“I wanted to cultivate a positive view of Indian Youth,” said Vivek Bhatia, founder of the online magazine Generation India. “But in a way that was truthful and honest.”

Generation India provides information regarding the Indian community within America on topics including culture, people and geography, with a focus on family.

Bhatia’s inspiration to start the publication stemmed from his own personal relationship with the Indian community growing up.

“I didn’t feel a connection to the Indian community, and I didn’t want to,” he said.

Negative stereotypes of the Indian community fueled his disconnection from his culture until Bhatia began his undergraduate studies and decided he wanted to break the misrepresentations.

Bhatia said he felt the best way to promote his culture in a positive and legitimate light in America was through a publication. Lacking the funds for a print magazine, Bhatia looked to the Internet.

“[Getting the magazine rolling] has personally been a strong growing and learning experience,” Bhatia said.

Generation India focuses on a number of topics that serve to inform Indian youth who possibly have lost many of their cultural traditions and values through assimilation into American culture. The website is geared towards the future, for those that “won’t know India now,” Bhatia explained.

The site contains articles ranging from profiles on prominent figures in the Indian community – such as Alpana Singh, one of seven women in America to have earned the title of Master Sommelier in wine service – to issues in India on health care, oil and past regimes. Readers can also read editorials written by fellow Indians in the community on topics that speak to Indian youth in America.

The site also features articles on the different organizations founded in America that work to help underprivileged children in India such as ASHA and Make-A-Wish foundation.

While Bhatia, with the help of his cousin, have put in great effort to create the Generation India website, he hopes that the publication will eventually become a print format magazine.