Showing papers in "South Asian Diaspora in 2011"
TL;DR: In this article, a complex scenario connecting Indian labour history, British imperial history and nineteenth century musical histories provides a context for understanding contemporary Indian diasporic musical practice in the Caribbean.
Abstract: A complex scenario connecting Indian labour history, British imperial history and nineteenth century musical histories provides a context for understanding contemporary Indian diasporic musical practice in the Caribbean. This is a scenario that led to the formation of the ‘old Indian Diaspora’, as it is now known, which links the modern Indian nation-state to diverse geographic locations through both primary and secondary migrations. Contemporary creative practices circulate globally through diasporic networks. This article considers sonic politics in two modern Indian films to gain further insights into modern cultural landscapes resulting from imperial processes in the formation of diasporas. This is a reading of musical moments rather than of complete soundtracks. The title track song in the film Om Shanti Om is explored in relation to Ras Shorty I's soca song of the same title, converging diasporic histories and postcolonial social visions. Sonic politics in the film Dulha Mil Gaya are examined in que...
24 citations
15 citations
TL;DR: In the expansive manner in which "diaspora" has come to be employed, the centrality of religion in the 'classical' understanding of the concept has been subsumed under categories such as ‘ethnicity' and ‘culture’.
Abstract: In the expansive manner in which ‘diaspora’ has come to be employed, the centrality of religion in the ‘classical’ understanding of the concept has been subsumed under categories such as ‘ethnicity’ and ‘culture’. Yet even as religious practices and beliefs undergo transformation in the diaspora, studies of South Asian emigrant groups show that religion remains a key marker of community identity – its pivotal role invigorated by the contemporary precipitation in global connections. By scrutinising the specific experiences, practices and contentions of a wide‐array of diasporic communities, the articles in this Special Issue reveal the renewed power of religion in the South Asian diaspora.
11 citations
TL;DR: While critics of globalization had apprehended that its homogenizing wave would erase ethnic, cultural and sectarian difference to produce cosmpolitanized identities, the counter movement towards fragmentation in the present global process has paradoxically led to the return of "the tribes" which converge on primordial essences such as language, culture, region, religion, ethnicity and caste.
Abstract: While critics of globalization had apprehended that its homogenizing wave would erase ethnic, cultural and sectarian difference to produce cosmpolitanized identities, the counter movement towards fragmentation in the present global process has paradoxically led to the thickening and intensification of boundaries and the return of ‘the tribes’, which converge on primordial essences such as language, culture, region, religion, ethnicity and caste. The return of the tribes in the global era appears to confirm Samuel Huntington’s apprehensions about the future civilizational realignment of the world along the lines of religion and ethnicity (1997). The thickening of boundaries noted by theorists of globalization in the contemporary world has been particularly visible along lines of religion. While Islamic identity narratives have received considerable global attention, particularly after 9/11, a transnational consolidation of Sikh ethno‐religious identity post 1984 has gone relatively undocumented. This essay...
10 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the public assertion of gendered ethno-religious identities on the websites of Hindu student groups (HSGs) in the South Asian Diaspora in the USA and UK.
Abstract: This study focuses on the public assertion of gendered ethno‐religious identities on the websites of Hindu student groups (HSGs) in the South Asian Diaspora in the USA and UK. HSGs are a part of a larger phenomenon of individuals and organizations engaged in creating and promoting ethnicities in virtual spaces. In this paper we focus particularly on the HSGs deployment of ‘strong woman’ imagery to assert their ‘superior cultures’. We find that while the HSGs appear to challenge the gendered/racialized construction of minorities in Western societies as traditional, and non‐modern, their construction of ‘strong Hindu women’ is replete with gendered inequalities. In addition, such constructions also implicate ‘their women’ into the process of drawing racialized boundaries against other groups. This paper explores how the processes involving the construction, representation and reproduction of Hinduism and Hindu identity on the web, from locations in the USA and the UK create contemporary gender hierarchies.
9 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine various linkages through which Sri Lankan diaspora communities in Malaysia sought and still seek meaning, and explore how such produced identities may become threatened by competing communities and by the nation state as well as how interreligious and interethnic alliances produced through temple networks provide the means by which state control could be challenged and feelings of marginalization overcome.
Abstract: This article examines various linkages through which Sri Lankan diaspora communities in Malaysia sought and still seek meaning. Taking my cue from Engseng Ho’s work on the Hadrami in which he notes how absence shapes diasporic experiences, I investigate the constructive role that feelings of loss have played in the imagining and reimagining of the Sri Lankan community’s identity in Malaysia. More specifically, this article considers the role that particular sites of memory – Buddhist institutions, rituals, and cemeteries – play in the production of an ethnic and religious identity. Finally, I explore how such produced identities may become threatened by competing communities and by the nation state as well as how interreligious and interethnic alliances produced through temple networks provide the means by which state control could be challenged and feelings of marginalization overcome.
