I don't think I'm the only one. I'm South Indian.
'Desi' has always been synonymous with North Indians or just the Hindi belt even. As an ethnic South Indian, I've never watched a Bollywood film in my entire life; my parents have only watched two or three Bollywood films max.
I don't racially identify with Pakistanis; they look Middle Eastern, they're genetically Middle Eastern, and I genuinely find that I have very little in common with them culturally.
I also think that there's too much emphasis on integrating Muslims with Indians. India is a multi-cultural country, and I think Indians outside India will also be multi-cultural. Indians/Hindus should be allowed to feel proud of their culture, rather than trying to bend over for Muslims.
http://theaerogram.com/is-it-time-to-kill-off-the-word-desi/
Isn't India a British construct?
??
Pakistanis (especially Pashtuns) have quite a lot in common with Afghans and Iranians in terms of language. Having said that, the Punjabis (a North Indian subgroup) actually make up the majority in Pakistan.
South Indians belong to the Dravidian language family, not the Aryan one, which counts Hindi and Persian as major tongues.