Black and Indian couples?

September 1, 2016 11:49 PM

This is for a project: I'm looking for examples of interracial Black (preferably but not mandatorily African) to Indian (preferably but not mandatorily Hindu) relationships in films, literature, news, etc, with emphasis on the Indian family's reaction. Personal anecdotes are welcome
posted by Kwadeng to Human Relations (8 answers total)

Have you seen Mississippi Masala? It's about a relationship between a Ugandan Indian woman and an African American man and all the turmoil it causes in their respective families.
posted by cilantro at 12:33 AM on September 2, 2016 [8 favorites]

I'm not sure if this is substantial enough for your interest but the director Gurinder Chadha took part in 'Who do you think you Are?' (UK version) and I never forgot it. She wanted to explore the Kenyan 'branch' of her family. She met with her uncle to discuss the rumour that one of her great uncles lived and had a child with an African woman. She notes the denial in her family that this relationship ever existed. One of her uncles talks about it openly, however. They start talking about it around 5:58.

Here it is.
posted by ihaveyourfoot at 4:51 AM on September 2, 2016

This episode of Don't Tell the Bride is about an Indian English girl and a Black English boy getting married. Her family have no interest in attending their wedding. It is not explicitly said why but it's certainly 'felt'. I think it's going to be difficult to find something where the family explicitly says 'we don't approve because he/she is black'. It's more 'hidden' than that. Apologies if this doesn't meet your criteria but their absence speaks louder than anything they could have said.
posted by ihaveyourfoot at 4:59 AM on September 2, 2016 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: ihaveyourfoot, I am no necessarity looking for 'problematic' examples. In fact, I'd also be interested in cases where both sides embrace such a relationship. Also, my focus is really on Indians from the sub-continent dating blacks from Africa. But thanks for sharing. Keep throwing.
posted by Kwadeng at 5:27 AM on September 2, 2016

I know a woman whose dad is Kenyan (indigenous Kenyan, I'm not sure which ethnic group though) and whose mother is Bangladeshi (not India but hopefully still somewhat relevant given the close geographic link!). As far as I can tell, the mother's family was fine with it.
posted by Enchanting Grasshopper at 6:15 AM on September 2, 2016

My British-Indian (hindu) cousin from the UK married a doctor from Uganda. Both families were very supportive of the relationship. My couple met at Harvard and began dating a few years later. They now live in the States and have just given birth to a beautiful baby girl.
posted by orangutan at 6:48 AM on September 2, 2016

Best answer: A couple of my friends who are in Indian (-American)/Black (American) marriages occasionally use the word "Blindian" as a descriptor - it definitely turns up a lot of blogs, tumblrs, etc. that you might find interesting. Also some stuff about a dog named Blind Ian.
posted by mskyle at 6:54 AM on September 2, 2016 [2 favorites]

I'm Sri Lankan/ Nepalese. This is not Indian, I know, but our cultural values and traditions are almost identical to the sub-continent. My boyfriend (we're not married, oh the travesty!) is Kenyan. My family is very conservative. Immediate family - parents, grandparents, sibling - had zero issues with our relationship. They are happy for me because we're great together. They love him and adore our newborn son.

Extended family - a bunch of gossipy, nosy, staid dinosaurs - expressed the astonishingly asinine concern of theirs that our son is dark-skinned. One aunt whose daughter's friend is married to an African-American asked if my boyfriend had "shown any thuggish behavior." Literally. Verbatim. I couldn't even begin to explain to her the multitude of sins she'd committed with that statement in one fell swoop. I'm able to ignore them because they live on the other side of the continent from me here in the States and we see each other once every two years, if that. Preserving my relationship with them is important because my grandmother and mom love them but when they're gone neither I nor my son nor my boyfriend need to be exposed to that kind of ignorant deprecation.
posted by Everydayville at 10:49 AM on September 2, 2016