The San Francisco Bay Area has the second-largest Indian-American population in the United States after the New York metropolitan area.[1] The Bay Area Asian Indian population is primarily concentrated in the Santa Clara Valley, with San Jose having the highest population of Asian Indians in raw numbers as 2010, while Cupertino, Fremont, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara have the largest concentrations.[2] The South Bay-based 17th congressional district, represented by Indian-American Ro Khanna has the largest Asian Indian population of any congressional district in the United States.[3] In 2010, Indian-Americans were the fastest growing minority population in the Bay Area.[4]
History[]
The San Francisco Bay Area has long been one the main centers of immigration from the Indian subcontinent, with many Indian immigrants, mainly from Punjab entering San Francisco in the early 20th century. It is estimated that about 3,000 people from India entered through the Angel Island Immigration Station before the Immigration Act of 1917 barred immigrations from the Asia-Pacific region.[5]
Indians based in San Francisco played a role in the Indian independence movement, with a group of San Francisco-based labors creating the Hindustan Gadar Party in 1913, publishing the internationally distributed newspaper Gadar from the city.[6]
Notable Indian-Americans from the San Francisco Bay Area[]
