Does Indian culture accept people who have one Indian parent and a parent of another race/culture?

Question

I am wondering how Indian communities react to children who have one Indian parent and a parent of another race/culture. I am curiouse because my sister is having a child with her Indian bf/fiance and I am wondering how the Indian community will relate to this child. We live in the US and I think most Americans won't really react to this too much because are starting to get more accustomed to Biracial people (we are Multiracial ourselves - Black/White/Native American); however I am not sure what the perspective of the Indian community is, abroad, or here in the US, is on this subject. I know a few other Indian guys who date interracially, for example one guy is dating a Mexican girl, and I have dated a couple of Indian buys mysef; most of the younger people seem to think it is okay and people just have to get used to it. I am just curious for any feedback and perspectives you might have. Do you think there are any cross-cultural concerns they should be worried about or anything else?

tr3kilroy --- I am talking about Indians from the country of INDIA, not Native Americans in the US. I am actually 1/4 Apache; I don't have any questions about Native Americans; that is why I posted in the India forum... Thx anyways though :)

Answer 1

Indians have this thing about colour. Indians love white skin. If your sister is one she'll be more than welcome with the child.
Infact the boys family will proudly boast that he has an American wife.
Moreover you should not be too concerned about family. Since the guy is fathering a child out of wedlock. That is a big thing in India, but if his parents are okay with this they'd have no issues for you to worry over.

Answer 2

Of course we would! Well, most of us would. I think it's a very individual thing. Many families are yes, still quite conservative, but a lot of Indians have become more open.
Also, you should realize that within India itself, we have so many states and religions and communities that earlier, even a Punjabi getting married to say a Bengali was a very big deal. But it's becoming less and less important these days. So i don't think you need to worry too much.
Ultimately, it really depends on the kind of family she's getting married into.
However, I gather from what you've written that they're not married and having a baby; that is something that still raises eyebrows here, much more than any interracial marriage issue.
Hope I made sense!

Answer 3

That depends a lot on some variables. Different tribes react differently. It's been my experience that out west they are much less tolerant of this than the remaining eastern tribes. (May have something to do with the reservation community out west)

My friend who was mixed never was accepted by the Cherokee tribe her mother was from, they called her "half breed" and she was shunned.

The other thing is what other culture you are talking about. Mexican Indian coupling doesn't seem to cause as much problem on the reservation as Mexican White couplings do.

Of course this is all generalization and you can't say that a whole group of people are all going to act the same way.

Unless of course you are talking about India Indians and then I have no idea...

Answer 4

It really depends on the size of the indian community where you live. I grew up in a small town with a large Indian (people from india) community. We had this one kid whose dad was indian and mom was white. He never really fit in with us. He didn't speak the same language at home, he didn't eat the same food, he didn't listen to the same music and his parents didn't hang out at the same places as our parents.

The kid was sort of stuck in a limbo between being white and brown and I don't think he was really accepted as white kid and definitely wasn't as a full brown kid.

I think it would be the same whereever there is a large indian community and a strong indian identity. Older people generally find it harder to accept this sort of thing.

I consider myself to be pretty westernized, but when I am sitting around with my brown friends and we see a mix race couple or mix race kid, we will make a comment among ourselves. Its nothing mean spirited and definitely not meant to hurt anybodys feelings, but thats what we do. So even among people born and raised in the west, its not fully accepted yet.

Answer 5

the reaction of people willchange from placeto place in India. In the Metropolitan cities, people arenot at all bothered about such things, p[eople in villages will not accept the same with kind heart.

Answer 6

If by indian culture you mean Hindu, maybe. If you mean Muslim, again maybe. Do you mean Buddhist, then definately yes. It depends on the degree of religeon of the people. Fundies dont like interacial stuff at all................