ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the persistence of the diaspora bonding cannot be explained solely by referring to shared identity since it needs to be accounted for how this identity persists and largely has remained similar across diaspora communities. Nor is it enough to argue that homeland India caters in the identity needs of the diaspora community. That argument begs the question of how the Indian overseas communities “apprehend” Indian culture. Rather, this chapter argues that for the adoption and adjustment of homeland culture, Indian communities overseas require an ethnic institutional infrastructure. This ethnic infrastructure presupposes a prevailing common taste that is exerted in a demand for Indian cultural stuff. The chapter is exploratory since the issue has not been raised before. It relies heavily on the practices of the Surinamese and Dutch Hindustani communities.
