Sindhi Americans are

Americans Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...

or residents of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

who are of Sindhi descent. ; They are a subgroup of

Indian Americans Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred to ...

and

Pakistani Americans Pakistani Americans ( ur, ) are Americans who originate from Pakistan. The term may also refer to people who also hold a dual Pakistani and U.S. citizenship. Educational attainment level and household income are much higher in the Pakistani-Am ...

Demographics

Originating from the Sindh region of undivided India now in Pakistan,Sindhi Americans belong to either Hindu or Muslim faith. Some belong to the Hindu faith, particularly those who migrated from India. In the 2010 US Census, nearly 7,000 individuals reported Sindhi as their first language. The total population of the

Sindhi diaspora The Sindhi diaspora mainly refers to the descendants of ethnic Sindhi people who emigrated from the historical Sind province of British India before the Independence of Pakistan, these people are not a part of Pakistani diaspora as they emigrat ...

in the United States is estimated at over 50,000. The community is spread out over various U.S. cities, with sizable populations on the eastern coast. Sindhi USC2000 PHS

Culture

Sindhi festivals One of the first civilizations of human history, the Sindhis have a rich and clearly distinct cultural heritage and are very festive. The most important festival for Hindu Sindhis is the birthday of Lord Jhoolelal and Cheti Chand. Sindhi Hindu ...

such as

Cheti Chand Chetri Chandra (, Moon of Chaitra) is a festival that marks the beginning of the Lunar Hindu New Year for Sindhi Hindus. The date of the festival is based on the lunar cycle of the lunisolar Hindu calendar, falling on the first day of the year, ...

are celebrated each year with much fanfare. The American Institute of Sindhulogy (AIS) is a non-profit institute of

Sindhology Sindhology ( sd, سنڌولوجي) is a field of South Asian studies and academic research that covers the history, society, culture, and literature of Sindh, a province of Pakistan. The subject was first brought into the academic circles with th ...

in the U.S., dedicated to researching the history and cultural heritage of Sindh as well as its ancient

Indus Valley civilisation The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900& ...

Organizations and politics

Sindhi Americans are socially and politically active, having formed numerous community and political-oriented organizations. They maintain interest in domestic American politics, as well as Sindhi politics and the wider politics of Pakistan. The Pakistan Peoples Party has a local chapter in the U.S., in which many Sindhis are involved. The

World Sindhi Institute Sindhi Americans are Americans or residents of the United States who are of Sindhi descent. ; They are a subgroup of Indian Americans and Pakistani Americans. Demographics Originating from the Sindh region of undivided India now in Pakistan, ...

is a human rights organization founded in 1997 and is based in Washington, D.C. The

World Sindhi Congress World Sindhi Congress (abbreviated WSC, Sindhi: ورلڊ سنڌي ڪانگريس) is a human rights organizations for Sindhi people. WSC is a registered company in England and Wales and in the US, organized to carry out non-profit activities. Th ...

(WSC) has a U.S chapter which participates in human rights advocacy and the promotion of Sindhi political interests among the diaspora. G. M. Syed Memorial Committee is a group based in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, which promotes the ideology of Sindhi nationalist leader

G.M. Syed Ghulam Murtaza Syed (Sindhi) (Sindhi: غلام مرتضي سيد, 17 January 1904 – 25 April 1995), known as G.M Syed (Sindhi) was a prominent Sindhi politician, who is known for his scholarly work, passing only constitutional resolution in f ...

. There are also

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

-focused lobbying groups such as the Sindhi American Political Action Committee (SAPAC), and the Sindh Monitor. In addition, there are multiple community organizations and associations. The Sindhi Association of North America (SANA) is one of the largest societies of Sindhis residing in North America. Other Sindhi associations include the American British Sindhi Medical Network (ABSMN), and the Alliance of Sindhi Associations of Americas which consists of various state-based associations.

