Desi

The ethnonym belongs in the endonymic category (i.e., it is a self-appellation). Desi ({{lang|hi|देसी}}/{{lang|ur|دیسی}} desī) is a Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu) word, meaning 'national', ultimately from Sanskrit {{IAST|deśīya}}, derived from {{IAST|deśa}} ({{lang|sa|देश}}) 'region, province, country'.{{cite book |last1=Sharma |first1=Nitasha Tamar |title=Hip Hop Desis: South Asian Americans, Blackness, and a Global Race Consciousness |date=17 August 2010 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-9289-7 |language=en |quote=The lives of South Asians in America, or desis—a term meaning "of the land" from the Hindi/Urdu word desh, or country—are both historically constituted and circumscribed by global processes and the limitations of what is possible today.}} The first known usage of the Sanskrit word is found in the Natya Shastra (~200 BCE), where it defines the regional varieties of folk performing arts, as opposed to the classical, pan-Indian margi. Thus, {{IAST|svadeśa}} ({{langx|sa|स्वदेश|links=no}}) refers to one's own country or homeland, while {{IAST|paradeśa}} ({{langx|sa|परदेश|links=}}) refers to another's country or a foreign land.

The word Desi is widely used by South Asians, as well those of the South Asian diaspora, to describe themselves; those of South Asian origin, especially Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, use the term "as a means of asserting or reclaiming a sense of pride" in being South Asian, "particularly in the face of racism, discrimination, and stigmatization" of minorities in various parts of the world.{{cite book |last1=Kim |first1=Helen |title=Making Diaspora in a Global City: South Asian Youth Cultures in London |date=21 August 2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-75756-5 |pages=34–36 |language=en}} With regard to usage of the word Desi, Helen Kim writes:

{{blockquote|Desiness imagines a more conhesive, pan-South Asian American community that goes beyond nation, class, and religion. Instead, a 'desi' South Asian American community comes together over its shared experiences of being positioned as non-White 'others', often cutting across differences in caste, class, religion, and gender. In the UK, the term 'desi' is commonly used to describe British [South] Asian forms of cultural production such as music, literature, and television programming. For example, shows such as Desi DNA, featured on the BBC and BBC Asian Network, cover all areas of current British [South] Asian popular culture such as film, music, and the visual arts, including fashion and style. Club nights that feature [South] Asian music such as bhangra and [South Asian] hip hop, as previously mentioned, are often billed as 'desi' nights. The Internet radio station DesiHits.com, rivaling the BBC Asian Network in cultural significance as well as in the number of young [South] Asian listeners, plays all the current [South] Asian hits, which allows one to browse online by artist and by genre, listing them under categories such as 'desi beats', 'Bollywood', and 'hip hop'.}}

Among teenagers who have ancestral roots in the Indian subcontinent, the term Desi is "embraced to elucidate a new inclusive identity of South Asians in the US, who participate as 'public consumers and producers of a distinctive, widely circulating cultural and linguistic forms'."{{cite book |last1=Khanduri |first1=Ritu Gairola |title=Caricaturing Culture in India: Cartoons and History in the Modern World |date=2 October 2014 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-04332-9 |page=202 |language=en}} To this end, channels such as MTV Desi have recognized "the transnational nature of Desi youth culture, writers, producers, and VJs" and have shared "a range of topics relating to life in South Asia and the South Asian diaspora worldwide".{{cite book |last1=Wilkins |first1=Karin |last2=Straubhaar |first2=Joe |last3=Kumar |first3=Shanti |title=Global Communication: New Agendas in Communication |date=11 September 2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-01096-6 |language=en |quote=In July 2005, MTV Networks announced the launch of MTV-Desi, a niche channel for South Asian-American youth. Launched with great fanfare, MTV-Desi sought to respond to ongoing changes in South Asian-American culture and to create a space within mainstream media that would speak to the particular experiences of Desi youth. In addition to Bollywood song sequences and Indi-pop music videos, the channel would feature US- and UK-based artists such as DJ Rekha, MIA, and Jay Sean, alongside popular American stars in order to create a "multi-ethnic, multi-genre playlist" that would resonate with Desi youth (Dev 2006). While music would remain the primary focus of programming, MTV-Desi would also develop new segments covering a range of topics relating to life in South Asia and the South Asian diaspora worldwide, including original shows such as LiveFrom, which would track Desi youth culture in cities across North America and the UK, and hit shows such as Roadies from MTV-India. Recognizing the transnational nature of Desi youth culture, writers, producers, and VJs worked hard to define MTV-Desi as a unique site of cultural production that neither mainstream American television nor the India-centric programming on Dish and DirecTV could match. Declaring that MTV-Desi would soon become the "pop culture destination for desis," Nusrat Durrani, general manager and senior vice president of MTV World, explained: "But more than the music, it is also about articulating the stories from this community--young South Asian-Americans who have grown up in the country, but have not seen themselves on TV" (cited in Mozumder 2005).}}