8 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a minority performance ethnographic study on social mobility and second-generation Asian Indian immigrants examines the intergenerational and intragenerational social mobility of children post-1965 Indian immigrants in the metropolis of New York.
Abstract: Contextualized within constructivist paradigm and the phenomenological hermeneutic framework, this minority performance ethnographic study on social mobility and second-generation Asian Indian immigrants examines the intergenerational and intragenerational social mobility of children post-1965 Indian immigrants in the metropolis of New York. This study explores two issues: first, to what extent the current challenges in the US economy hinder upward social mobility of the children of Indian immigrants. Second, how parental messages of taking advantages of both worlds contributes to second-generation Asian Indians' success or failure in American society. While economic and financial globalization facilitated mobilization across national borders the recent economic crisis poses tough challenges for Indian immigrants and their children. Findings indicate that positive ethnic structure, social mobility and the cultural capital provide the younger generation with an adaptive advantage to the meet challenges of ...
8 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors study the Partition history through the subaltern eyes of a young girl narrator belonging to the Parsi diaspora in colonial Lahore, Pakistan, in Bapsi Sidhwa's novel, Ice-Candy-Man.
Abstract: This paper intends to study the Partition history through the subaltern eyes of a young girl narrator belonging to the Parsi diaspora in colonial Lahore, Pakistan, in Bapsi Sidhwa's novel, Ice-Candy-Man. By suggesting a holistic approach towards Partition, which is inclusive of analysis and integration, at multiple levels, of official history books, excerpts from survivor accounts and critical evaluation of partition novels like Sidhwa's text, the study approaches the enormity of the experience of Partition with immediacy and sensitivity. It discusses how diasporas create dilemmas for the traditional nation-states and for those caught between the battle-lines. The paper discusses how the text portrays Partition's role in not only destroying the sub-continent's communal life, but also in the reconstruction of multiple identities. By highlighting the plight of abducted women, the novel can also be interpreted as a gendered narrative of displacement and dispossession caused by the dismemberment of the sub-co...
7 citations
TL;DR: A more extended scope has been provided in terms of considering movements between the two regions in the colonial period, particularly from the nineteenth century with a couple of studies focusing on the period since the 1600s.
Abstract: When considering the South Asian diaspora in Britain, attention is more often than not drawn to migration and settlement patterns in the country from the mid-twentieth century. A more extended scope has been provided in terms of considering movements between the two regions in the colonial period, particularly from the nineteenth century with a couple of studies focusing on the period since the 1600s. This article considers a frame further back in time when European cities like London first became a site of `ancient cosmopolitanism open to migration from regions including South Asia during the period of the Roman Empire. The approach adopted in this article is critical of colonial, regional and nationalist blinkers on the tracts of history, and enables a means of considering ancient connections between Europe and South Asia as well as other modes of interpretation of the cultural and material legacy of the Roman era.
7 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the role played by women in the construction of gender and religious identities, who, entrusted with new social and ritual responsibilities, contribute towards the cultural replication of their traditional community.
Abstract: As perpetuators of what is considered traditional knowledge, Hindu women in Portugal are assigned a new status through religion, thus replacing the male pujari. This article focuses on the Hindu diaspora in Portugal, and specifically on the role played by women in the construction of gender and religious identities, who, entrusted with new social and ritual responsibilities, contribute towards the cultural replication of their traditional community. As anthropological studies on gender in diaspora show us, the assignment of religious roles are used to recreate women’s social status in the ‘host’ country.
7 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a disruptive ethnography of Indians in Tanzania (Tanzanian-Indians) is presented using narratives of individuals to challenge the popular ethnographic categories within which the individuals are usually subsumed.
Abstract: This paper is a disruptive ethnography of Indians in Tanzania (Tanzanian-Indians). It uses narratives of individuals to challenge the popular ethnographic categories within which the individuals are usually subsumed. This paper analyses three critical questions concerning Category, Homeland and Community. Is the category Mhindi (‘Indian’ in Kiswahili) exhaustive as a cultural identity? What is the relationship of Tanzanian-Indians to their ‘homeland’ India? Does a community-based approach map on to the realities of everyday lives of Tanzanian-Indians? The focus will be on Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam. Both these neighbouring places have significant Indian presence and through ethnographic research using conversations, semi-structured interviews and the self-presentation of individuals through temples, mosques and clubs, we highlight the diversity of experience that lies behind the specific identity category of Mhindi.
