America is referred to in many countries as the "Land of Opportunity". This is land is also often called the "Melting Pot of the World". It is believed that people from all over the world come to the United States and lose their cultural identity and “melt” into or assimilate into the American culture. However, nowadays, the above is an unfair statement to make. Nowadays with the growing Chinese restaurants, Indian grocery stores, and European languages is school, etc., one can say that individual cultures are trying hard to voice their distinction amongst the overall "American culture". One can therefore refer to the United States as the "Salad Bowl of the World" where every culture has its own flavor, just like in a salad, where every vegetable has its own taste even though it has a common dressing, the American culture. Amongst the Chinese, Japanese, Europeans, etc. and other immigrants, the East Indians represent a big group of those who want to be part of the "American culture".

The East Indians, who came to America, were mostly spread out in little groups up and down the West Coast (Pavri 56). Their story is an especially important part of the history of Asian Americans,

immigration began in 1906, when six hundred Asians applied to enter the United States (Millis 32). These families became the basis for the new East Indian communities. They had come to the United States with high hopes, expecting to make their fortunes, but they discovered that life in America was unexpectedly challenging. Some found it hard to get work. Moreover, those who had jobs lived a life very different from the life they have known in India (Karitala 2). Instead of belonging to a settled community of families, they traveled from place to place with their work gangs. And although most of them had been farmers of farm laborers in the Punjab region of India, in America they often had to turn to other kinds of work (Dayes 22). Many of them encountered prejudice, born of ignorance and fear. White sometimes associated the Asian Indian immigrants with blacks, Chinese, or Japanese (22). Often the Asian Indians were lumped together with other Asian peoples as "Asiatics," whom prejudices whites considered unfit to be part of American society (22). Samuel L. Gompers, a leader of the American Labor Movement, said, "Sixty years' contact with the Chinese, and twenty-five years' experience with the Japanese and two or three years' acquaintance with Hindus should be sufficient to convince any ordinarily intelligent person that they have no standards…(Brass 45)" The Asians were often blamed for the violence directed against them by whites, who knew nothing of Asian peoples and often misinterpreted their behavior. "In all cases, we may say the Oriental is at fault," declared the Asiatic Exclusion League, an organization whose goal was to keep Asian immigrants out of western states (Pavri 24). The Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore, a winner of the Nobel Prize in literature, traveled to North America. When he applied for entry to the United States, Tagore encountered difficulties and when he finally made it to the country, he experienced racial prejudice in Los Angeles. Tagore canceled his tour and promptly returned to India, saying in disgust, "Jesus could not get into America because, first of all, He would not have the necessary money, and secondly, He would be an Asiatic. (Hundley 45)" Despite the difficulties they encountered, they felt that life in America had more to offer than they could expect in their homeland.

Assimilation has been a powerful source in American life, particularly in policies and attitudes toward immigrants in the twentieth century (Dayes 23). Furthermore members of American minorities had learned that assimilation is not an all-or-nothing process. To complete the process, the enterprising minority individual must jump through several hoops (23). Similarly, all immigrant groups have faced the question of whether they should cling to their cultural roots or try to become "American" as quickly as possible. Assimilation-blending into the larger society-has been more difficult for Asian immigrants than for European ones, for Asians can be identified by their physical appearance even when their clothing, speech, and actions have been completely Americanized (Pavri 74). Those Asians who choose to follow traditional customs stand out even more readily. The earliest Asian Indian immigrants to North America were singled out as "strangers" because of their turbans. Today, the customs of Asian Indian Americans continue to make them vulnerable to racism. Since they were denied the right to own land until 1947, property ownership is a matter of pride to East Indians (Daniels 47). In San Francisco East Indians own or lease more than 50 hotels, forming the second largest Indian community group in America. Most of the hotel owners are from Gujarat, a state on the west coast of India (48).

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