T he end of British colonial rule in India and
the birth of two new nations-India and
Pakistan-was celebrated in California in
1947 by immigrant men from India's Punjab
province. Their wives and children celebrated with
them. With few exceptions, these wives were of
Mexican ancestry and their children were variously
called "Mexican-Hindus," "half and halves," or simply,
like their fathers, "Hindus," an American misnomer
for people from India. In a photo taken during
the 1947 celebrations in the northern California farm
town of Yuba City, all the wives of the "Hindus" are
of Mexican descent, save two Anglo women and one
woman from India.