Rethinking Diaspora
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Keywords:
diaspora, identity, India
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Abstract
Diaspora, a term used to refer to the dispersal of Jewish people across the world, is now expanded to describe any deterritorialized or transnational population that lives in a land different from that of its origin and whose social, political and economic networks span the globe crossing national borders. Through comparing the Anglo-Indian, the Sikh and the IITian diasporas, this project proposes to deconstruct diaspora as a construct.
How does the Anglo-Indian Diaspora formed by conquest and colonization compare with the Sikh diaspora created in the service of the Empire and the highly skilled IITian diaspora? What are the categories through which the three diasporas constitute themselves and how do they define the homeland? While the Anglo-Indian and the Sikh diasporas have a pre-national history originating in the Empire, the IITian diaspora is intertwined with the history of the Indian nation. The three display a wide divergence in their constitutive categories – race in Anglo-Indian, religion and ethnicity in Sikh and skills in IITian and also vary in their myths of origin. While the homeland is defined through the region and sacral place in Sikh diaspora, the IITian diaspora converges on the alma mater and nation. The constitution of the homeland is far more problematic in the case of the Anglo-Indian diaspora. While the Anglo-Indian and Sikh diasporic movements in the past were those of low-skilled workers characterized by traditional migration chain, the high-skilled IITian diaspora fits the open migration chain pattern.
Yet the three diasporas intersect as communities formed through strong transnational networks that interrogate the link between space, place and identity in the imagined communities of the nation. I argue that both the mixed race Anglo-Indian narrative, the ‘pure’ discourse of the Sikh imaginary and the knowledge/skills based imagining of the IITian community compels us to rethink essential categories of belonging and identity such as race, nation, caste, ethnicity while intensifying or creating new boundaries that are mobilized in their self-fashioning.
How does the Anglo-Indian Diaspora formed by conquest and colonization compare with the Sikh diaspora created in the service of the Empire and the highly skilled IITian diaspora? What are the categories through which the three diasporas constitute themselves and how do they define the homeland? While the Anglo-Indian and the Sikh diasporas have a pre-national history originating in the Empire, the IITian diaspora is intertwined with the history of the Indian nation. The three display a wide divergence in their constitutive categories – race in Anglo-Indian, religion and ethnicity in Sikh and skills in IITian and also vary in their myths of origin. While the homeland is defined through the region and sacral place in Sikh diaspora, the IITian diaspora converges on the alma mater and nation. The constitution of the homeland is far more problematic in the case of the Anglo-Indian diaspora. While the Anglo-Indian and Sikh diasporic movements in the past were those of low-skilled workers characterized by traditional migration chain, the high-skilled IITian diaspora fits the open migration chain pattern.
Yet the three diasporas intersect as communities formed through strong transnational networks that interrogate the link between space, place and identity in the imagined communities of the nation. I argue that both the mixed race Anglo-Indian narrative, the ‘pure’ discourse of the Sikh imaginary and the knowledge/skills based imagining of the IITian community compels us to rethink essential categories of belonging and identity such as race, nation, caste, ethnicity while intensifying or creating new boundaries that are mobilized in their self-fashioning.
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References
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Axel, Brian Keith (2002) The Nation's Tortured Body. Duke University Press.
Ashcroft, Bill Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin (2000) Key Concepts in Postcolonial Studies. London: Routledge.
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Banga, Indu (1988) "Crisis of Sikh Politics", in Joseph O'Connell, Milton Israel & Willard G. Oxtoby (eds.) Sikh History and Religion in the 20th Century, Delhi: Manohar, pp 233-255.
Barrier, N.G. & Verne A. Dusenbury (1989) The Sikh Diaspora: Migration and Experience Beyond Punjab. Columbia Mo: South Asia Books.
Basant Nitin & Sandeep Rath (1990) "An Institute Within an Institute". The Scholars Avenue. Accessed online at: http://scholarsavenue.blogspot.com/2005/08/18805-foundation-day-special-institute.html (Accessed 2008).
Bhabha, Homi (1990) Nation and Narration. London: Routledge.
Bhagat, Chetan (2004) Five Point Someone: What Not to Do at IIT. Random House.
