my controversial question today is....do you, with confidence, know a south asian that isnt desi/indian?

not southeast asian, but south asian. these are different groups.

if you dont.....perhaps you should learn more about nondesi south asians. (short thread)--

Desi refers to a person of indian, pakistani, or bangladeshi origin who lives abroad. this is a self descriptor, and some pakistani and bangladeshi may not like using it so dont refer to anyone as Desi unless they refer to themselves as such

Nondesi south asians generally include: Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka

afghanistan is also considered a part of the middle east.

Its important to know what is and isnt "Indian", because for nondesi, its extremely offensive to refer to us as desi or indian!

As an american nepali, we have a strained relation with India due to them claiming Buddha was born in India--this is cultural appropriation, as Buddha is a nepali figure BORN in nepal. they also push hindustani belief and beauty standards onto our cultures and attempt to steal--

--land. this is a common experience/concern for other nondesi south asians.

if you want to lnow about south asian issues, make sure you arent only hearing indian pov. There is far more nuance and issues than what is mentioned, and those who arent Indian are forgotten in the western world

also, nondesi south asian countries are much smaller or hold less political power, and are often mistreated or directly affected by issues of capitalism/suffer from poverty. we exist, but its hard to talk about our issues when we lack the larger outreach or community

More to add:

Hindutva/Hindustani nationalism are not the same as Hindu/Hindi.

Hindi refers to a language. Hindu refers to a giant religion.

Hindutva is a rightwing fascist movement/Hindu nationalism which wants to force Indian identity to relate to how "Hindu" you are.

and a very important part to add is that HINDUS ARE NOT OPPRESSED IN THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT/SOUTH ASIA SPECIFICALLY.

but in the western world, they face discrimination! do not conflate the two issues!

If anything i got here was wrong or youd like to add more and youre of the mentioned groups just reply!