Their struggle as immigrant minority and major contributions to the American society Asian Indians come from an area with the second largest population in the world, but form only one of the smallest minorities in the United States. America was influenced by their religious and political beliefs long before the first immigrants arrived in the 19th century. The congressional act of 1947 granted them citizenship. Now, Asian Indians hold many important occupations (students, teachers, writers, musicians, scientists). Their most important contributions are geared toward engineering and the sciences. India was in a great shape up until the end of 19th century. When British arrived, the country was depleted of its wealth and resources. The poor had no choice but to come to the United States (The Land of the Free and the Land of Opportunity). The United States, due to the abundance of jobs and scarcity of labor, became a “Mecca” for immigrants from all over the world. The United States, in the nineteenth century, remained a strong magnet to immigrants, with offers of jobs and land for farms. Asians and Italians came for work, Russians came to escape persecution, and Jews came for religious freedom. Immigrants from all over the world including Europe, China, and Japan wanted to experience the freedom of improving your life and being able to take care for one’s family. East Indians represented a big group that wanted to take part in American culture. The large majorities from India were Punjabis, from a region called the Punjab. Most of Gielar 2these immigrants were young men, between 16 and 35 years old. They left their families in India, and came here in small groups of cousins and village neighbors. Thus, the family and community ties remained very strong. They had several reasons to come to America. They were repressed by the British rule and had no land to farm on. To make matters worse, famine devas...
