{{short description|Ethnic slur directed at Indians and South Asians}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{DISPLAYTITLE:''Pajeet''}} {{Wiktionary|pajeet}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}} {{Use British English|date=September 2025}} '''''Pajeet''''' is an ethnic slur directed at Indians, particularly Hindus and Sikhs.<ref name="t808">{{cite web |last=Ramachandran |first=Ramesh |date=19 August 2024 |title=Rising Hinduphobia: Global Surge in Anti-Hindu Violence Raises Alarms |url=https://ddnews.gov.in/en/rising-hinduphobia-global-surge-in-anti-hindu-violence-raises-alarms/ |access-date=23 August 2025 |website=DD News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="c094">{{cite web |date=27 March 2024 |title=Baltimore bridge collapse: Racist online attacks on Indian crew of MV Dali |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2024/Mar/27/baltimore-bridge-collapse-racist-online-attacks-on-indian-crew-of-mv-dali |access-date=26 August 2025 |website=The New Indian Express}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Kumar |first=Gaurav |date=2 July 2025 |title=Surge in hate slurs against Indian-origin people in Canada, reveals report |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/world/canada-news/story/surge-hate-indian-south-asians-canada-slur-social-media-name-call-dirty-unskilled-racist-conspiracy-2748946-2025-07-02 |access-date=22 August 2025 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=9 May 2024 |title=Online Racism Targeting South Asians Skyrockets |url=https://globalextremism.org/post/online-racism-targeting-south-asians-skyrockets/ |access-date=22 August 2025 |website=Global Project Against Hate and Extremism |language=en-US}}</ref> The term first appeared on 4chan in 2015 and it has been used more widely since the early 2020s.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Chopra |first=Rohit |date=24 September 2024 |title=The Politics of Anti-Indian Hate and Racism on Elon Musk's X |url=https://www.csohate.org/2024/09/24/anti-indian-racism-pajeet-twitter/ |access-date=24 August 2025 |website=Center for the Study of Organized Hate |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Etymology == The term ''Pajeet'' is an invented name, an imitation of Indian names with the element "jeet", such as Amarjeet and Ranjeet.{{sfn|NCRI, Anti-Hindu Disinformation|2022}}<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> "Jeet" comes from Sanskrit {{lang|sa|जित}} (''jitá'', {{ipa|sa|d͡ʑi.t̪ɐ|ipa}}) meaning {{gloss|victory}} or {{gloss|conquered}}, while the first element can be parsed as a derivation of "paji", a respectful term of address in Punjabi meaning older brother.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Campbell |first1=Mike |title=Name Element JITI |url=https://www.behindthename.com/element/jiti |website={{Q|112578104}} |year=2025 |location=Victoria, British Columbia}}</ref><ref name=":0" />
== History == The term ''Pajeet'' originated from the "Pajeet my son" meme created on the 4chan message board /int/ in July 2015 mocking open defecation in India. This was itself inspired by the "Mehmet, my son" meme, popularised on the same board in late 2014, which mocked Turkish people.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Rana |first=Aayushi |date=13 March 2024 |title=Cow Worshippers to Pajeets: Analysing the Lexicon of Hate speech |url=https://dfrac.org/en/2024/03/13/cow-worshippers-to-pajeets-analysing-the-lexicon-of-dangerous-hate-speech-online/ |access-date=26 August 2025 |website=DFRAC |language=en-US}}</ref> A female version ''Pajeeta'' appeared later.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maqsood |first=Zofeen |date=2025-11-16 |title='Pajeet', a racist slur against Indians, is spreading across the internet |url=https://americanbazaaronline.com/2025/11/16/pajeet-racist-slur-against-indians-spreading-on-internet-470091/ |access-date=2025-12-06 |website=The American Bazaar |language=en-US}}</ref>
Prior to 2019, ''Pajeet'' was mainly limited to a small number of social media platforms such as 4chan, Gab and Telegram. John Earnest, the perpetrator of the 2019 Poway synagogue shooting, referenced "pajeets" in his manifesto.<ref name=":42">{{harvnb|NCRI, Anti-Hindu Disinformation|2022}}</ref>
