Pajeet

Pajeet is an ethnic slur directed at Indians, particularly Hindus and Sikhs.^[1][2][3][4] The term first appeared on 4chan in 2015 and it came to be used more widely since the early 2020s.^[5]

Etymology

The term Pajeet is an invented name, an imitation of Indian names with the element "jeet", such as Jeet, Amarjeet and Ranjeet.^[6][5][7] The name element comes from Sanskrit जित (jitá, IPA: [d͡ʑi.t̪ɐ]) meaning "victory" or "conquered", the first element can be parsed a derivation of "paji", a repectful term of address in Punjabi meaning older brother.^[8][5]

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.^[9]

Prior to 2019, Pajeet was mainly limited to a small number of social media platforms such as 4chan, Gab and Telegram. However, pajeet was then popularised by Islamists, white supremacists and other extremists to target Hindus.^[10] John Earnest, the perpetrator of the 2019 Poway synagogue shooting, referenced "pajeets" in his manifesto.^[10]

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.^[11] 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.^[6] Dheepa Sundaram, a scholar of digital culture writing for the Drexel Law Review in 2024, disputed this "anti-Hindu" characterization of the slur and other tropes by the NCRI report, instead stating that the slur and tropes are "derogatory towards South Asians in general."^[12] She also stated that the report cited examples which mostly signaled "the proliferation of anti-South Asian tropes and terms and growing anti-Asian hate in social media" and did not provide incontrovertible proof of "systemic hatred specifically directed towards Hindus."^[13]

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.^[7]

The 2024 Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse due to a collision 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.^[2]

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.^[4]