pajeet

English

Alternative forms

• Pajeet

Etymology

An invented Indian-sounding given name, originating from the "Pajeet, my son" meme created on the 4chan message board /int/ in July 2015, mocking South Asians. This was itself inspired by the "Mehmet, my son" meme, popularized on /int/ in late 2014, which mocked Turkish people. Although the name does not exist in South Asia, similar-sounding names exist, especially in the Indian state of Punjab. It is likely derived from Punjabi ਭਾਜੀ (bhājī) / بھاجی (bhājī, “elder brother”), as well as from Punjabi male names ending with the suffix Hindi जीत (jīt, “victory”), such as Baljeet and Sanjeet.^[1][2][3]

Noun

pajeet (plural pajeets)

1. (Internet slang, originally 4chan, ethnic slur, derogatory) A person of South Asian ancestry.^[1]

   Synonym: (ethnic slur) poojeet

   • 2019 April 13, Luke Smith, 4:13 from the start, in Leave Amazon? You can't LEAVE Amazon!‎:

     You used to be able to e-mail some Amazon representative and get your account deleted maybe; you can't do that anymore, what you have to do nowadays is you either have to live-chat with a pajeet or you have to manually call them.

   • [2020 January 31, Patrik Hermansson, David Lawrence, Joe Mulhall, Simon Murdoch, “Myth, Mysticism, India, and the Alt-Right”, in The International Alt-Right: Fascism for the 21st Century?, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, unnumbered page:

     A glance at the comments section of any alt-right website will confront the viewer with crude racism towards people of non-white ethnicities, not least people of Indian origin, who are various degraded as "Pajeets," "street-shitters," or stereotyped as sexual harassers. Of course, this is unsurprising for a movement rooted in white supremacy.]

Derived terms

• jeet (“an investor who is extremely risk-averse”)
• mujeet (“a South Asian Muslim”)
• pajeetware (“poor-quality software created in India”)
• poojeet

 

See also

• curry-muncher
• Paki

References

1. “Online Racism Targeting South Asians Skyrockets”, in Global Project Against Hate and Extremism‎, 2024 May 8, archived from the original on 2024-05-22
2. “Baltimore bridge collapse: Racist online attacks on Indian crew of MV Dali”, in The New Indian Express‎, 2024 March 27
3. “Racial slurs against Hindus have genocidal impact, says report”, in Hindu Times Canada‎, 2023 June 1