"Desi" is sometimes perceived as offensive among some South Asian expatriates,{{Cite web |last=Sircar |first=Anisha |date=2020-12-08 |title=Is the term 'Desi' offensive? Some South Asian Americans think so |url=https://scroll.in/global/975071/is-the-term-desi-offensive-some-south-asian-americans-think-so |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=Scroll.in |language=en-US}} as they claim that it erases the diversity of cultural identities within the South Asian community,{{Cite web |title=Is It Time to Kill Off the Word 'Desi'? – The Aerogram |url=https://theaerogram.com/is-it-time-to-kill-off-the-word-desi/ |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=theaerogram.com}} and that it primarily identifies the dominant North Indian community while excluding other South Asian groups.{{Cite web |date=2021-10-06 |title=Brown, Desi, South Asian: Diaspora reflects on the terms that represent, erase them |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/brown-desi-south-asian-diaspora-reflects-terms-represent-erase-rcna1886 |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=NBC News |language=en}} Some resist the label, citing historical Indian imperialism and cultural hegemony. They believe that terms like "Desi" impose a homogenous identity and fail to acknowledge the pluralistic nature of South Asian communities. Alternatives like "South Asian" or "Brown" have been proposed, but they also have their limitations and can be perceived as misleading or exclusive. While some individuals find the term "South Asian" inclusive and encompassing, others feel it does not fully capture their specific backgrounds. The complexity and diversity of the diaspora necessitate recognizing multiple identities and resisting the tendency to homogenize or erase particular communities.

Among non-diasporic South Asians, the term Desi is sometimes used to indicate that a person is rural, unexposed to foreign/modern culture, and more deeply steeped in native South Asian culture.{{Cite book |last1=Shin |first1=Ryan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h9iYEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT58 |title=Counternarratives from Asian American Art Educators: Identities, Pedagogies, and Practice beyond the Western Paradigm |last2=Lim |first2=Maria |last3=Lee |first3=Oksun |last4=Han |first4=Sandrine |date=2022-12-26 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-000-81369-2 |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Sircar |first=Anisha |date=2020-12-08 |title=Is the term 'Desi' offensive? Some South Asian Americans think so |url=https://scroll.in/global/975071/is-the-term-desi-offensive-some-south-asian-americans-think-so |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=Scroll.in |language=en-US}}

The word "Desi" comes from the Sanskrit word "Desh" meaning "country". The word "Desi" is used to refer to something "from the country" and with time its usage shifted towards referring to people, cultures, and products of a specific region; for example, desi food, desi calendars, and desi dress.{{Cite journal|last=Mughal|first=M. A. Z.|date=20 October 2014|title=Calendars Tell History: Social Rhythm and Social Change in Rural Pakistan|journal=History and the Four Nations India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka Has the Same Food, Culture. Anthropology|language=en|volume=25|issue=5|pages=592–613|doi=10.1080/02757206.2014.930034|s2cid=55668409|issn=0275-7206|url=http://dro.dur.ac.uk/13842/1/13842.pdf}}

Desi contrasts with the Bengali and Hindustani language word vilāyati (Anglicised as "Blighty") meaning 'foreign',{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/blighty |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213212958/https://www.lexico.com/definition/blighty |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |title=blighty |dictionary=Lexico UK English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press}} which more specifically came to mean 'European', and 'British; English' during the time of the British Raj in colonial India.[http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-bli1.htm Entry for Blighty]. World Wide Words. The word is a loan of Indian Persian {{transliteration|fa|vilāyatī}} ({{lang|fa|ولایاتی}}), from {{transliteration|fa|vilāyat}} ({{lang|fa|ولایت}}) meaning 'Iran' and later 'Europe' or 'Britain',"ولاية" in F. Steingass, A Comprehensive Persian-English Dictionary, 1892, p. 1480. ultimately from Arabic {{transliteration|ar|wilāyah}} {{lang|ar|ولاية{{lrm}}}} meaning 'state, province'.

After the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the United States dramatically increased immigration from the subcontinent. As increasing numbers of students from the subcontinent arrived in the US and UK, their countries of origin were colloquially referred to as {{IAST|deś}}. For example, all things Indian including Indian expatriates were referred to as "desi".

{{See also|Culture of South Asia|South Asian diaspora#Culture}}File:Buckeye Mela IX - Spartan Bhangra.jpg.]]

