desi

Desi (Hindustani: देसी , , ; IPA: ; also Deshi) is a loose term used to describe the people, cultures, and products of the Indian subcontinent and their diaspora, derived from Sanskrit देश (deśá), meaning "land, country". Desi traces its origin to the people from the South Asian republics of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and may also sometimes include people from Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Maldives and Bhutan. Etymology The ethnonym belongs in the endonymic category (i.e., it is a self-appellation). Desi (/ desī) is a Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu) word, meaning 'national', ultimately from Sanskrit , derived from 'region, province, country'. The first known usage of the Sanskrit word is found in the Natya Shastra (~200 BCE), where it defines the regional varieties of folk performing arts, as opposed to the classical, pan-Indian margi. Thus, refers to one's own country or homeland, while refers to another's country or a foreign land. Usage The word Desi is widely used by South Asians, as well those of the South Asian diaspora, to describe themselves; those of South Asian origin, especially Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, use the term "as a means of asserting or reclaiming a sense of pride" in being South Asian, "particularly in the face of racism, discrimination, and stigmatization" of minorities in various parts of the world. With regard to usage of the word Desi, Helen Kim writes: Among teenagers who have ancestral roots in the Indian subcontinent, the term Desi is "embraced to elucidate a new inclusive identity of South Asians in the USA, who participate as 'public consumers and producers of a distinctive, widely circulating cultural and linguistic forms'." To this end, channels such as MTV Desi have recognized "the transnational nature of Desi youth culture, writers, producers, and VJs" and have shared "a range of topics relating to life in South Asia and the South Asian diaspora worldwide".