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Title: The Karma of Brown Folk by Vijay Prashad ISBN: 0-8166-3439-4 Publisher: Univ of Minnesota Pr (Trd) Pub. Date: July, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.59 (22 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Some good insights, but a skewed perspective overall
Comment: First, what's right about this book: There is no question that racism and prejudice in the South Asian community is a serious issue and needs to be addressed. I applaud Prashad for, at the very least, bringing the issue to the forefront. This is the first book I am aware of that attempts to delve into this matter head-on. Prashad is one of the few folks on the far Left to clearly articulate a dynamic view of culture, as opposed to (this is consistent with my own opinion on the nature of culture). In contrast to many multiculturalists who view culture as a static in nature where people are to be pigeon-holed in a racial or ethnic box, Prashad refreshingly describes culture as a fluid concept where individuals have some degree of choosing cultural ideas, themes, practices, rituals, and values. I wish more people of Prashad's ideology would get this. As of now, I have only seen this view expressed well (if at all) by neolibertarians (e.g., various Reason magazine columnists ) and neoconservatives (e.g., Paul Gigot in the Wall Street Journal and Michael Barone in The Weekly Standard). This dynamic view of culture is Prashad's and the book's greatest contribution. Now, what's wrong with this book: The biggest problem I have with Prashad is that he has an extremely pessimistic idea of what America (i.e., the USA) is about. Specifically, he holds the common (if not standard) Leftist perspective that America is a white male-dominated society. Phrases like "racist country" and "white supremacist" pepper his arguments. While I understand this work is a polemic in nature, nevertheless his shrill statements on America as a fundamentally racist nation greatly diminish the value of his arguments on the dynamic nature of culture. His essays (such as those in the progressive magazine "Little India"), express this same, tired view of America, and generally without the benefit of his otherwise keen insights on cultural dynamics. We are expected, in this book, to accept America as a hopelessy white supremacist society (almost a priori) and this for me made the book extremely irritating to read at times. Also, I would agree with an earlier review that there are two (if not more) books within this book. While some of his discussions on Orientalism, "greedy gurus", and Hindutva (i.e., Hindu chauvinism) dovetail with is main points on racism and prejudice, he devotes far too much time and effort to these topics. Indeed, the impression I get is that he is excessively attributing South Asian racism to these factors. It seems he is trying too hard to connect South Asian racism to these themes, and in the process leaves out several issues that have been explored by others as possible factors contributing to South Asian prejudice. Why, for example, didn't he fully address desi (i.e., Indian) cultural attachment to white (a.k.a. "fair") skin? What about intra-South Asian prejudice originating in South Asia itself (which includes caste, religion, language, region, class, etc.)? One of his central arguments of (Hindu) desi Americans using "Yankee Hindutva" as a reaction to "white supremacy" fail to convince me. I believe there is far more to explore beyond orientalism, gurus, and Hindutva to try to explain desi prejudice. Prashad also almost totally ignores other ethnicities and how the play into this new American ethnocultural landscape. I would have greatly appreciate the author's views on the experiences and histories of other Asian Amerians (Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Cambodians, etc.), Hispanics, native Americans, Jews, Italians, Irish, Arabs, Persians, Caribbean blacks, African immigrants, etc. While I'm not saying that Prashad was required to give "equal time" to other groups (he is, after all, writing a book about desis), he seems to focus too much on a desi-white(WASP)-African American triangle and not much else. Specifically, why hasn't he explored desis' views of other minorities, which would more correctly reflect desi patterns of prejudice and racism? Another twist on this is that Prashad could have discussed the experiences of desis across the diaspora, especially in Britain, Malaysia, Singapore, Guyana, Trinidad, Fiji, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya. The latter 6 countries provide especially vivid desi experiences that point to desis' high degree of endogamy, ethnocultural conservatism, and disproportional economic power as phenomena to be explored. Finally, and this may be my own prejudice as a pragmatic, mild-mannered Midwesterner: I can't help but