Community Building as a Survival Strategy

Introduction: Community as Infrastructure

Political organizing (Lesson 4.1) is one form of resistance. Community building is another—creating the infrastructure that makes survival and flourishing possible in hostile environments.

This lesson examines how South Asian men have built:

• Religious and cultural institutions
• Economic networks and mutual aid systems
• Social support structures
• Educational and professional organizations
• Spaces of belonging and identity

These institutions serve multiple functions: preserving culture, providing mutual support, building economic power, creating political capacity, and offering spaces where South Asian masculinity can be expressed without constant negotiation with white supremacy.

Part 1: Religious Institutions as Community Centers

The Stockton Gurdwara (1912-1915) - Revisited in Depth

Context:As examined in Module 2, the Stockton Gurdwara was the first permanent Sikh temple in North America. But its significance extends beyond religious practice.

Multiple Functions:

1. Religious Center:

• Sikh worship and ceremonies
• Celebration of Gurpurabs and Vaisakhi
• Life cycle rituals
• Spiritual guidance and learning
• Connection to religious tradition

2. Political Headquarters:

• Meeting place for Ghadar Party
• Storage and distribution of revolutionary literature
• Speeches by political leaders
• Organizational planning
• Fundraising for independence movement

3. Social Support Network:

• Housing for new immigrants
• Job information and referrals
• Financial assistance during unemployment or illness
• Letter writing and translation services
• News from Punjab
• Resolution of community disputes

4. Cultural Preservation:

• Punjabi language maintenance
• Traditional practices and values
• Intergenerational knowledge transmission
• Identity reinforcement
• Space of belonging

Why This Matters:The Gurdwara demonstrates that religious institutions for diaspora communities serve far broader functions than worship alone. They become centers of collective life and power.

Mosques, Temples, and Churches

Pattern Across Communities:Every South Asian religious community has built institutions serving similar multi-purpose functions:

Mosques:

• Islamic education and practice
• Community organizing and advocacy
• Youth programs
• Social services
• Political engagement
• Response to discrimination

Hindu Temples:

• Religious ceremonies and festivals
• Cultural programs (music, dance, language)
• Community gatherings
• Youth education
• Professional networking
• Preserving regional traditions

Churches:

• South Asian Christian communities (Syrian Christian, Goan Catholic, Protestant converts)
• Worship in South Asian languages
• Cultural adaptation of Christianity
• Support for immigrants
• Social justice work

Shared Elements:

• Create space where South Asian identity is default, not exception
• Multi-generational gathering places
• Economic networking opportunities
• Political mobilization capacity
• Cultural transmission
• Mental health and social support (even if informal)

Gendered Dynamics

Male Leadership:Historically, South Asian religious institutions have been male-dominated:

• Priests, imams, pandits predominantly male
• Board members and decision-makers typically men
• Financial control often in male hands
• Public religious authority gendered male

Implications:

• Religious institutions become sites of masculine authority
• Leadership roles offer status unavailable in white-dominated society
• Can reinforce patriarchal norms
• Women's labor sustains institutions without equal recognition

Contemporary Shifts:

• Some institutions developing more gender-equitable leadership
• LGBTQ+ inclusion debates
• Younger generations challenging traditional hierarchies
• Tension between preservation and evolution

Part 2: Economic Networks and Mutual Aid

Informal Financial Systems

Rotating Credit Associations (Various Names):

• Committee system (Punjabi)
• Chit funds (South Indian)
• Various forms across communities

How They Work:

• Group of people contribute fixed amount regularly (e.g., monthly)
• Each month, one member receives the total pot
• Rotates until everyone has received
• Based on trust and reputation
• No formal legal structure

Functions:

• Access to capital without banks (who discriminated or required documentation)
• Start businesses or make large purchases
• Build wealth collectively
• Create economic interdependence and solidarity
• Circumvent financial exclusion

Example:Ten Punjabi farmers each contribute $100/month. First month, Farmer A receives $1000 to purchase equipment. Second month, Farmer B receives $1000 for seed. This continues for 10 months until all have received once. Then cycle can restart.

Business Networks

Pattern:South Asian immigrants often cluster in specific business sectors:

• Motels (Gujarati Patels became famous for motel ownership)
• Convenience stores and gas stations
• Restaurants
• Grocery stores serving ethnic communities
• Medical practices
• Tech startups

Network Effects:

• Information sharing (which franchises available, suppliers, best practices)
• Financing through community rather than banks
• Hiring and training of family/community members
• Purchasing cooperatives for better prices
• Business succession within community

Motel Industry Example:

• By 1990s, Indian Americans (particularly Gujarati Patels) owned ~50% of motels in U.S.
• Family members sponsored each other's immigration
• Shared information about motel franchises
• Worked extremely long hours, family labor
• Built wealth over generations
• Criticism: some exploitation of workers, including family members

