If an alien would gain insight into the 'situation' of the immigrant currently taking place in the US, the Netflix show Mosh Would act as a good gateway. Apart from, it can cause the foreigner to believe that there are no Indian immigrants, legally or illegal in the US.
MoshThe semi-autobiographical comedy made by Palestinian-American comician comic, together with the Egyptian-American Ramy Youssef, follows the life of Mohammad 'Mo' Najjar, whose family arrived two decades ago in Houston as Palestinian Asylum Seekers from Kuwait. For two seasons, the series has laid down hope, dreams, despair, deception, dehumanization, discriminatory cultural practices, etc. that defines the immigrant experience. Mo's family is the vehicle, which means that the heated running debate about immigration in the US is worn in a light -hearted, easy way to different parts of the world. Unlike military aircraft full of deported illegal immigrants.
Where are the Indians?
Mo grew up in Houston, spoke Arabic, Spanish and English and hurried all his life to take care of his family after the death of his father. His struggles are everyone's struggles, only exacerbated by the status without papers of his family. His social circle is full of other immigrants to the US – Africans, Hispanics, Arabs and everyone else in between.
But what about Indians?
It is interesting that, despite living in Houston, Mo is able to stay in both seasons in both seasons in both seasons in both seasons. Just like Mo, it was successful to stay on October 7, 2023. According to the Census 2020, Houston is the home base of around 165,000 Indians, the seventh largest in the US.
About culture and distribution
After Spanish and Vietnamese immigrants, Indians are responsible for the largest immigrant community in Houston. So why never communicates with one? He grew up in Alief, a suburb of the working class in southwestern Houston, which in 1996 was the most cultural and ethnically diverse school district in the US. A news item about Alief in 2006 summarizes it in one sentence: “The 47,000 of the District Students speak almost 70 tongues. Yet we don't see any Indian in Mo's immigrant universe.
Could it be the cultural insularity where Indian immigrants are famous? A carnegie survey from 2021 showed: “Indian Americans – especially members of the first generation – tend to socialize with other Indian Americans. Internally, the social networks of Indian Americans are more homogeneous in terms of religion than the Indian region (state) of origin or caste ”. Another relevant finding is that “divisions in India are reproduced within the Indian American community”.
Is it then possible that Indian immigrants, mainly Hindus, choose to have a minimal consocation retention with the community of MO? Perhaps that is why Indians are not even a footnote in the story of Mo.
Mo is also not entirely flawless. Vroom Muslims, the Najjars are uncomfortable with the idea of embracing non-Muslims in the pleat of the family. Religion dictates their worldview as much as their regional identity as 'stateless' Palestinians. Yusra, Mo's mother, rejects his relationship with Mexican Mary, who carries her Catholicism on her sleeve as a tattoo. When Maria starts a rebound relationship with an Israeli-Jewish man named Guy, she does this knowing that Mo cannot forgive that, making it easier for her to continue.
An 'elite' immigrant
Or perhaps there is still an explanation for the absence of Indian immigrants in this beloved story of immigrant reality in the US. A PEW survey from 2023 shows that the median income of Indian households of immigrants “is greater than the average family income among Asian Americans in general”. So, Mo's Tattoo artist friend, who also doubles as an emergency surgeon who grazes his bullet, and his codeine dealer, a colleague -hustler, is a man of Southeast -Asian/Chinese descent. It is the lower abdomen of the immigrant American Society that forms the universe of MO.
However, Mo is an 'elite' immigrant. He realizes this when he first spends time in a cartel and later in a “Coyote's” dungeon in Mexico, with an American dream with an American dream. Although the family of MO is financially struggling, they did not have to make a life -threatening trip to the US. However, many of those who were currently deported to India had to. After having paid a substantial amount – almost as much as the Rolling Stone figure of $ 10,000 quoted by Nick, Mo's childhood friend. Yet the shared misery of the mule “Dunki” route in landing on the American territory has forgotten in the race to realize the American dream?
According to the World Bank, India received $ 125 billion in transfers, a much more important amount than the $ 71.92 billion in direct foreign investments (DBI) in 2023-24. Immigrants without papers, who live and work under deportation fears, send a larger part of their income at home. Perhaps this is the reason why Indians are not frequent gaming -arcades and clubs that often chase Mo and his friends. And those who can afford it prefer to socialize under their own.
Whatever the reasons, the absence of Indians in this Saga of Immigration is striking and requires thinking about the house and the world.
(The author is a Delhi -based author and academic.)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
