The Paradox of Indian American Identity: Growing More Indian While Becoming More American

In the gleaming corporate towers of Silicon Valley, the bustling laboratories of America’s top universities, and the corridors of political power in Washington, D.C., Indian Americans have become an undeniable force. At 5.2 million strong, they now represent the second-largest immigrant group in the United States by country of origin. But beneath the headlines celebrating their achievements lies a more complex story—one that challenges everything we thought we knew about American assimilation.

A groundbreaking survey conducted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace reveals a striking paradox: rather than gradually shedding their Indian identity as they integrate into American society, Indian Americans are actually becoming more Indian while simultaneously becoming more American. It’s a phenomenon that turns conventional wisdom about immigrant assimilation on its head.

The Awakening of Indian Identity

The numbers tell a remarkable story. Among Indian Americans born in the United States, the proportion who consider being Indian “very or somewhat important” to their identity surged from 70% in 2020 to 86% in 2024—a 16-percentage point increase that defies decades of assimilation theory.

“This isn’t what we typically expect to see,” explains one immigration researcher familiar with the findings. “Usually, each generation becomes more distant from their ancestral identity. But Indian Americans seem to be moving in the opposite direction.”

The 2024 Indian American Attitudes Survey, conducted between September and October with 1,206 respondents nationwide, offers the most comprehensive look at this community’s social realities to date. The results paint a picture of a group that refuses to be boxed into traditional categories.

Consider the evolution of how Indian Americans identify themselves. The term “Indian American”—once the preferred label—has fallen dramatically in popularity, dropping from 43% in 2020 to just 26% in 2024. In its place, “Asian Indian” has surged from 7% to 22%, while “Asian American” has doubled from 6% to 14%.

This shift suggests something profound: Indian Americans are moving away from hyphenated identities that suggest divided loyalties toward established racial categories within the American framework. They’re not becoming less Indian—they’re becoming Indian in a distinctly American way.

The Citizenship Divide

The survey reveals stark differences in civic engagement based on citizenship status and place of birth. U.S.-born citizens consistently demonstrate the highest levels of civic participation, often by substantial margins. They’re more likely to volunteer for community service (the most popular civic activity at 17%), attend public meetings, and participate in protests.

But it’s in political engagement where the most dramatic changes appear. Two-thirds of Indian Americans now report discussing politics with friends and family—a 20-percentage point jump from 2020 that likely reflects the heightened political climate of the 2024 election cycle.

“What we’re seeing is a community that’s becoming more politically engaged, not less,” notes the survey’s methodology. U.S.-born citizens lead in every category of political participation, from campaign contributions to contacting elected officials to volunteering for campaigns.

Yet even noncitizens—those formally excluded from the electoral process—report widespread political discussions, suggesting that American political issues have become deeply salient across the entire community.

Threads That Bind Across Oceans

Despite physical distance and generational change, connections to India remain surprisingly robust. More than half of Indian Americans (55%) communicate with friends and family in India at least monthly, while 39% traveled there in the past year. Perhaps most tellingly, 81% ate Indian food in the past month—a cultural practice that transcends citizenship status and generation.

These aren’t merely nostalgic gestures. Seventeen percent actively support religious organizations in India, while 14% contribute to Indian nonprofits. Among those eligible, 38% possess Overseas Citizenship of India cards, maintaining formal legal ties to their ancestral homeland.

As the nation becomes increasingly diverse, the Indian American experience suggests that successful integration doesn’t require cultural erasure. Instead, it might require expanding our understanding of what it means to be American.

The persistence of these connections challenges assumptions about immigrant integration. Rather than weakening over time, cultural ties appear to be adapting and evolving, creating new forms of transnational identity.

The Weight of Multiple Identities

When asked to balance their Indian and American identities, Indian Americans reveal the complexity of their experience. Nearly half (47%) say they feel equally Indian and American—the most common response. But significantly, the proportion who feel “more American than Indian” has actually decreased from 31% in 2020 to 24% in 2024.

This shift suggests that becoming more American doesn’t necessarily mean becoming less Indian. Instead, Indian Americans appear to be expanding their capacity for multiple, simultaneous identities.

The community’s religious diversity reflects this complexity. While 55% identify as Hindu, 14% are Muslim, 8% are Christian, and 14% claim no religious affiliation. Yet across all faiths, Indian Americans demonstrate remarkably similar patterns of civic engagement and cultural connection.

Confronting Hard Truths

Success hasn’t shielded Indian Americans from discrimination. Half of all respondents report experiencing discrimination in the past year, with skin color being the most common basis (31%), followed by country of origin (20%) and religion (19%).

Particularly striking is that U.S.-born citizens are more likely to report discrimination (64%) than their foreign-born counterparts (38%). This isn’t because they face more discrimination—it’s likely because they’re more attuned to recognizing it and more willing to name it.

The survey also reveals deep concerns about rising nationalism both in America and India. Eighty-one percent view the 2017 Charlottesville white supremacist rally as exemplifying threats to minorities in America, while 70% see similar threats in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign rhetoric about Muslims in India.

The Caste Question

Perhaps nowhere is the complexity of Indian American identity more evident than in attitudes toward caste. While 32% report no caste identification and 46% identify as General or Upper caste, a remarkable 77% support laws prohibiting caste-based discrimination in the United States.

This overwhelming support—including 79% of Upper caste respondents—suggests a community grappling with inherited hierarchies while embracing American ideals of equality. It’s a negotiation between ancestral tradition and adopted values that many immigrant communities face, but few resolve so decisively.

Despite high educational attainment, the survey reveals significant knowledge gaps about both Indian and American politics. Only 39% correctly understand how India’s prime minister is selected, while just 62% know that the First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion.

These gaps suggest that maintaining connections to India while fully engaging in American civic life requires constant learning and adaptation. The community’s political influence may be growing, but its political knowledge still has room for development.

Redefining American Assimilation

The 2024 survey ultimately challenges the linear assimilation model that has long dominated discussions of immigrant integration. Indian Americans aren’t following a predictable path from ethnic identity to American identity. Instead, they’re creating something new—a model of integration that strengthens rather than weakens cultural connections.

This pattern may have broader implications for understanding contemporary American multiculturalism. As the nation becomes increasingly diverse, the Indian American experience suggests that successful integration doesn’t require cultural erasure. Instead, it might require expanding our understanding of what it means to be American.

The survey’s findings arrive at a moment when questions of identity, belonging, and nationalism are central to American political discourse. Indian Americans’ ability to become more Indian while becoming more American offers a compelling counter-narrative to zero-sum thinking about cultural identity.

In conference rooms and classrooms, in temples and town halls, Indian Americans are writing a new chapter in the American story. They’re proving that in a nation built by immigrants, there’s no single path to belonging. Sometimes, the most American thing you can do is to hold tight to who you’ve always been while embracing who you’re becoming.

The paradox of Indian American identity isn’t really a paradox at all. It’s a preview of America’s multicultural future—one where success is measured not by how much of yourself you leave behind, but by how much of yourself you bring forward.

This story is based on the 2024 Indian American Attitudes Survey conducted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in partnership with YouGov. The nationally representative survey of 1,206 Indian American adults was conducted between September 18 and October 15, 2024, with a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.