In the months preceding the 2022 Leicester unrest between Hindus and Muslims, anti-Hindu memes were accompanied by "''pajeet''" depicting Hindus as barbaric and dirty.{{sfnp|NCRI, Cyber Social Swarming|2022|p=3}} Rutgers University's Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) investigated the online trends between 2019 and 2022, noting a wide dispersion of anti-Hindu and anti-Indian slurs and tropes during this period. The NCRI report concluded that the word "Pajeet" is often used, "with the majority of derogatory characterisations towards Hindus", alongside a depiction of Hindu religious symbols.{{sfn|NCRI, Anti-Hindu Disinformation|2022}} The earliest "malicious narrative" during the Leicester unrest was spread by a twitter user called "tragicbud", whose user description included the line "fuck them pajeets".{{sfnp|NCRI, Cyber Social Swarming|2022|p=3}}
According to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), between May 2023 and April 2025 there were over 26,600 posts which included "pajeet" and other anti-South Asian slurs in Canada, compared to nearly 1,600 posts containing anti-Muslim slurs.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=The rise of anti-South Asian hate in Canada |url=https://www.isdglobal.org/digital_dispatches/the-rise-of-anti-south-asian-hate-in-canada/ |access-date=2025-09-06 |website=Institute for Strategic Dialogue |language=en-GB}}</ref> The 2024 Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse due to a collision by the ship MV Dali, which carried Indians in the crew, resulted in large anti-Indian racist attacks on social media platforms including usage of the term ''pajeet''.<ref name="c094" /> Much of the discourse on "pajeet" on social media appears to originate from the United States and Canada, and is seen to be linked to the alleged conspiracies such as the Great Replacement Theory. On Twitter, the term shows up linked to the themes of immigration, defecation, and cows.<ref name=":0" />
The slur has also been used against politicians of Indian origin. Former British prime minister Rishi Sunak and American presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy were often targeted with the slur.<ref name=":1" />
== References == {{Reflist}}
== Bibliography == * {{citation |last1=Sudhakar |first1=Prasiddha |title=Cyber Social Swarming Precedes Real World Riots in Leicester: How Social Media Became a Weapon for Violence |publisher=Network Contagion Research Institute and Rutgers University |date=October 2022 |author-mask9=et. al. |url=https://networkcontagion.us/wp-content/uploads/NCRI-Report_11.10.22.pdf |ref={{sfnref|NCRI, Cyber Social Swarming|2022}} |last2=Goldenberg |first2=Alex |last3=Finkelstein |first3=Joel |last4=Donohue |first4=Jack |last5=Ratadiya |first5=Pratik |last6=Farmer |first6=John |last7=Riggleman |first7=Denver |last8=Benson |first8=Richard |last9=Mughal |first9=Fiyaz |author-link6=John Farmer Jr. |author-link7=Denver Riggleman}} * {{citation |last1=Sudhakar |first1=Prasiddha |last2=Farmer |first2=John |last3=Finkelstein |first3=Joel |last4=Jussim |first4=Lee |last5=Parihar |first5=Parth |last6=Riggleman |first6=Denver |author-link2=John Farmer Jr. |author-link4=Lee Jussim |author-link6=Denver Riggleman |title=Quantitative Methods for Investigating Anti-Hindu Disinformation |date=November 2022 |url=https://networkcontagion.us/wp-content/uploads/NCRI-Anti-Hindu-Disinformation-v2.pdf |publisher=Network Contagion Research Institute and Rutgers University |ref={{sfnref|NCRI, Anti-Hindu Disinformation|2022}}}} * {{cite journal |last=Sundaram |first=Dheepa |date=2024 |title=An academic conference, a bomb threat, and the title VI complaint: U.S. Hindu nationalist groups' litigious assault on academic freedom |url=https://drexel.edu/~/media/Files/law/law%20review/V16-4/837-888-sundaram.ashx |journal=Drexel Law Review |volume=16 |issue=4 |pages=837–889}} {{Ethnic slurs}} Category:2015 neologisms Category:4chan phenomena Category:Anti-Hindu sentiment Category:Anti-Indian sentiment Category:Anti-Sikh sentiment Category:Anti–South Asian sentiment Category:Anti–South Asian slurs Category:English profanity Category:Ethnic and religious slurs Category:Xenophobia in Asia