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Punjabi Americans

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Punjabi Americans are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from the Punjab region of India and Pakistan. There are over 300,000 Punjabi Americans, many of whom were Sikhs, Ravidassias from British Punjab who first settled in California's Central Valley.

Punjabi American
The language spread of Punjabi in the United States according to U.S. Census 2000
Total population
318,588[1]
0.1% of the total American population (2021)
Regions with significant populations
California156,763 (0.42%)
New York30,341 (0.16%)
Washington19,292 (0.26%)
New Jersey17,857 (0.2%)
Texas15,538 (0.06%)
Languages
Punjabi • American English • Indian English • Pakistani English
American Spanish • Hindi • Urdu
Religion
Sikhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Unaffiliated
Related ethnic groups
Indian Americans, Pakistani Americans, Punjabi Mexican Americans
Punjabi Population History
in the United States[2][3]
YearPop.±%
198019,298—    
199050,005+159.1%
2000 110,254+120.5%
2010 243,773+121.1%
2021318,588+30.7%
Source: United States Census Bureau
A Punjabi-Mexican American couple, Valentina Alarez and Rullia Singh, posing for their wedding photo in 1917.

Sikhs

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Sikhs have been a part of the American populace for more than 130 years. At the turn of the 19th century, the province of Punjab of British India was hit hard by British practices of mercantilism. Many Sikhs emigrated to the United States and began arriving to work on farms in California. They traveled via Hong Kong to Angel Island, California, the western counterpart to Ellis Island in New York.[4]

"Some Sikhs worked in lumber mills of Oregon or in railroad construction and for some Sikhs, it was on a railway line, which allowed other Sikhs who were working as migrant laborers to come into the town on festival days".

Due to discrimination from Anglo Americans, many early Punjabi immigrants in California married Mexican Americans, forming a sizable Punjabi Mexican American community. Punjabi farmers were also able to circumvent laws prohibiting their ownership of property by operating through American bankers.[5]

Ravidassias

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Gurdwara Guru Ravidass Temple, Pittsburg, California

There is a notable population of Ravidassias in the United States, with the majority of them living in California. It is estimated that there are about 20,000 members of the Ravidassia community in California’s Central Valley - a vast majority of them with roots in Punjab in northwestern India. The background of the Ravidassia community in California is from Sikhs, Hindus, and Indigenous peoples.[6] Ravidassia community has six Guru Ravidass temples in California, which have an appearance of Sikh Gurdwaras with the sacred book Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji placed at the center point of the main prayer hall.[7]

Role in America

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Most Sikhs started life in America as farm labourers, with many eventually becoming landowners and successful farmers. In 1956, Dalip Singh Saund became the first Asian American to be elected to the United States House of Representatives. At present Amarjit Singh Buttar is perhaps the only turbaned Sikh who holds elected public office. He was elected in December 2001 to the Vernon, Connecticut Board of Education for a four-year term. He has also been recently selected as the chairman of the board. Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana is also of Punjabi descent, as well as Nikki Haley, the former United States Ambassador to the United Nations[8] and the 116th governor of South Carolina.[9]

Many Punjabi Americans have become successful in technology-related fields. Vinod Dham helped to develop the Pentium processor while Vinod Khosla and Sabeer Bhatia co-founded Sun Microsystems and Hotmail respectively.[10] Aneesh Chopra served as the first Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the United States, appointed by President Barack Obama.

Geographical distribution

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States

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Approximately half of all American Punjabis live in California.

