The Paradoxes of Indian American Complicity: On the Racial Sidelines

Kavitha Koshy's book explores Indian immigrant racialization at the turn of the twenty-first century, calling for an anti-racist, decolonial practice among differentially racialized peoples. Through twenty-three in-depth interviews, Koshy captures the unique experience of Indian American racial complicity on the sidelines of race, revealing the paradoxes of claiming the sidelines and deracialized, neoliberal identities while engaging in racial contestation. She develops a typology of Indian immigrant racialized subjectivity amid anti-Blackness, whiteness, caste-ness, Islamophobia, forever foreignness, and neoliberal logic, attempting to suture the disconnect between different Indian immigrant cohorts.

Format: Hardback
Length: 206 pages
Publication date: 02 November 2022
Publisher: Lexington Books

In her groundbreaking book, "The Paradoxes of Indian American Complicity: On the Racial Sidelines," Kavitha Koshy delves into the timely exploration of Indian immigrant racialization at the dawn of the twenty-first century. This thought-provoking work serves as a powerful call to action, urging diversely racialized communities to embrace an anti-racist, decolonial practice. Through twenty-three in-depth interviews, Koshy vividly captures the distinctive experience of Indian American racial complicity, situated on the margins of race. The findings of this research unveil the intricate paradoxes of claiming deracialized and neoliberal identities while engaging in racial contestation, benefiting from selective immigration while occupying a racialized-human capital-labor slot in global capitalism, and experiencing racialized otherness through everyday racism, both interpersonal and structural, despite proximity to whiteness.

Koshy develops a comprehensive typology of Indian immigrant racialized subjectivity, navigating the complexities of anti-Blackness, whiteness, caste-ness, Islamophobia, forever foreignness, and neoliberal logic. By recognizing the diverse iterations of racial capital, the book aims to bridge the gaps between different Indian immigrant cohorts. Through thoughtful reflections on her own immigrant journey and keen observations of the US racialized landscape, Koshy positions herself within the narratives of research participants, seamlessly transitioning between analysis and reflection throughout the book.

"The Paradoxes of Indian American Complicity" is a seminal work that sheds light on the complex dynamics of race, identity, and privilege within the Indian American community. It challenges readers to examine their own roles in perpetuating racial inequality and encourages them to work towards a more just and equitable society. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the intersection of race, culture, and immigration in contemporary America.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781793643728