Quick--how many South Asians go to Harvard?

If you answered with a blank stare, you're not alone. Harvard doesn't keep statistics on the number of South Asians, as opposed to the number of East or Southeast Asians, enrolled in the College. South Asians are often simply referred to as "Indians" or lumped together with all other Asians.

However, the South Asian Association (SAA) is trying to change all that.

The association, which has grown noticeably in size and activity over the past few years, wants to ensure that administrators--and others on campus--recognize the existence of a separate South Asian voice, distinct from that of the Asian-American Association (AAA).

Who Are South Asians?

Defining South Asians as a distinct group isn't always easy. The general definition, according to SAA members, incorporates natives of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Maldives and Butan, as well as their descendants living in the U.S.

SAA members said that they rarely think of themselves, or are thought of, as being "Asian."

"I don't think of myself as Asian," said SAA member Maitri Chowdhury '93. "I think of East Asians and South Asians as being totally different. When I think of AAA, I think of Chinese students, Korean students, et cetera."

Chowdhury isn't the only member who feels somewhat out of place in AAA. Though SAA members say the organization works with the AAA at times, they generally see AAA as an association of East and Southeast Asian students.

There are no South Asians on AAA's executive board.

This feeling was strengthened this year by the AAA's political theme of "Yellow Power," a phrase which South Asian students considered to exclude members of their ethnic groups.

"Yellow Power' might have been an accident, but it's indicative of the way AAA can't represent South Asians," said Uday N. Kumar '94, co-president of SAA.

SAA members also stress that AAA is specifically for Asian Americans, while SAA includes non-American Asians in its constituency.

However, SAA members point out that AAA, although considered an "umbrella group" of Asians by many, refuses to accept that definition. And some students say they prefer having a separate group specifically for South Asians.

"I don't think my cultural experience is close enough to those of the people in AAA...Culturally, there's a sharp difference--the South Asian culture is relatively new to the States, while the Chinese and Korean are not," said Sahil A. Parikh '95.