Re: Parents approving you marrying a non-Desi?
For my parents the religion is most important. If we married desis who were not Muslim, they would be very very upset.
That being said, I'm pretty certain that at least my mother would not be happy about a marriage to a Muslim non-desi, not because of any specific prejudice against that person but because it's just one more thing that will complicate the marriage in the future. We've seen enough Arab-Pakistani marriages fall apart and white-Pakistani marriages struggle, that she has her "proof."