Thread by @seshanm

#IndianDiaspora
"People of Indian ancestry in Australia number more than 780,000 – an increase of almost 165,000 since 2016. As migrant groups go, Indians have leapfrogged the Chinese and now sit second only to the British." smh.com.au/national/educa…

"First, they’re in a generational sweet spot. The median age of Indians here is 35 – the Australian median is 38 – as opposed to migrants from, say, Vietnam (47) or Italy (72), who came in earlier waves."

"They’re highly educated, too: 63 per cent of Indians here had a bachelor’s degree or above in 2016 (the most recent figures, and compared with an Australian-born number of 24 per cent)."

"Monash University demographer Dharma Arunachalam expects his countrymen to comfortably vault into the top spot within five years, to become our undisputed dominant migrant group."

"...this cultural bloc might more profoundly influence Australian society than any other."

"Indian migrants resist easy categorisation – politically or socially, geographically or

".. they’re more disparate and divided than other migrant cohorts, and that simple truth is the most important thing to understand about Indians."

"Indians assimilate swiftly and subtly. In a 2021 essay for Australian Foreign Affairs magazine, Betigeri describes how her own father and mother arrived in 1968 and 1971 and became the very model of those “grateful, pliant migrants Australia loves best”.

"They brought their skill and grit, and held on to the palatable parts of their culture while shedding all else. They blended in, holding true to an old maxim: Indians, when in a new place, dissolve like sugar in milk. Invisible, but making everything sweeter."

"Arranged marriages are common in Indian society, and the custom has led to one of the few points where Indian and Australian cultural norms clash, namely in the form of a high domestic violence rate among some in the Indian community, often through what’s known as “dowry abuse”.

"The other point of cultural friction is the Indian caste system, which puts Brahmins at the top and Dalits, or “untouchables”, at the bottom. It’s alive and well locally, according to Professor Hari Bapuji, who researches economic inequality at the University of Melbourne."

"Through perseverance and networking, she found her way to two top-tier law firms, but there she felt the subject of microaggressions – left out of Friday-night drinks and “steak clubs” (Asthana is Hindu, and doesn’t eat beef) – which she believes contributed to her billing

less and progressing more slowly. She didn’t feel harassed or bullied, but says she saw unconscious bias at play."

"India gained independence in 1947 – 75 years ago this coming Monday – yet was greeted coolly in its early years by Australian PM Robert Menzies, while India saw in us little more than a racist backwater."

"“Indians found Australians loud, brash and uncultured,” Wesley writes. “Australians found Indians haughty, prickly and judgmental.”

"The bilateral Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA, which sounds like the Hindi word for “unity”) was signed in April, leading to predictions that trade between the two countries will almost double within five years."

"Half of all Indian migrants here are Hindu, 18% are Christian & 7% Muslim, while 12% are Sikh, the most visibly loud and proud group. Sikh Volunteers Australia recently rose to national prominence for their charitable work through bushfires, floods and the pandemic.."

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