Professional Associations

South Asian Professional Networks:

• American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI)
• Network of Indian Professionals (NetIP)
• The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE)
• Regional and industry-specific groups

Functions:

• Career advancement and mentorship
• Business networking
• Combating "bamboo ceiling"
• Cultural community in professional contexts
• Philanthropy and community service
• Political engagement

Part 3: Educational and Youth Organizations

Weekend Language and Culture Schools

Model:Many South Asian communities established weekend schools where children learn:

• Heritage languages (Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati, Bengali, etc.)
• Religious texts and practices
• Classical dance or music
• Regional history and culture

Functions:

• Intergenerational knowledge transmission
• Identity formation for diaspora youth
• Community building among youth
• Parental peace of mind about cultural preservation

Gender Dynamics:

• Often more pressure on girls to attend and perform culture
• Boys sometimes given more freedom to "opt out"
• Differential expectations about cultural knowledge
• Reflects broader double standards

South Asian Student Associations

Campus Organizations:

• Nearly every U.S. university has South Asian student groups
• Cultural shows, Diwali celebrations, discussion groups
• Political advocacy and education
• Mentorship for younger students
• Social networking

Significance for Young Men:

• Space to explore identity
• Don't have to explain or translate cultural references
• Dating and social opportunities within community
• Leadership development
• Sometimes reproduce patriarchal dynamics, sometimes challenge them

Part 4: Punjabi-Mexican Community (Revisited)

A Unique Cross-Cultural Community

We discussed this briefly in Module 2, but it deserves deeper analysis as a community-building strategy.

The Formation (1910s-1940s):

• Punjabi men (denied ability to bring Indian wives) married Mexican/Mexican-American women
• Antimiscegenation laws didn't explicitly prohibit these marriages
• Shared agricultural labor context
• Both communities marginalized by white society

Community Building:These families created unique infrastructure:

• Bilin Human: Bilingual/bicultural homes
• Hybrid religious practices
• Agricultural cooperatives
• Mutual support networks
• Distinct identity (neither fully Punjabi nor fully Mexican)

The Punjabi-Mexican Family Unit:Children of these marriages navigated multiple identities:

• Spanish and Punjabi languages
• Catholic and Sikh/Hindu traditions
• Mexican and South Asian cuisines
• Complex relationships with both communities
• Sometimes rejected by both, sometimes embraced

Contemporary Significance:

• Challenges racial and ethnic categories
• Demonstrates possibility of cross-cultural solidarity
• Shows adaptability and creativity under constraint
• Raises questions about cultural preservation vs. adaptation
• Living descendants maintain this unique heritage

Part 5: Contemporary Community Institutions

South Asian Community Centers

Examples:

• India Community Center (Silicon Valley)
• Pakistani American Community Center (multiple cities)
• Bangladesh Association of various regions
• Multi-South Asian organizations

Services Provided:

• ESL and citizenship classes
• Job training and placement
• Legal services and immigration help
• Health education and services
• Youth programs
• Senior services
• Cultural events
• Political education

Mental Health and Social Service Organizations

Emerging Infrastructure:

• SAMHIN (South Asian Mental Health Initiative and Network)
• Various therapy collectives
• Domestic violence support services
• LGBTQ+ support organizations
• Suicide prevention initiatives

Significance:Recognition that community building must include mental health and social service infrastructure, not just cultural preservation.

Digital Communities

Online Spaces:

• Facebook groups for specific South Asian communities
• Subreddits (r/ABCDesis, r/SouthAsianMasculinity)
• WhatsApp groups
• Professional networking on LinkedIn
• Dating apps specifically for South Asians

Functions:

• Information sharing
• Social support
• Dating and relationship formation
• Political organizing
• Cultural discussion and debate
• Humor and memes
• Job opportunities

Limitations:

• Can become echo chambers
• Toxic masculinity sometimes reinforced
• Class and caste divisions reproduced
• Can't replace in-person community

Part 6: Critical Analysis of Community Building

Strengths and Necessities

Community institutions provide:

• Survival infrastructure in hostile environments
• Cultural preservation and transmission
• Economic advancement opportunities
• Political organizing capacity
• Social support and belonging
• Collective power

Limitations and Exclusions

Who Gets Left Out:

• Working-class folks in middle-class dominated spaces
• Queer and trans individuals in heteronormative institutions
• Those who don't fit cultural expectations
• Women in male-dominated leadership
• Lower-caste individuals in caste-maintaining communities
• Religiously diverse in religiously exclusive spaces

Problematic Patterns:

• Respectability politics (trying to be "model minorities")
• Anti-Blackness and colorism
• Caste discrimination
• Patriarchal control
• Homophobia and transphobia
• Generational conflicts unresolved

The Challenge:How do we build community institutions that:

• Preserve culture without rigidity
• Support members without controlling them
• Create belonging without exclusion
• Build power without replicating oppression