see Prashad as yet another ivory tower academic pontificating from his ideological bunker in the elite Cambridge-to-Capitol Hill corridor (he's a professor at Trinity College in Connecticut). Maybe it's just me, but his calls for progressive action ring hollow to me and at times it seems as if he's trying to show off his progressive credentials. Also, particularly annoying to me is his reliance on Internet usenet newsgroups to gauge desi sociopolitial thoughts and views. (I'm not sure if he uses newsgroups as an example in this book or in his other essays). A few individuals drawn to the Internet to vent their bigotry does not qualify as a group for serious cultural analyis. These newsgroups are often merely echo chambers of extremism, chauvinism, and hubris. This reliance on newsgroups makes Prashad appear to be an out-of-touch academic who doesn't or won't take the time and effort to take into account the full range of South Asian American cultural experiences. Would it be too much to ask Prashad to spend a few days interviewing desis from a variety of places, such as Edison, NJ (a premier desi commerical and cultural hub), Oak Brook, IL (a high concentration of rich and upwardly-mobile suburban desis), or just about any random motel off an Interstate in the South (where there is high chance you'll find a desis working as anything from housekeepers to managers to wealthy owners)? In short, the book discusses some important and interesting topics, and provides some very useful insights and observations, but ultimately, Prashad's stubborn ideological bent greatly diminishes an otherwise noble effort to pry open the critical cultural phenomenon of desi "success" and prejudice.
Rating: 5
Summary: A must read for ALL south asians
Comment: This is a book, that you will either love or hate--no middle ground. I personally love this book. Vijay Prashad's book provides a honest, critical analysis of south-asians in America. It is sharp in its criticsm of Hinduvata's influence in shaping Indian identity; just as keen in debunking the model minority myth. It is a superb rebuttal to D'Souza, and other neoconservatives and the ways in which white america uses south asians as weapons against blacks. Prashad draws on Orientalism of America, and how this affects the ways in which desis are viewed and the ways in which they act in the racial landscape of America. Finally, Prashad asks of desis to commit model minority suicide--something every desi needs to explore critically.
This book must be read by all south asians in US, to whom it is so passionately argued; whether one agrees with Prashad's arguments or not, there is something informative and worthy of consideration for desis of all political affinities. For others, it is a parochial account of the Indian immigrant experience, which makes it a bit difficult to understand, but nevertheless something you need to read and try to understand; definetely a must read for black-americans, for this book calls for a black-asian (brown) solidarity that is worth exploring. The fate (Karma)of ALL brown folks in white america, needs to be shaped by such a solidarity.
I especially recommend this book to South Asian teens, who are caught in the midst of finding their identities, and jumbling to reconcile desiness with their americaness.
Rating: 5
Summary: Deep and highly original analysis
Comment: Remarkable work by Prashad which has quickly become a classic.
This book carries out a very deep analysis of the South Asian
diaspora in the west, which helps us gain tremendous insights
into their complex condition. Read it!!!
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Title: Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting : Afro-Asian Connections and the Myth of Cultural Purity by Vijay Prashad ISBN: 0807050113 Publisher: Beacon Press Pub. Date: 18 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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Title: Desis in the House: Indian American Youth Culture in New York City (Asian American History and Culture) by Sunaina Marr Maira ISBN: 1566399270 Publisher: Temple Univ Press Pub. Date: February, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Contours of the Heart: South Asians Map North America by Sunaina Maira, Rajini Srikanth, Sucheta Mazumdar ISBN: 1889876003 Publisher: Temple Univ Press Pub. Date: November, 1996 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Born Confused (BCCB BLUE RIBBON FICTION BOOKS (AWARDS)) by Tanuja Desai Hidier, Tanuja Desai Hidier ISBN: 0439357624 Publisher: Scholastic Pub. Date: 01 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Namaste America : Indian Immigrants in an American Metropolis by Padma Rangaswamy ISBN: 0271019816 Publisher: Pennsylvania State Univ Pr (Txt) Pub. Date: April, 2000 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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