Punjabi Americans by state and territory (1990 −2021)[11][12][13]
State and territory 2017-21 (est.) 2006-10 (Est.) 2000 1990
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
  California 142,450 0.38% 103,998 0.31% 67,820 0.22% 25,725
  New York 36,435 0.19% 32,135 0.18% 22,560 0.13% 5,516
  Washington 18,410 0.26% 11,454 0.19% 6,005 0.11% 861
  New Jersey 17,225 0.2% 11,304 0.14% 7,730 0.1% 2,648
  Texas 9,795 0.04% 6,875 0.03% 3,765 0.02% 1,497
  Virginia 7,828 0.1% 8,177 0.11% 4,560 0.07% 1,283
  Michigan 7,612 0.08% 5,676 0.06% 3,635 0.04% 1,256
  Maryland 7,147 0.12% 3,224 0.06% 2,975 0.06% 1,699
  Indiana 6,691 0.11% 2,895 0.05% 740 0.01% 418
  Illinois 6,195 0.05% 4,276 0.04% 4,315 0.04% 2,180
  Pennsylvania 5,057 0.04% 3,944 0.03% 2,030 0.02% 769
  Ohio 5,011 0.05% 5,083 0.05% 2,040 0.02% 1,067
  Massachusetts 4,917 0.07% 2,588 0.04% 995 0.02%
  Arizona 3,833 0.06% 1,980 0.03% 1,035 0.02%
  North Carolina 3,642 0.04% 2,932 0.03% 705 0.01% 485
  Wisconsin 2,852 0.05% 1,936 0.04% 1,165 0.02% 318
  Florida 2,544 0.01% 2,126 0.01% 1,655 0.01%
  Georgia 2,540 0.03% 1,882 0.02% 790 0.01% 317
  Nevada 2,190 0.08% 743 0.03% 715 0.04%
  Kansas 1,948 0.07% 827 0.03% 249 0.01% 240
  Missouri 1,670 0.03% 579 0.01% 500 0.01% 142
  Oregon 1,570 0.04% 1,246 0.04% 425 0.01%
  Connecticut 1,455 0.04% 1,269 0.04% 934 0.03%
  Utah 1,383 0.05% 632 0.03% 255 0.01% 86
  Colorado 1,121 0.02% 367 0.01% 360 0.01%
  Minnesota 1,153 0.02% 331 0.01% 459 0.01%
  Mississippi 858 0.03% 622 0.02% 275 0.01% 114
  South Carolina 676 0.01% 261 0.01% 199 0.01% 214
  Louisiana 612 0.01% 551 0.01% 474 0.01% 257
  Alabama 507 0.01% 451 0.01% 219 0.01% 249
  Iowa 481 0.02% 60 0% 125 0%
  Arkansas 478 0.02% 91 0% 80 0% 56
  Oklahoma 464 0.01% 53 0% 150 0%
  Tennessee 379 0.01% 572 0.01% 200 0%
  New Hampshire 359 0.03% 287 0.02% 85 0.01% 125
  Kentucky 317 0.01% 340 0.01% 160 0%
  Vermont 289 0.05% 120 0.02% 0 0%
  Delaware 214 0.02% 371 0.04% 169 0.02%
  New Mexico 207 0.01% 228 0.01% 130 0.01%
  District of Columbia 189 0.03% 138 0.03% 134 0.02%
  Nebraska 160 0.01% 70 0% 65 0%
  Idaho 92 0.01% 324 0.02% 0 0% 33
  Rhode Island 74 0.01% 0 0% 30 0%
  Hawaii 68 0% 0 0% 39 0%
  Alaska 33 0% 0 0% 25 0%
  North Dakota 23 0% 0 0% 35 0.01% 21
  Montana 12 0% 13 0% 0 0%
  Maine 5 0% 0 0% 0 0% 25
  South Dakota 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
  West Virginia 0 0% 196 0.01% 219 0.01% 72
  Wyoming 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
  Puerto Rico 0 0% 16 0% 0 0%
  United States 309,373 0.1% 223,309 0.08% 141,295 0.05% 47,673

Metropolitan areas

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15 largest Punjabi American Primary statistical area populations
Primary statistical area 2017-2021 American Community Survey[14] 2012-2016 American Community Survey[15]
Pop. % Pop. %
  San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA CSA 62,574 0.69% 49,626 0.62%
     New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA 49,005 0.22% 49,728 0.22%
  Sacramento-Roseville, CA CSA 31,576 1.26% 30,195 1.28%
  Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA CSA 20,217 0.12% 18,858 0.11%
  Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA CSA 16,559 1.36% 16,010 1.56%
  Seattle-Tacoma, WA CSA 15,743 0.34% 11,825 0.28%
      Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA CSA 13,054 0.14% 12,930 0.15%
  Bakersfield, CA MSA 6,610[16] 0.79% 6,822 0.85%
     Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA 6,416 0.09% 5,125 0.08%
    Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI CSA 5,711 0.06% 5,606 0.06%
  Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN CSA 5,493 0.24% 4,533 0.21%
  Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI CSA 5,458 0.11% 4,548 0.09%
     Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT CSA 5,144 0.06% 3,256 0.04%
  Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK CSA 4,273 0.06% 4,467 0.07%
  Houston-The Woodlands, TX CSA 4,135 0.06% 2,854 0.05%
  United States 309,373 0.1% 280,867 0.09%

Communities

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Members of the Sikh community of Union Square, Somerville, Massachusetts in 2004.

