Voice of America features a news story about the community of Artesia, California known for its very visible Indian population, and their bid to post a highway sign designating Artesia with the nickname “Little India.” The full story can be viewed here and a transcript can be read here.
Artesia, California – population 16,000, was settled as a farming community by Portuguese immigrants in the 19th century. Today Artesia’s rural past is a faint memory, its main street paved, the shops along it owned for the most part by merchants from the Indian subcontinent. But plans to officially recognize the city’s altered social landscape have received unexpected resistance from many in the community.
What’s the resistance about? Well despite the Indian community’s overwhelming visibility, they only make up 5% of the actual population. That rubs some the wrong way. Says the leader of the local Portuguese Cultural Center:
“Artesia is composed of Hispanic, Portuguese, Dutch, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Filipino, all sorts of diversity as you can see, including Indian. Now the Indian community does have quite a few shopping centers in Artesia, but it’s only a small percentage in the whole big picture of all the shopping centers.”
Assemblyman Rudy Bermudez is more reasonable:
“This sign is not about celebrating just one culture, one community. It’s about celebrating the vast diversity of this city. And it just happens to be that one of the richest destinations in California, Southern California, is here on Pioneer Boulevard – and it’s “Little India.”
We should send Jerry Orbach to kick this guy’s ass…
Yeah, nobody puts baby in a corner!
On a more serious note though, I think the problems places like Artesia, CA and Edison, NJ face is that the actual population of Indians is nowhere near what it is perceived to be. The fact that so many Indian shops exist in the same area makes it a popular destination for most South Asians in driving distance.
It doesn’t matter how many Indians are here, the point is that they have developed the flavor of Artesia. The Portugese have done nothing for the community, and live in small shack houses. Indians are building million dollar houses. Before the Indians came along, Pioneer Blvd was full of chinese furniture stores run like warehouses. And Diho market was a filthy place to shop. Indians have given us some color and flavor.
As a third generation American of European descent I began shopping in “Little India” between 10 to 15 years ago. I was drawn by the food, fabric and family feeling of the area as well as the sense of connection to my family’s own history of assimilation in a new land. Shopping in “Little India” has brought back memories from my childhood, when there were still little European enclaves in Southern California. In those days my family would visit a German neighborhood and we would imbibe the food, music and the social atmosphere of the “old country”. Now those sweet places are gone and rap music blares from where the accordion player once sang.
I doubt we will ever see another distinctive wave of European immigration again, and even if we did it would look much different from the communities of years gone by. TodayÂ’s new Americans in Southern California have been Egyptian, Iranian, Vietnamese and East Indian. Personally, I feel privileged to share in their life and story. Those of us who are of European descent have had our turn and our memories belong to our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
So why not let Little India be “Little India”? Most of us who shop there know it thus. Let them have a turn. Named communities tend to endure as we see with Korea Town and China Town, and let’s admit it, if we had had the foresight to honor communities of European descent (French, German, English or Irish) perhaps more of us would have a place to go where we could still be in touch with our cultural ancestry.
Ann
I second everything Ann said. Little India is a great ethnic shopping neighborhood to visit, for Indians and like-minded non-Indians alike. Artesia should be delighted to be home to such a vibrant commercial center regardless of how many ethnic Indians make Artesia their home.
Haha! I’m doing a report on Little India of Artesia for my Asian American Ethnic Studies class! I’m posting this to see if any of the other googlers in my group will find this! -K
I’m very interested in your report on Little India. Get in touch at your convenience.
My name is Scott Ward. I’m the casting director for a new kids DVD cartoon series which celebrates cultural diversity in America. In our first episode we have several East Indian American characters which we need to cast. We will only be hearing their voices but we want to use actual people of Indian decent. Here are the characters:
Raj – Indian (Eastern) boy, 5 yrs. no accent
Asha – Indian (Eastern) girl, Raj’s sister, 3 yrs. no accent
Raj’s mom – Indian – late 30’s, no accent
Raj’s Daadi (grandmother) – Indian – early 60’s (Indian accent)
Please contact me as soon as possible if you know anyone who might be right for these roles. Thanks!
Scott Ward
818-516-7020
Their resentment is understandable…. Here in bangalore kannadigas can hardly tolerate tamils who come from just the neighbouring ! While bihari’s are ridiculed and hated for their suppossed uncouth nature When we all belong to one country and have a common race and heritage
So Americans tolerating and allowing people from a totally different race to live with them is highly appreciable.
In response to comment #9 above, lets not forget who made Bangalore a highly tolerant and accepting city in the first place, its the kannadigas! Ask anyone from any part of India where they would feel more accepted and can easily coexist with people: in Chennai or Bangalore? We have nothing against Tamils. But some (not all) Tamils have this attitude that their language is “better” than everyone else’s. We’ve accepted people from everywhere in Bangalore, and what do we get in return? Disrespect for our own language! We don’t require anyone to learn our language, but the least we can expect is for people to not disrespect it..is that too much to ask for?