, but overall drove the main idea home very well.
Would definitely recommend, especially to other South Asian Americans, The Karma of Brown Folk does a great job at explaining such a complex topic.
Would definitely recommend, especially to other South Asian Americans, The Karma of Brown Folk does a great job at explaining such a complex topic.
May 23, 2023
I've never read a book that so accurately captures the niche that is the Indian American experience. I love how Prashad connected all race and class struggles and discussed how white supremacy tries to divide them. I especially appreciate the empathy he has for those of us who grew up here as Americans, with VERY INDIAN parents and how we have unique issues to deal with by having to navigate very different worlds.
September 8, 2020
i found it kind of hard to get through, the author was a bit repetitive at times and i wished for some less academic/concise writing. overall, learned a good amount of info and appreciated the arguments.
April 18, 2023
A self-aware, comprehensive critique of the South Asian American experience. Each chapter is meticulously researched, resurfacing golden nuggets of South Asian history that have led me on many a rabbit hole. I would recommend this to any of my South Asian American peers. 4.5 star.
July 7, 2025
This is essential reading for all south Asian Americans, and especially Hindus. Though this book is slightly dated, the arguments and situations it discusses are still relevant. I would love to see an updated version of this for 2025 from the author.
May 6, 2018
The direct truth and the simple yet authentic style of expressions used in this book makes it's sentences a Piece of art that aches from within.
May 10, 2018
This is a dense, academic read so not a book you can breeze through. That said really well written and researched!
October 13, 2018
Though it is 20 years old it remains quite vital.
October 9, 2020
The history and analysis of the rise of Asian Americans. Some interesting comparisons and contrasts to African American racism especially in the U.S, Quite dry.
January 1, 2021
I wish I was smart enough to understand this lmfao
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