The Political Economy of South Asian Diaspora: Patterns of Socio-Economic Influence

224 Pages·2013·1.924 MB·English

by  Gopinath Pillai (eds.)

International Political Economy Series
Series Editor: T imothy M. Shaw, Visiting Professor, University of Massachusetts
Boston, USA and Emeritus Professor, University of London, UK
The global political economy is in flux as a series of cumulative crises impacts
its organization and governance. The IPE series has tracked its development in
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tration on the global South. Now the South increasingly challenges the North as
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and publications on indebted Eurozone economies in Southern Europe.
An indispensable resource for scholars and researchers, the series examines
a variety of capitalisms and connections by focusing on emerging economies,
companies and sectors, debates and policies. It informs diverse policy communi-
ties as the established trans-Atlantic North declines and ‘the rest’, especially the
BRICS, rise.
Titles include:
Gopinath Pillai ( editor )
THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF SOUTH ASIAN DIASPORA
Patterns of Socio-Economic Infl uence
Rachel K. Brickner (e ditor )
MIGRATION, GLOBALIZATION AND THE STATE
Juanita Elias and Samanthi Gunawardana ( editors )
THE GLOBAL POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE HOUSEHOLD IN ASIA
Tony Heron
PATHWAYS FROM PREFERENTIAL TRADE
The Politics of Trade Adjustment in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacifi c
David J. Hornsby
RISK REGULATION, SCIENCE AND INTERESTS IN TRANSATLANTIC TRADE
CONFLICTS
Yang Jiang
CHINA’S POLICYMAKING FOR REGIONAL ECONOMIC COOPERATION
Martin Geiger and Antoine Pécoud ( editors )
DISCIPLINING THE TRANSNATIONAL MOBILITY OF PEOPLE
Michael Breen
THE POLITICS OF IMF LENDING
Laura Carsten Mahrenbach
THE TRADE POLICY OF EMERGING POWERS
Strategic Choices of Brazil and India
Vassilis K. Fouskas and Constantine Dimoulas
GREECE, FINANCIALIZATION AND THE EU
The Political Economy of Debt and Destruction
Hany Besada and Shannon Kindornay (e ditors )
MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION IN A CHANGING GLOBAL
ORDER
Caroline Kuzemko
THE ENERGY SECURITY-CLIMATE NEXUS
Hans Löfgren and Owain David Williams ( editors )
THE NEW POLITICAL ECONOMY OF PHARMACEUTICALS
Production, Innnovation and Trips in the Global South
Timothy Cadman ( editor )
CLIMATE CHANGE AND GLOBAL POLICY REGIMES
Towards Institutional Legitimacy
Ian Hudson, Mark Hudson and Mara Fridell
FAIR TRADE, SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIAL CHANGE
Andrés Rivarola Puntigliano and José Briceño-Ruiz ( editors )
RESILIENCE OF REGIONALISM IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Development and Autonomy
Godfrey Baldacchino (e ditor )
THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF DIVIDED ISLANDS
Unifi ed Geographies, Multiple Polities
Mark Findlay
CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES IN REGULATING GLOBAL CRISES
Helen Hawthorne
LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES AND THE WTO
Special Treatment in Trade
Nir Kshetri
CYBERCRIME AND CYBERSECURITY IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH
Kristian Stokke and Olle Törnquist ( editors )
DEMOCRATIZATION IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH
The Importance of Transformative Politics
Jeffrey D. Wilson
GOVERNING GLOBAL PRODUCTION
Resource Networks in the Asia-Pacifi c Steel Industry
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The Political Economy of
South Asian Diaspora
Patterns of Socio-Economic Influence
Edited by
Gopinath Pillai
Chairman, Institute of South Asian Studies,
National University of Singapore
Editorial matter, selection, introduction and conclusion © Gopinath Pillai 2013
Remaining chapters © Respective authors 2013
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 20139 78–1–137–28596–6
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Contents
List of Figures v ii
List of Tables viii
Acknowledgements i x
List of Contributors x
List of Acronyms x i
Introduction: South Asian Diaspora: Patterns of
Socio-Economic Development 1
Gopinath Pillai and H ema Kiruppalini
Part I Economics
1 Looking East and Beyond: Indian IT Diaspora in Japan 9
Anthony P. D ’Costa
2 Bangladeshi Diaspora Entrepreneurs in Japan 3 3
Md Mizanur Rahman and L ian Kwen Fee
3 From Sentries to Skilled Migrants: The Transitory Residence
of the Nepali Community in Singapore 59
Hema Kiruppalini
4 Migrant Remittance Supported Micro-Enterprises in South Asia 8 1
Shahadat Khan
5 A Diaspora Route to Professional Success in
the Indian Context: A Perspective 109
Ravi Mantha and Meng Weng Wong
Part II Religion
6 Religion, Politics and Islam in the South Asian Diaspora 1 25
Pnina Werbner
7 Social Movements in the Diasporic Context:
The Sathya Sai Baba Movement 143
Ajaya Kumar Sahoo and Melissa Kelly
v
vi Contents
Part III Media
8 Transnational Subject/Transnational Audience: The NRI Trope
and Diasporic Aesthetic in Diasporic Romance Films 1 67
Sarah A. Joshi
9 Transnational Collaboration and Media Industry in
South India: Case of the Malaysian–Indian Diaspora 1 87
Shanthini Pillai
Editor’s Postscript 204
Gopinath Pillai
Index 209
List of Figures
1.1 Changing permanent residents in Japan, 2006–11 19
1.2 Changing concentration of Indian residents in
the Great Tokyo area 22
1.3 Software engineering curriculum deficiencies 2 7
3.1 Nepali restaurants in Singapore 62
3.2 An example of the numerous posters that encourage
Nepali students to go abroad to study in Singapore 70
4.1 Value diminishing flow of migrant remittance 83
4.2 Stages of small/micro business life cycle 87
4.3 Scope of study 89
8.1 The consumable hero of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham 1 77
vii
List of Tables
1.1 Foreigners registered in Japan by country in
descending order 16
1.2 India’s share of technical talent in Japan, 1998–2004 1 7
1.3 Inflows and shares of technical talent by select sending
countries, 2006–11 20
1.4 Student’s enrolments at the undergraduates, masters and
PhD levels by fields 26
2.1 Profiles of Bangladeshi entrepreneurs in Japan 3 9
3.1 Source regions of population absent in Nepal and
countries of destination 63
3.2 Distribution of the population absent from Nepal by
countries of destination and by reasons for absence, 2001 6 4
4.1 Respondents’ age 90
4.2 Respondents’ educational background 91
4.3 Types of business, location and position in supply chain 9 5
4.4 Years of operation of MRSMEs and ownership pattern 9 6
4.5 Reasons for choosing business 96
4.6 Amount of initial capital and percentage for MR 1 01
4.7 Gaps identified in MRSMEs 1 03
viii
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my gratitude to the following people who have
in one way or the other have helped to shape this publication. They
have contributed their time and energy in many ways through vision,
support, encouragement, expertise, writing and book coordination.
Special thanks goes to
Prof Tan Tai Yong, Director, Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS)
Mr Johnson Paul, Senior Associate Director, Institute of South Asian
Studies (ISAS)
Prof Riaz Hassan, Visiting Research Professor, Institute of South Asian
Studies (ISAS)
Dr Md Mizanur Rahman, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of South
Asian Studies(ISAS)
Ms Ambika Raghavan, Publications Coordinator, Institute of South
Asian Studies (ISAS)
ix