Nearly half of American Punjabis live in California. Most of California's Punjabi population live in NorCal, especially in the Central Valley and the Bay Area. The nation's largest Punjabi population is in California's Central Valley, where Punjabi is the third most spoken language after only English and Spanish.[17] Punjabis can found across the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, but the largest concentrations can be found in the valley's largest cities (Sacramento in the Sacramento Valley and Stockton, Fresno, and Bakersfield in the San Joaquin Valley), and in smaller communities associated with the farming of almonds, peaches, walnuts, and plums. There are also significant concentrations of Punjabi Americans in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and in the Bay Area near Fremont, California.

In the Sacramento Valley, Yuba City and Live Oak have prominent Punjabi populations, with the first Punjabi arriving in Yuba City in 1906.[18] In 2021, Yuba City was home to an Indian American population of 10,638 (15.3% of the city's population), while Live Oak was home to an Indian American population of 1,038 (11.4% of the city's population), with most of these being Punjabis.[19] Sutter County, California as a whole is home to 12,753 Indian Americans (12.9% of the county population); with most of these being Punjabis, this makes Sutter County the most proportionally Punjabi county in America. Down south in the San Joaquin Valley, Livingston is home to 2,798 Indian Americans (19.9% of the city's population); with most of these being Punjabi, Livingston is the most proportionally Punjabi municipality in America.[20][21]

The New York metropolitan area also has a significant Punjabi American presence, with 49,005 Punjabis living in the area. 18,187 Punjabis live in New York City (0.23% of the city's population), including 16,139 in the borough of Queens (0.73% of the borough's population).[22] The Richmond Hill neighborhood of Queens is often referred to as "Little Punjab" due to its large Punjabi population. In 2020, the stretch of 101st Avenue between 111th and 123rd streets in Richmond Hill was renamed Punjab Avenue (ਪੰਜਾਬ ਐਵੇਨਿਊ) and the stretch of 97th Avenue between Lefferts Boulevard and 117th Street was renamed Gurdwara Street.[23][24] Outside of the city, the suburbs of Hicksville in Long Island and Carteret in Central Jersey have significant Punjabi populations. In 2021, Hicksville was home to 8,040 Indian Americans (18.7% of the community's population) while Carteret was home to 4,708 Indian Americans (18.8% of the borough's population), with many of these being Punjabis.[25]

Outside of California and the New York metropolitan area, there are significant populations of Punjabi Americans in Kent, Washington and Greenwood, Indiana.

20 largest Punjabi American Public Use Microdata Area populations
PUMA 2017-2021 American Community Survey[26]
Pop. %
  Sutter & Yuba Counties--Yuba City PUMA, California 11,182 6.7%
  San Joaquin County (South)--Tracy, Manteca & Lathrop Cities PUMA; California 9,432 4.17%
  NYC-Queens Community District 9--Richmond Hill & Woodhaven PUMA, New York 7,705 5.39%
  Alameda County (Southwest)--Union City, Newark & Fremont (West) Cities PUMA; California 4,717 3.41%
  Fresno County (North Central)--Fresno City (North) PUMA, California 4,686 2.57%
  Kern County (Central)--Bakersfield City (West) PUMA, California 4,683 2.19%
  NYC-Queens Community District 13--Queens Village, Cambria Heights & Rosedale PUMA; New York 4,592 2.26%
  Sacramento County (Northwest)--Sacramento City (Northwest/Natomas) PUMA, California 4,457 3.98%
  King County (Southwest Central)--Kent City PUMA, Washington 4,236 3.35%
  San Joaquin County (Central)--Stockton City (North) PUMA, California 3,927 2.2%
  NYC-Queens Community District 10--Howard Beach & Ozone Park PUMA, New York 3,877 2.88%
  Middlesex County (Northeast)--Carteret Borough PUMA, New Jersey 3,615 3.38%
  Alameda County (South Central)--Fremont City (East) PUMA, California 3,310 1.73%
  Sacramento County (Central)--Elk Grove City PUMA, California 3,300 2.13%
  Fresno County (Central)--Fresno City (Southwest) PUMA, California 3,260 1.98%
  Nassau County (East Central)--Oyster Bay Town (Central) PUMA, New York 3,202 3.19%
  Fresno County (Central)--Fresno City (Southeast) PUMA, California 2,875 2.73%
  Merced County (West & South)--Los Banos & Livingston Cities PUMA, California 2,771 2.6%
  Sacramento County (South)--Galt, Isleton Cities & Delta Region PUMA; California 2,769 2.43%
  Alameda County (East)--Livermore, Pleasanton & Dublin Cities PUMA; California 2,768 1.22%
  United States 309,373 0.1%