Bhaya Nair, Rukmini (1997) Technobrat. Delhi Harper Collins.
Braziel, Jana Evans & Anita Mannur (2003) Theorizing Diaspora: A Reader. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Carton, Adrian (2007) "Historicizing Hybridity and the Politics of Location : Three Early Colonial Indian Narratives". Journal of Intercultural Studies 28(1): 143-155. https://doi.org/10.1080/07256860601082996
Chambers, Ian (1994) Migrancy, Culture Identity London: Routledge.
Clifford, James (1994) "Diasporas" in Cultural Anthropology 9(3): 202-38. https://doi.org/10.1525/can.1994.9.3.02a00040
Cohen, Robin (1997) Global Diasporas: An Introduction, London: UCL Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203228920
Deb, Sandipan (2004) The IITians. Delhi: Penguin.
Dirlik, Arif (1997) The Postcolonial Aura: Third World Criticism in the Age of Global Capitalism. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press.
Dusenbery, Verne (1995) "A Sikh Diaspora? Contested Identities and Constructed Realities" in Peter van der Veer (ed.) Nation and Migration. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. https://doi.org/10.9783/9781512807837-003
Gilroy, Paul (1981) The Black Atlantic. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Gupta Dipankar (1997) "The Sikh Imago". The Context of Ethnicity: Sikh Identity in a Comparative Perspective. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
IIT Foundation (nd) Accessed online at www.iitfoundation.org/msgboard/showmsglist (Viewed on 15th December 2006).
Hall, Stuart (1993) "Cultural Identity and Diaspora". Williams, Patrick & Laura Chrisman (eds.) Colonial Discourse & Postcolonial Theory: A Reader. Harvester Whaeatsheaf.
Jensen, Joan M. (1988) Passage from India: Asian Indian Immigrants in North America. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
Kaur, Ravinder (1986) "Jat Sikhs: A Question of Identity" in Contributions to Indian Sociology 7 (20), pp. 221-239. https://doi.org/10.1177/006996686020002004
K S Sethumadhavan. Julie, 1975.
Lal, Vinay (2001) "The Politics of History on the Internet: Cyber-Diasporic Hinduism and the North American Hindu Diaspora" in Makarand Paranjape (ed.) In Diaspora: Histories, Theories, Texts. New Delhi: Indialog Publications Pty Ltd.
Lessinger, Johanna (2003) "Indian Immigrants in the United States" in Bhikhu Parekh, Gurharpal Singh & Steven Vertovec (eds.) Culture and Economy in the India Diaspora, London: Routledge, pp. 165-222.
McLeod, W H. (1989) "The First forty Years of Sikh Migration: Problems and Possible Solutions" in Barrier & Dusenbury (eds.) The Sikh Diaspora.
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Mills Megan (1996) "Some Comments on the Stereotypes of Anglo-Indians: Part 1". The International Journal of Anglo-Indian Studies. Vol (1)1.
Mishra, Sudesh (2006) Diaspora Criticism. Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press.
Murali, Kanta (2003) "The IIT Story Issues and Concerns". Oulook. Vol 20 (3): 1-14.
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Nesbitt, Eleanor (2004) "I am a Gujarati Lohana and a Vaishnav as Well: Religious Identity Formation among Young Coventrian Punjabis and Gujaratis" in Coleman, S and Collins, P. (eds.) Religion, Identity and Change: Perspectives on Global Transformations. Aldershot: Ashgate, pp 174-90.
Nesbitt, Eleanor (2005) "Young British Sikhs and Religious Devotion" in King, Anne S & Brockington, John (eds.) The Intimate Others: Love Divine in Indic Religions. New Delhi: Orient Longman, pp 310-36.
Nesbitt, Eleanor (1997) "We are all Equals: Young British Punjabis' and Gujaratis' Perceptions of Caste'" in Journal of Contemporary Religion, 12(1): 17-33. https://doi.org/10.1080/13537909708580787
Oberoi, Harjot (1994) The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Pettigrew, Joyce (1997) "The Jats of Punjab" In Gupta The Context of Ethnicity: Sikh Identity in a Comparative Perspective. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp. 163-175.
Sen Aparna. 36 Chowringhee Lane, 1981.
