South Asian Spartans - 1950s and 1960s
In the 1950s, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka grappled with new challenges of being independent nations. While the new nation-states came to terms with meeting the needs of multicultural, multiethnic populations within their national boundaries, many students from these countries came to SJSU. Domestic students learned about these new countries and their challenges. In the 1960s when many European colonies were becoming independent, conflicts between India and Pakistan came to the fore and the demand for Bangladesh as an indepednt country was on the rise. Maldives became independent in 1965 from being a British protectorate. In the United States, the Civil Rights movement and the anti-Vietnam movement were beginning to change society forever. The most remarkable student from India in the 1960s on SJSU campus was Maryleela Rao. She was the first woman of color to become SJSU's Homecoming Queen.