File:Surahi in samrup rachna calligraphy.jpg calligraphy used to write Hindustani, which is widely spoken throughout the northern part of the Indian subcontinent as a lingua franca.{{cite web |last1=Kazim |first1=Shehrbano |title=Drawn from the same wellspring |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1103363/drawn-from-the-same-wellspring |publisher=The Express Tribune |access-date=12 October 2020 |language=en |date=14 May 2016}}]]

Frank Anthony, an Anglo-Indian Christian leader who helped write the Constitution of India stated that unlike Europe, “[colonial] India had achieved a basic ethnic and cultural unity.” (the boundaries of colonial India include the modern-day republics of independent India, as well as what is now Pakistan and Bangladesh.){{cite journal |last1=Bangash |first1=Yaqoob Khan |title=Anglo-Indians and the Punjab Partition: Identity, Politics, and the Creation of Pakistan |journal=The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History |date=2023 |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=124–155 |doi=10.1080/03086534.2022.2086202 |language=en |doi-access=free}}

In the United States, as in other countries, some diaspora desis are creating a "fusion" culture, in which foods, fashions, music, and the like from many areas of South Asia are "fused" both with each other and with elements from Western culture.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}} For example, Urban Desi is a genre of music formed by the fusion of traditional South Asian music and Western urban music.{{cite news |url= https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95739927 |title=Urban Desi: A Genre on the Rise |first=Nishat |last=Kurwa |date=15 October 2008 |work=All Things Considered |publisher=National Public Radio |access-date=27 October 2016}} The growing demand of popular programming for South Asians caused MTV to launch the desi-targeted television channel MTV Desi.

In the United Kingdom, desi communities have continued the fusion culture which first emerged during the 89 year rule of the British Raj in colonial India, influencing British music, art, fashion and food. There are now dedicated radio stations catering to British-South Asians such as the BBC Asian Network.

In Canada, desis have established sizable ethnic enclaves in areas such as Brampton, Ontario (suburban Toronto) and Surrey, British Columbia (suburban Vancouver).

The Natya Shastra refers to the regional varieties of folk dance and music elements as desi, and states that these are meant as pure entertainment for common people, while the pan-Indian margi elements are to spiritually enlighten the audience. The medieval developments of the classical Indian dance and music led to the introduction of desi gharanas, in addition to the classical gharanas codified in Natya Shastra. The desi gharanas further developed into the present-day adavus. There is raga in Indian classical music known as "Desi".

{{Main|Desi daru|Desi cuisine}}

In regions of South Asia, desi in the context of food, implies "native" or "traditional". For example, "Desi chicken" may refer to a native breed of chicken. This word is also usually restricted to Sanskrit-derived (Indo-Aryan) languages.

Heritage varieties of vegetables and other produce can also be qualified as "desi". "Desi diet" refers to a diet and food choices followed by Indians around the world. Desi daru refers to "country liquor", such as fenny, toddy and arrack. It is differentiated from Indian-made foreign liquor such as Indian-made whisky, rum, or vodka.

{{Main|Desi pub}}

In the United Kingdom, the term Desi pub is used to describe a pub which is owned or managed by an Indian landlord, or which serves Punjabi food. They developed during the 1960s and 1970s at a time when some British pubs enforced color bars to prevent Indians and other immigrants from drinking there. Desi pubs are especially common in the Black Country and surrounding areas of the West Midlands. As well as drinking places, they also act as community hubs and meeting places for people from different backgrounds and are considered to be an example of successful integration of Indian immigrants into British culture.{{cite web|url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/desi-pubs|title=The Triumphant Story of Britain's Desi Pubs|author=Jesudason, David|work=Atlas Obscura|date=21 April 2022|access-date=12 May 2022}}{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/prospero/2016/08/22/raising-a-glass-to-britains-indian-pubs|title=Raising a glass to Britain's Indian pubs|author=R.V.|newspaper=The Economist|date=22 August 2016|access-date=12 May 2022}} {{subscription required}}

• American-born confused desi
• Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb
• Greater India
• Little Bangladesh
• Little India
• Little Pakistan
• South Asian Heritage Month
• Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
• Indian Arrival Day
• Pinoy, an analogous term for Filipinos
• Habesha, an analogous term for Ethiopians and Eritreans

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Category:Culture of Indian diaspora

Category:Culture of Pakistani diaspora

Category:Desi culture

Category:Ethnonyms

Category:Hindi words and phrases

Category:Indian slang

Category:Culture of Pakistan

Category:Pakistani slang

Category:South Asian people

Category:Culture of South Asia

Category:Urdu-language words and phrases

Category:Culture of Bengal

Category:Bengali words and phrases