Sheffer, Gabriel (ed.) (1986) Modern Diasporas in International Politics, London and Sydney: Croom Helm.
Safran William (1993) "Diasporas in Modern Societies: Myths of Homeland and Return", Diaspora 1(1):83-93.
Sarker et al. (1951) "Development of Higher Technical Institutions in India - Report of Sarker Committee." Central Bureau of Education India. March 1948. Reprint. Manager Government of India Press Simla.
Shuval, Judith T. (2000) "Diaspora Migration: Definitional Ambiguities and a Theoretical Paradigm". International Migration, 38 (5): 41-57. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2435.00127
Sukhatme, S P. (1993) The Real Brain Drain. Delhi: Orient Longman.
The India Travel Forum, Accessed online at: www.indiamike.com/india/archive/index.php/ (Viewed on 15th December 2006).
Van der Veer, Peter (1995) Nation and Migration. The Politics of Space in the South Asian Diaspora. Philadelphia: Philadelphia University Press. https://doi.org/10.9783/9781512807837
Vertovec, Steven (1999) "Three Meanings of Diaspora: Exemplified among South Asian Religions". Diaspora 7(2).
Axel, Brian Keith (2002) The Nation's Tortured Body. Duke University Press.
Ashcroft, Bill Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin (2000) Key Concepts in Postcolonial Studies. London: Routledge.
Bahri, Deepika (2001) "The Digital Diaspora: South Asians in the New Pax Electronia". in Makarand Paranjape (ed.) In Diaspora: Theories, Histories, Texts. New Delhi: Indialog Publications Pty Ltd, pp. 179-233.
Ballard, Roger (2003) "Panth, Kismet, Dharm te Qaum: Continuity and Change in Four Dimensions of Punjabi Religion", in Pritam Singh & Shinder Singh Thandi (eds.) Punjabi Identity in a Global Context. Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp 7-37.
Banga, Indu (1988) "Crisis of Sikh Politics", in Joseph O'Connell, Milton Israel & Willard G. Oxtoby (eds.) Sikh History and Religion in the 20th Century, Delhi: Manohar, pp 233-255.
Barrier, N.G. & Verne A. Dusenbury (1989) The Sikh Diaspora: Migration and Experience Beyond Punjab. Columbia Mo: South Asia Books.
Basant Nitin & Sandeep Rath (1990) "An Institute Within an Institute". The Scholars Avenue. Accessed online at: http://scholarsavenue.blogspot.com/2005/08/18805-foundation-day-special-institute.html (Accessed 2008).
Bhabha, Homi (1990) Nation and Narration. London: Routledge.
Bhagat, Chetan (2004) Five Point Someone: What Not to Do at IIT. Random House.
Bhaya Nair, Rukmini (1997) Technobrat. Delhi Harper Collins.
Braziel, Jana Evans & Anita Mannur (2003) Theorizing Diaspora: A Reader. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Carton, Adrian (2007) "Historicizing Hybridity and the Politics of Location : Three Early Colonial Indian Narratives". Journal of Intercultural Studies 28(1): 143-155. https://doi.org/10.1080/07256860601082996
Chambers, Ian (1994) Migrancy, Culture Identity London: Routledge.
Clifford, James (1994) "Diasporas" in Cultural Anthropology 9(3): 202-38. https://doi.org/10.1525/can.1994.9.3.02a00040
Cohen, Robin (1997) Global Diasporas: An Introduction, London: UCL Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203228920
Deb, Sandipan (2004) The IITians. Delhi: Penguin.
Dirlik, Arif (1997) The Postcolonial Aura: Third World Criticism in the Age of Global Capitalism. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press.
Dusenbery, Verne (1995) "A Sikh Diaspora? Contested Identities and Constructed Realities" in Peter van der Veer (ed.) Nation and Migration. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. https://doi.org/10.9783/9781512807837-003
Gilroy, Paul (1981) The Black Atlantic. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Gupta Dipankar (1997) "The Sikh Imago". The Context of Ethnicity: Sikh Identity in a Comparative Perspective. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
IIT Foundation (nd) Accessed online at www.iitfoundation.org/msgboard/showmsglist (Viewed on 15th December 2006).
