Nazar - The Phenomenon of South Asian Political Apathy

Issue 2, January 2007 | Archives

The Phenomenon of South Asian Political Apathy

African American scholar Michael Eric Dyson notes, “As scholars of color interrogate colonialism's practices, this discourse is usually put into a narrowly racialized framework that pays attention to black-white differences, without linking such differences to an international context of colonialism.” And this statement gives me pause; postcolonialism is not the only discourse that subscribes to this racial binary. Living in the supposed cultural melting pot, we have reason to question America 's many black/white policies. Taking the latest immigration laws as a prime example, it seems as though race plays into politics only when necessary (that is to say, we are addressing illegal immigration from south of the border more as an urgent imperative rather than a preventative measure). As South Asians, we are to blame for this general apathy.

There is a plethora of factors contributing to South Asian apoliticism: voter apathy and ignorance and the prioritization of culture-specific social values are few among many. Voter apathy and ignorance are explained, in part, by the continuation of South Asian political allegiances that result in indifferent attitudes towards American policies. For many, the lives they've left behind on the other hemisphere are ongoing and preclude (at least politically) the life they live in America . The move to America is merely a physical displacement while South Asians remain spiritually grounded in their home countries. Similarly, the social values held in, say, India, are often translated into the American climate as the prioritization of education and monetary success; in turn, this leads to an unusual proportion of affluence for any one given racial group that promotes a general contentment with life in the US.

The overall South Asian respect for authority means that a similarly high proportion of transitions to America are, in fact, lawful. Few South Asians hold any sort of political, cultural, or social resentment with their new nation, a resentment that is generally characteristic and perhaps altogether necessary for any group of non-whites wanting to make political change. Unfortunately, this brings us back to the abyss that is the racial binary. The affluent, driven, non-bitter South Asian working professional is content with cooking curry behind white picket fences. But preserving cultural traditions and practicing them behind closed doors allows for a political washout—we are living quietly and are politically nonexistent because of it.

The racial binary is a cousin to America 's shameless two-party system: essentially, you have to vote blue or red to make a tangible difference. This confuses South Asians. The business people in favor of the fiscal red are getting hurt by the largely Republican-sponsored social policies (it isn't a coincidence that the Patriot Act targets people of color, particularly ours). Let's go back to the infamous presidential election of 2000. I vaguely recall seeing Bush/Cheney signs clustered in front of mosques. Why? Because Lieberman was Jewish and in full support of Israel . What did we get in return? Wire-tapping in our homes and physical harassment in our airports. This political binary in which we can only lean left or right both fuels ignorance and confuses those unwilling to do a little extra homework (making your homepage CNN.com does not make you any more politically active than the person on Wikipedia right next to you).

So to play on Thoreau's idea of a solution, here's mine: activism, activism, activism. As South Asians, we need to contribute more to American society—surely we have more to give than literary giants and Bollywood heroes. We need more political figures of South Asian descent or at least candidates with solid expressions of South Asian interest. And most importantly, we need to acknowledge that we are politically marginalized in the status quo. The first step to solving any problem is admitting you have one. Our attempt at preserving our South Asian ways has caused us to lose our cultural-political identity in America , and the only way we can make ourselves known is to vote and vote well.