Perhaps not white, but definitely Caucasian.
Caucasians come in all colors, of which "white" is only a subset.
I was using the prof’s word to hoist him on his own petard. Yes, Caucasian is the more correct name and applies to the people of the sub-continent. Perhaps I shouldn’t have used the word race as that is a broader classification. I think we both know that most libs ascribe the most importance to skin tone than reality - witness the half-white, half-African president being totally carried in the “black” column.