Hall, Stuart (1993) "Cultural Identity and Diaspora". Williams, Patrick & Laura Chrisman (eds.) Colonial Discourse & Postcolonial Theory: A Reader. Harvester Whaeatsheaf.
Jensen, Joan M. (1988) Passage from India: Asian Indian Immigrants in North America. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
Kaur, Ravinder (1986) "Jat Sikhs: A Question of Identity" in Contributions to Indian Sociology 7 (20), pp. 221-239. https://doi.org/10.1177/006996686020002004
K S Sethumadhavan. Julie, 1975.
Lal, Vinay (2001) "The Politics of History on the Internet: Cyber-Diasporic Hinduism and the North American Hindu Diaspora" in Makarand Paranjape (ed.) In Diaspora: Histories, Theories, Texts. New Delhi: Indialog Publications Pty Ltd.
Lessinger, Johanna (2003) "Indian Immigrants in the United States" in Bhikhu Parekh, Gurharpal Singh & Steven Vertovec (eds.) Culture and Economy in the India Diaspora, London: Routledge, pp. 165-222.
McLeod, W H. (1989) "The First forty Years of Sikh Migration: Problems and Possible Solutions" in Barrier & Dusenbury (eds.) The Sikh Diaspora.
McLeod, W H. (1999) Sikhs and Sikhism. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Mills Megan (1996) "Some Comments on the Stereotypes of Anglo-Indians: Part 1". The International Journal of Anglo-Indian Studies. Vol (1)1.
Mishra, Sudesh (2006) Diaspora Criticism. Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press.
Murali, Kanta (2003) "The IIT Story Issues and Concerns". Oulook. Vol 20 (3): 1-14.
Nesbitt, Eleanor (1997) "Splashed with Goodness": The Many Meanings of Amrit for Young British Sikhs in Journal of Contemporary Religion. Vol 12 (1).
Nesbitt, Eleanor (2000) The Religious Lives of Sikh Children: a Coventry-Based Study. Leeds: Community Religions Project, University of Leeds.
Nesbitt, Eleanor (2004) "I am a Gujarati Lohana and a Vaishnav as Well: Religious Identity Formation among Young Coventrian Punjabis and Gujaratis" in Coleman, S and Collins, P. (eds.) Religion, Identity and Change: Perspectives on Global Transformations. Aldershot: Ashgate, pp 174-90.
Nesbitt, Eleanor (2005) "Young British Sikhs and Religious Devotion" in King, Anne S & Brockington, John (eds.) The Intimate Others: Love Divine in Indic Religions. New Delhi: Orient Longman, pp 310-36.
Nesbitt, Eleanor (1997) "We are all Equals: Young British Punjabis' and Gujaratis' Perceptions of Caste'" in Journal of Contemporary Religion, 12(1): 17-33. https://doi.org/10.1080/13537909708580787
Oberoi, Harjot (1994) The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Pettigrew, Joyce (1997) "The Jats of Punjab" In Gupta The Context of Ethnicity: Sikh Identity in a Comparative Perspective. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp. 163-175.
Sen Aparna. 36 Chowringhee Lane, 1981.
Sheffer, Gabriel (ed.) (1986) Modern Diasporas in International Politics, London and Sydney: Croom Helm.
Safran William (1993) "Diasporas in Modern Societies: Myths of Homeland and Return", Diaspora 1(1):83-93.
Sarker et al. (1951) "Development of Higher Technical Institutions in India - Report of Sarker Committee." Central Bureau of Education India. March 1948. Reprint. Manager Government of India Press Simla.
Shuval, Judith T. (2000) "Diaspora Migration: Definitional Ambiguities and a Theoretical Paradigm". International Migration, 38 (5): 41-57. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2435.00127
Sukhatme, S P. (1993) The Real Brain Drain. Delhi: Orient Longman.
The India Travel Forum, Accessed online at: www.indiamike.com/india/archive/index.php/ (Viewed on 15th December 2006).
Van der Veer, Peter (1995) Nation and Migration. The Politics of Space in the South Asian Diaspora. Philadelphia: Philadelphia University Press. https://doi.org/10.9783/9781512807837
Vertovec, Steven (1999) "Three Meanings of Diaspora: Exemplified among South Asian Religions". Diaspora 7(2).