Notable Punjabi Americans

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Activists

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Military

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Musicians

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Politics

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  • Bobby Jindal, governor of Louisiana
  • Nikki Haley, governor of South Carolina and former United States Ambassador to the United Nations
  • Kashmir Gill, former mayor of Yuba City, California
  • Ravinder "Ravi" Bhalla, mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey and first turban-wearing Sikh mayor of a U.S. city
  • Dalip Singh Saund, first Asian American and first member of a non-Abrahamic faith elected to the House of Representatives
  • Ro Khanna, U.S. Representative for California's 17th District
  • Lahori Ram - First Indo-American to be appointed as the Economic Development Commissioner of California.[27]

Judiciary

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Sports

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "B16001LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT HOME BY ABILITY TO SPEAK ENGLISH FOR THE POPULATION 5 YEARS AND OVER". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  2. ^ "Language Use in the United States: 2019" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  3. ^ "B16001LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT HOME BY ABILITY TO SPEAK ENGLISH FOR THE POPULATION 5 YEARS AND OVER". data.census.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  4. ^ The Pioneers, America, "A historical perspective of Americans of Asian Indian origin 1790-1997" 31 October 2006
  5. ^ Bhatia, Sunil. American karma: race, culture, and identity in the Indian diaspora. p. 84 (2007) ISBN 0-8147-9959-0.
  6. ^ Qin, Amy (8 September 2023). "California Could Become the First State to Ban Caste Bias as Prejudices Linger". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  7. ^ "Casteless utopia: California religious group backs bill to ban caste discrimination | World News". The Indian Express. 30 May 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Nikki Haley confirmed as new U.S. envoy to the United Nations". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  9. ^ Nossiter, Adam (October 22, 2007). "In a Southern U.S. state, immigrants' son takes over". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
  10. ^ Shankar, Ravi (26 August 2010). "Capitol cats". India Today. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  11. ^ "B16001LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT HOME BY ABILITY TO SPEAK ENGLISH FOR THE POPULATION 5 YEARS AND OVER". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  12. ^ "Panjabi". Modern Language Association. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  13. ^ "Language Use Data". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  14. ^ "B16001LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT HOME BY ABILITY TO SPEAK ENGLISH FOR THE POPULATION 5 YEARS AND OVER". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  15. ^ "B16001LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT HOME BY ABILITY TO SPEAK ENGLISH FOR THE POPULATION 5 YEARS AND OVER". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
  16. ^ "B16001LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT HOME BY ABILITY TO SPEAK ENGLISH FOR THE POPULATION 5 YEARS AND OVER". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  17. ^ Sewell, Summer (2021-02-08). "'This has to end peacefully': California's Punjabi farmers rally behind India protests". The Guardian. Retrieved 2022-11-27. Community members have also raised funds to support billboards drawing attention to India's protests throughout the Central Valley, where Punjabi is the third-most spoken language, after English and Spanish.
  18. ^ "Tuly Singh Johl- Pioneering Punjabis Digital Archive". ucdavis.edu. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  19. ^ "DP05ACS DEMOGRAPHIC AND HOUSING ESTIMATES". data.census.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  20. ^ "DP05ACS DEMOGRAPHIC AND HOUSING ESTIMATES". data.census.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  21. ^ "Data Center Results - Livingston, California". apps.mla.org. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  22. ^ "B16001LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT HOME BY ABILITY TO SPEAK ENGLISH FOR THE POPULATION 5 YEARS AND OVER". data.census.gov. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
  23. ^ "Richmond Hill Street Co-Named 'Punjab Avenue' To Honor Neighborhood's South Asian Culture". CBS News. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  24. ^ "'Punjab Way,' 'Gurdwara St.' coming to Queens". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  25. ^ "DP05ACS DEMOGRAPHIC AND HOUSING ESTIMATES". data.census.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  26. ^ "B16001LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT HOME BY ABILITY TO SPEAK ENGLISH FOR THE POPULATION 5 YEARS AND OVER". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  27. ^ "Bhog Akhand Path". ambedkartimes.com. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  28. ^ "Many Congratulations" (PDF). No. 32. Ambedkartimes. 19 Oct 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  29. ^ "Neetu S Badhan Judge Supreme Courts of California Special Notes on Congratulations" (PDF). No. 1–3. Ambedkartimes. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
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