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Desi (or Deshi; pronounced /ˈd̪e:si/ or /ˈd̪e:ʃi/, Hindi: देशी Urdu:دیسی ), literally means "local, regional" or "indigenous", as opposed to videshi विदेशी وِدسی meaning "foreign". The term may be used to refer to people or things of South Asian origin.

If used in this sense, it can include:

• The term Desi could include someone with origins from India, Pakistan , Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
• British Asians
• South Asian Americans
• Indo-Canadians
• Fijian Indians
• South Asians in Philippines
• Indo Kiwi New Zealand
• Indo-Mauritian Mauritius
• South Asians living in Australia
• Indian South Africans
• South Asians living in Zimbabwe
• In India, Pakistan & Bangladesh, the term, used as an adjective, with respect to its own country, can also refer to things originating from the countryside, or indigenously manufactured goods as opposed to foreign or imported goods.
• Sometimes, people of Indian origin only

The term could also be used to refer to the diasporic subculture of overseas South Asians, usually those resident in English-speaking countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, and Australia, or former British colonies such as South Africa, Kenya, Trinidad or Guyana.

The term comes from Sanskrit देश deśa- ("region, province, country"). The word for country is "Des" or "Desh" in many South Asian languages. Desi thus means "of the homeland" in Urdu, Hindi, Nepali, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi, Rajasthani and most other South Asian langages. For example, the country Bangladesh means "Bengali homeland".

During the heyday of the British Raj and the British Empire, many people from the then undivided Indian sub-continent emigrated to the UK or to other British colonies, in search of education and opportunity. The diaspora from what is now called "South Asia" increased dramatically following the riots and massacres of the Partition of India. Families from the affected areas sought safety in various Commonwealth countries.

Communities that have remained distinct in South Asia have tended to mix in diaspora. Some second or third generation immigrants, but not all, do not think of themselves as belonging to a particular nation, sub-culture, or caste, but as just plain South Asians or Desis. Some Desis are creating what can be called a "fusion" culture, in which foods, fashions, music, and the like from many areas of South Asia are "fused" with elements from Western culture.^[1]

In the food domain, "desi" as an adjective or qualifier may mean native or traditional. Common examples are "desi ghee", which is the traditional clarified butter of the Indian subcontinent, as opposed to more processed fats such as vegetable oils. "Desi chicken" may mean a native breed of chicken, which is not a broiler chicken. Non-hybrid varieties of vegetables and other produce can also be qualified as "desi".

The diasporic Desi community are prolific in English. Some writers of note (alphabetical by last name):

• Monica Ali
• Anita Desai
• Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
• Mohsin Hamid
• Jhumpa Lahiri
• Gautam Malkani
• Gita Mehta
• Suketu Mehta
• Pankaj Mishra
• Rohinton Mistry
• Raman Mundair
• Vikram Seth
• Bapsi Sidhwa
• Abraham Verghese
• Michael Ondaatje
• V. S. Naipaul
• Arundhati Roy
• Salman Rushdie

• Indian American
• Bangladeshi American
• British Asian
• Indo-Canadian
• Indo-Caribbean
• Asians in South Africa
• Overseas Pakistani
• South Asians in Hong Kong
• Indian Malaysian
• Indian Singaporean
• Indo-Mauritian
• Indo Kiwi
• Fiji Indian
• Indian-Germans
• Non-Resident Indian (NRI)
• United States foreign born per capita income
• MTV Desi

• The Desi Diaspora, essay by Vijay Prashad at AskAsia.org