TL;DR: In response to Chinese claims that Tibet has been liberated from feudal power structures and is undergoing a process of modernization, members of Tibet's Government-in-Exile are developing a discourse of Tibetan modernity to counter China's version as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: In response to Chinese claims that Tibet has been liberated from feudal power structures and is undergoing a process of modernization, members of Tibet’s Government‐in‐Exile are developing a discourse of Tibetan modernity to counter China’s version. For the Dalai Lama, Director of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives Geshe Lhakdor, and Prime Minister of Tibet’s Government‐in‐Exile Samdhong Rinpoche, ‘modernity’ is not just a triumph of innovation over tradition. As the government of Tibet’s Government‐in‐Exile cannot exert itself within the Chinese borders that now contain Tibet, the discourse is intimately linked to the diasporic migration of Tibetans into countries such as India, Nepal and Bhutan. This modernization is part of a broad cultural survival strategy in which the main actors must alter tradition in order to preserve it.
TL;DR: The Kathiawad Hindu Seva Samaj as mentioned in this paper brought together diverse castes of Gujarati-speaking Hindus to promote language and culture, and adopted an apolitical stance towards the apartheid regime.
Abstract: In 1943, the Kathiawad Hindu Seva Samaj brought together diverse castes of Gujarati‐speaking Hindus to promote language and culture. In doing so, it linked itself to Kathiawad in India outside of South Africa. The Samaj expanded its objective to build much‐needed English‐medium schools open to all Indians regardless of their backgrounds. It used state patronage; and adopted an apolitical stance towards the apartheid regime. After 1970, it redirected its energies towards its primary goals, but expanded its horizons to accommodate new forms of South Africanism among Indians. It redefined ‘Indianness’ within a broader cultural framework even as individual members negotiated ambiguities relating to their identities.
TL;DR: In this article, a study of selected writings from Malaysia and Singapore that reflect nuances of an Indian Christian heritage is presented. But the focus of most discussions of writings from these countries has been to focus on the syncretism of identity politics of a mainly Hindu experience.
Abstract: There is no denying the great power invested in the inventiveness of the diasporic imaginary to reterritorialize Indian culture‐scapes into local contexts. Malaysian and Singaporean Indian diasporic writers are no exception. For a long while, the tendency of most discussions of writings from these countries has been to focus on the syncretism of identity politics of a mainly Hindu experience. Yet, the Indian diaspora in Malaysia and Singapore consists also of those who are Christians. Would there be different modulations to the tones, inflections of the diasporic experience when the creative imaginary intersects and negotiates with the Christian, the Indian as well as the Malaysian and Singaporean experience? Would the attendant myths and metaphors also take on different characteristics as a result? These are issues that this paper aims to investigate through a study of selected writings from Malaysia and Singapore that reflect nuances of an Indian Christian heritage. The ultimate aim of the paper is to h...
TL;DR: Gopal and Moorti as mentioned in this paper published Global Bollywood: Travels of Hindi Song and Dance, edited by Sangita Gopal and Sujata Moortis, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 2008, 352 pp., US$ 25.00 (paperback), ISBN 9780816645794
Abstract: Global Bollywood: Travels of Hindi Song and Dance, edited by Sangita Gopal and Sujata Moorti, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 2008, 352 pp., US$ 25.00 (paperback), ISBN 9780816645794 An...
TL;DR: Chanderbali's Indian Indenture is an important addition to the growing literature on the nineteenth century migrati... as discussed by the authors, which is an interesting contribution to the literature on Indian migration.
Abstract: by David Chanderbali, Leeds, Peepal Tree, 2008, 280 pp., £14.19 (paperback), ISBN 9781845230364 Indian Indenture is an important addition to the growing literature on the nineteenth century migrati...
TL;DR: Mehta and Pandharipande as discussed by the authors have published Bollywood and Globalisation: Indian Popular Cinema, 2010, 198 pp, US$99.00 (hardback), ISBN 9781843318330
Abstract: edited by Rini Bhattacharya Mehta and Rajeshwari V. Pandharipande, New York, Anthem Press, 2010, 198 pp., US$99.00 (hardback), ISBN 9781843318330 Bollywood and Globalisation: Indian Popular Cinema,...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the lived experience of indenture rather than on the institutional and legislative framework, and uncover the stories of the indentured themselves by shifting focus on their lived experience.
Abstract: Exploitable labour was key to the success of the sugar industry, which collapsed, in fact, within a few years of the end of indenture in the Straits. The industry was only able to thrive because of its ability to exploit Indian indentured labour. Finally, now that the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the indenture system in the Straits is known, there is a need for future studies to go beyond that. There is much evidence to support the proposition that many of the indentured were destroyed by the sheer toughness of the work, the long hours of labour, rampant diseases in the colony, endemic violence, and so on. But this is only part of the story. While highlighting the abuses, indeed we must, we cannot deny the indentured their agency and there is a need to begin to uncover the stories of the indentured themselves by shifting focus on the lived experience of indenture rather than on the institutional and legislative framework.