UCLA Publishes First Book on Patels in the United States
By Ji Hyun Lim
AsianWeek Staff Writer
Sept. 11’s backlash took a number of different forms. One was the resurgence of signs along the highways of the country stating “American-owned” in front of small hotels and motels across the country — a business that is actually dominated by Indian Americans who hail from the Gujarat region of India.
For the first time ever, researcher Govind Bhakta goes beyond the front desk to look at the real numbers in Patels: A Gujarati Community History in the United States. Focusing on the immigration and settlement of Indian Americans from 1960 to the present, Patels, published by the UCLA Asian American Studies Press, may be one of the only comprehensive studies of Indian Americans in print.
Patel is the dominant last name of people from the state of Gujarat in India.
Bhakta has a background in mathematics and statistics, but has been working in the real estate business in Southern California for the past three decades. The book compounds data from Bhakta’s extensive survey, taking over nearly eight years of research. He sent in-depth questionnaires to Gujarati Americans from across the country and translated the data into 10 chapters and over two-dozen charts.
Bhakta says his intent in writing this book was to impact younger generations of Indian Americans, especially those among the 1.7 million Patels in America.
“The younger generation doesn’t know about their roots,” Bhakta said. “My generation is the first generation in America and we struggled. This book will allow the younger generation to know what they were doing here.”
Gujarat, located on the Western edge of India, is the tenth most populated state in the country. The book focuses on the immigration surge in the 1960s, made up of those who took advantage of the immigration reforms of the Kennedy and Johnson administration. Patels also discusses the migration history, education, dating and marriage patterns, and generation gaps of the Gujarati American community. The author looks closely at the “Patel contribution to American entrepreneurship, culture and professions through the eyes of first and second generation individuals.”
Karen Leonard, professor of anthropology and Asian American Studies at UC Irvine and editor of the book, believes that Patels is incredibly important because it focuses on a population that is often ignored. She hopes the book will stimulate more comprehensive research on the South Asian American community.
Said Leonard, “The Patels have found a niche in the motel industry. It’s an important step to recognize the contributions of this group.”
In fact, Indian Americans own some 46 percent of the Eco-hotel chain and some 60 percent of the Knights Inn chain. The research says a lot about the franchising business and its boon for immigrants. Bhakta writes: “The ‘Patel-Motel’ phenomenon demonstrates how franchising can turn an outsider into a mainstream player. The earliest Patel motels date back to the 1960s, although the phenomenon as it is known traces to the 1970s and the brutal reign of Uganda’s Idi Amin.”
Amin had expelled a large group of Gujarati Indians from Uganda and many of them arrived in the United States eager to start businesses. Bhakta also writes about how the Patels kept costs low by hiring other Patels — promising to help them open their own franchises — leading to the numbers today.
Bhakta outlines the acculturation patterns of individuals, with biographical sketches of a slew of Gujarati Americans who have successfully immigrated to the United States.
Bhakta also focuses on the whole “American-owned” backlash against the Patels. Apparently through the 1970s and into the 1980s, franchises were closed off to Indians, forcing many to open independent motels. Media accounts accused Patel-motels of being poorly run and “smelling of curry,” and for some time, law enforcement officials sought a unified “Patel crime family” modeled on the Italian mafia. Yet, through the continuing backlash, Bhakta points out that the businesses are flourishing.
Said Leonard, “I hope readers will react to the book with interest and stimulate more studies of other regional and smaller Indian communities.”
Reach Ji Hyun Lim at jlim@asianweek.com.
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