Notable people

Indian-origin Sindhi American

* Sabeer Bhatia, entrepreneur and founder of Hotmail * Dheeraj Sangtiani, Construction Manager *

Neeraj Khemlani Neeraj Khemlani is a Singaporean-born American serving as the co-president of CBS News and CBS Television Stations. Early life Khemlani was born in Singapore with Indian ancestry and was raised in New York City. He graduated with an undergradua ...

, journalist * Raj Kiran Mehtani, Bollywood actor *

Rajesh Mirchandani Rajesh Mirchandani is a communications executive and former British television journalist. He spent more than two decades reporting from around the world as a BBC correspondent and news anchor, covering international events from Typhoon Haiyan i ...

, television journalist *

Rajeev Motwani Rajeev Motwani (Hindi: राजीव मोटवानी , March 24, 1962 – June 5, 2009) was an Indian American professor of Computer Science at Stanford University whose research focused on theoretical computer science. He was an early ad ...

, computer scientist *

Ramesh Balwani Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani (born ) is an American convicted fraudster, businessman and former president and chief operating officer of Theranos, which was a privately held health technology company founded by his then-girlfriend Elizabeth Holmes. He ...

, former president and COO of

Theranos Theranos Inc. () was an American privately held corporation that was touted as a breakthrough health technology company. Founded in 2003 by then 19-year-old Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos raised more than US$700 million from venture capitalists a ...

* Reshma Kewalramani, Chief Executive Officer of

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Vertex Pharmaceuticals is an American biopharmaceutical company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was one of the first biotech firms to use an explicit strategy of rational drug design rather than combinatorial chemistry. It maintains headqu ...

Sachal Vasandani Sachal Vasandani, known professionally as Sachal, is an American jazz singer. Vasandani released ''Slow Motion Miracles'' on the Okeh label in 2015. He previously released three albums on Mack Avenue Records, ''Eyes Wide Open'' in 2007, ''We Move ...

, jazz singer *

Sanjay Gupta Sanjay Gupta (born October 23, 1969) is an American neurosurgeon, medical reporter, and writer. He serves as associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, associate professor of neurosurgery at t ...

, neurosurgeon and medical journalist * Reetika Vazirani, poet and educator *

Umesh Vazirani Umesh Virkumar Vazirani is an Indian-American academic who is the Roger A. Strauch Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley, and the director of the Berkeley Quantum Computation Center. Hi ...

, computer scientist *

Vijay Vazirani Vijay Virkumar Vazirani ( hi, विजय वीरकुमार वज़ीरानी; b. 1957) is an Indian American distinguished professor of computer science in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences at the Universi ...

, computer scientist * Sunita S. Mukhi, performance artist and cultural producer * Lavina Jadhwani, theatre director and playwright *

Richa Moorjani Richa Moorjani is an American actress who is best known for her role as Kamala in the series ''Never Have I Ever''. Early life and family Moorjani attended the University of California, Davis, where she majored in communications. She graduated ...

, actress

Pakistan-origin Sindhi American

* Ali S. Asani, academic * Abdul-Majid Bhurgri, computer scientist *

Iqbal Theba Iqbal Theba (pronounced ; born December 20, 1963) is a Pakistani actor. Theba is best known for his recurring role as Principal Figgins in the show '' Glee''. Early life Theba was born in Karachi, Pakistan. He belongs to the Theba clan, a Guja ...

, actor *

Kumail Nanjiani Kumail Ali Nanjiani (; ur, کمیل علی ننجیانی, ; born May 2, 1978) is a Pakistani-American actor, comedian and screenwriter. He is known for his role as Dinesh in the HBO comedy series ''Silicon Valley'' (2014–2019) and for co-wr ...

, actor and stand-up comedian *

Safdar Sarki Safdar Sarki, ( sd, صفدر سرڪي) (born December 25, 1965) a Pakistani-American physician and American citizen, is a former chair of the World Sindhi Congress and Secretary General of the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz, an activist in the Sindhi na ...

, political activist * Gul Agha, computer scientist

Notes

References

{{Indian diaspora Asian-American society Indian American Pakistani American