ABSTRACT

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 diasporas.

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 organised in six parts:

• Histories and trajectories

• Diaspora and infrastructures

• Cultural dynamics

• Representation and identity

• Politics of belonging

• Networked 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.

chapter |13 pages

Introduction

part I|13 pages

Histories and trajectories

chapter 1|11 pages

Indian Servitude in the British Empire

chapter 4|11 pages

Coolitude meets indianité

Postcolonial kala pani writings in French

chapter 5|13 pages

Out of india

East Africa and its South Asian diasporas

part II|15 pages

Diaspora and infrastructures

part III|14 pages

Cultural dynamics

chapter 10|12 pages

Programming Bollywood

Media and the Indian-American diaspora, 1965–2010

chapter 11|13 pages

Migratory south asian performances

Between nationalism and assimilation

part IV|15 pages

Representation and identity

chapter 15|13 pages

Poetic Politics

From Ghadar to the Indian Workers Association

chapter 17|13 pages

Of Intersecting Oppressions

Domestic violence and the Indian diaspora

chapter 18|11 pages

Celebrating Indian Culture

Festival spaces and entangled lives in Darwin, North Australia

chapter 19|14 pages

Softening India Abroad

Representations of India and its diaspora in the Canadian press

part V|15 pages

Politics of belonging

chapter 23|11 pages

Memories and Apprehensions

Temporalities of queer South Asian 1 belonging and activism in the diaspora

part VI|15 pages

Networked subjectivities and transnationalism

chapter 24|13 pages

Indians in Australia

Understanding the changing face of a community

chapter 27|11 pages

Of Kaleidoscopic Mothers and Diasporic Twists

The mother/daughter plot in the work of Jhumpa Lahiri

chapter 28|11 pages

Diasporic Subjectivity

Of loss, memory, being and becoming