Routledge Handbook of the Indian Diaspora

414 Pages·2018·7.623 MB·English

by  Radha Sarma Hegde and Ajaya Kumar Sahoo

ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF
THE INDIAN DIASPORA
The geographical diversity of the Indian diaspora has been shaped against the backdrop of the
historical forces of colonialism, nationalism and neoliberal globalization. In each of these global
moments, the demand for Indian workers has created the multiple global pathways of the
Indian diaspora.
The Routledge Handbook of the Indian Diaspora introduces readers to the contexts and histories
that constitute the Indian diaspora. It brings together scholars from different parts of the globe,
representing various disciplines, and covers extensive spatial and temporal terrain. Contributors
draw from a variety of archives and intellectual perspectives in order to map the narratives of the
Indian diaspora. The topics covered range from the history of diasporic communities, activism,
identity, gender, politics, labour, policy, violence, performance, literature and branding.
The handbook analyses a wide array of issues and debates and is organized in six parts:
(cid:129) H istories and trajectories
(cid:129) D iaspora and infrastructures
(cid:129) C ultural dynamics
(cid:129) R epresentation and identity
(cid:129) P olitics of belonging
(cid:129) N etworked subjectivities and transnationalism.
Providing a comprehensive analysis of the diverse social, cultural and economic contexts that
frame diasporic practices, this key reference work will reinvigorate discussions about the Indian
diaspora, its global presence and trajectories. It will be an invaluable resource for academics, researchers
and students interested in studying South Asia in general and the Indian diaspora in particular.
Radha Sarma Hegde is Professor of Media, Culture and Communication at New York
University, USA. Her research interests focus on issues of migration, transnational feminism,
globalization and media. She is the author of M ediating Migration (2016), and currently co-editor
of the journal Feminist Media Studies .
Ajaya Kumar Sahoo is Assistant Professor at the Centre for the Study of Indian Diaspora,
University of Hyderabad, India. His research interests include Indian diaspora and transnationalism.
His recent co-edited books include Indian Transnationalism Online (2014) and Transnational
Migrations (2009). He is the editor of the journal S outh Asian Diaspora .

ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF
THE INDIAN DIASPORA
Edited by Radha Sarma Hegde and
Ajaya Kumar Sahoo
First published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 selection and editorial material, Radha Sarma Hegde and
Ajaya Kumar Sahoo; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Radha Sarma Hegde and Ajaya Kumar Sahoo to be identified
as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their
individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77
and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hegde, Radha Sarma, 1953 - editor. | Sahoo, Ajaya Kumar, editor.
Title: Routledge handbook of the Indian diaspora/[edited by]
Radha Sarma Hegde and Ajaya Kumar Sahoo.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2018. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017019720 | ISBN 9781138942899 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781315672571 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: East Indian diaspora. | East Indians–Foreign countries.
Classification: LCC DS432.5.R68 2018 | DDC 909/.0491411–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017019720
ISBN: 978-1-138-94289-9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-67257-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Sunrise Setting Ltd, Brixham, UK
CONTENTS
List of illustrations ix
List of contributors xi
List of abbreviations xvii
Acknowledgements xix
Introduction 1
Radha S. Hegde and Ajaya K. Sahoo
PART 1
Histories and trajectories 15
1 Indian servitude in the British empire 17
Vinay Lal
2 Race, ethnicity and conflict in the Indian diaspora 28
Brij Maharaj
3 Writing indenture history through testimonios and
oral narratives 39
Vijay Mishra
4 Coolitude meets indianité: postcolonial kala pani writings
in French 51
Brinda J. Mehta
5 Out of India: East Africa and its South Asian diasporas 62
Sana Aiyar
v
Contents
PART II
Diaspora and infrastructures 75
6 Labour policy and global Indian diaspora 77
SaunJuhi Verma
7 Paradigms, policies, and patterns of Indian diaspora investments 90
Daniel Naujoks
8 Transnational diaspora organizations and India’s development 104
Rina Agarwala
9 Money flows, gender and family among Indian migrants to Australia 117
Supriya Singh
PART III
Cultural dynamics 129
10 Programming Bollywood: media and the Indian-American
diaspora, 1965–2010 131
Aswin Punathambekar
11 Migratory South Asian performances: between nationalism
and assimilation 143
Priya Srinivasan
12 Musical performances in the Indian diaspora 156
Tina K. Ramnarine
13 Transnational Bollywood assemblages in Singapore 170
Anjali Gera Roy
14 Diasporic visual cultures of Indian fashion and beauty 183
Vanita Reddy
PART IV
Representation and identity 201
15 Poetic politics: from Ghadar to the Indian Workers Association 203
Virinder S. Kalra
16 South Asian women and work in the diaspora 216
Tania Das Gupta
vi
Contents
17 Of intersecting oppressions: domestic violence and the
Indian diaspora 228
Rupaleem Bhuyan and Susan Ramsundarsingh
18 Celebrating Indian culture: festival spaces and entangled
lives in Darwin, North Australia 241
Michele Lobo
19 Softening India abroad: representations of India and its
diaspora in the Canadian press 252
Huzan Dordi and Margaret Walton-Roberts
PART V
Politics of belonging 267
20 Renewing diasporic bonds and the global branding
of India 269
Radha S. Hegde
21 Performing Indian American ethnicity in mainstream
America 282
Bandana Purkayastha, Shweta Majumdar Adur
and Koyel Khan
22 Home, belonging and the city in the Anglo-Indian diaspora 294
Jayani Bonnerjee
23 Memories and apprehensions: temporalities of queer South Asian
belonging and activism in the diaspora 304
Shweta Majumdar Adur
PART VI
Networked subjectivities and transnationalism 315
24 Indians in Australia: understanding the changing face of
a community 317
Michiel Baas
25 Networks, caste, and transnational identities 330
Goolam Vahed
26 Geographies of Indian transnationalism 341
Carmen Voigt-Graf
vii
Contents
27 Of kaleidoscopic mothers and diasporic twists: the mother/daughter
plot in the work of Jhumpa Lahiri 355
Delphine Munos
28 Diasporic subjectivity: of loss, memory, being and becoming 366
Mala Pandurang
Glossary 377
Index 379
viii
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figures
7.1 NRI foreign direct investment inflows into India (1991–2015) 96
7.2 Outstanding NRI deposits (1991–2015) 97
7.3 Monthly portfolio investment assets held by NRIs (2012–2015) 98
13.1 Malay girl against the size-zero heroine of Kambakkht Ishq in the Jade Cinema 174
13.2 Rang Fab 175
13.3 On a Roll: Chandni Chowk to Chowringhee 176
13.4 Dance Club: Dhoom 180
14.1 U nsuitable Girls: most reluctant housekeeper 189
14.2 U nsuitable Girls: most apprehensive fiancée 189
14.3 U nsuitable Girls: most defiant mother 190
14.4 U pping the Aunty: Poonam Aunty 192
14.5 U pping the Aunty: Fara Aunty 193
14.6 U pping the Aunty: Lovelina Aunty 194
14.7 U pping the Aunty: Gowrie Aunty 195
14.8 Upping the Aunty: Kavita Aunty 196
14.9 Upping the Aunty: Arun Aunty 197
19.1 A nnual breakdown of articles categorized as ‘soft power’ 256
19.2 Annual breakdown of articles categorized as ‘deficient state’ 257
19.3 Annual breakdown of ‘deficient state’ articles related to diaspora 257
26.1 A model of the Punjabi transnational community 346
26.2 A model of the Kannadiga transnational community 347
26.3 A model of the Indo-Fijian transnational community 348
26.4 A bstract models of transnational spaces based on the Indian
experience in Australia 350
Tables
7.1 Portfolio investments: annual average of assets under control by NRIs 99
8.1 Distribution of organization type in interview sample vs. inventory 108
ix