This book introduces readers to the many dimensions of historical and contemporary Indian transnationalism and the experiences of migrants and workers to reveal the structures of transnationalism and the ways in which Indian origin groups are affected.
The concept of crossing borders emerges as an important theme, along with the interweaving of life in geographic and web spaces. The authors draw from a variety of archives and intellectual perspectives in order to map the narratives of Indian transnationalism and analyse the interplay of culture and structures within transnational contexts. The topics covered range from the history of transnational networks, activism, identity, gender, politics, labour, policy, performance, literature and more. This collection presents a wide array of issues and debates which will reinvigorate discussions about Indian transnationalism.
This handbook will be an invaluable resource for academics, researchers, and students interested in studying South Asia in general and the Indian diaspora in particular.
Author(s): Ajaya K. Sahoo, Bandana Purkayastha
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2019
Cover
Praise
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
List of figures
List of tables
Notes on contributors
Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
Introduction: Indian transnationalism
Transnationalism: some contours
Transnationalism with a focus on India
Indian transnationalism in this book
Notes
References
PART I: Migrants’/workers’ lives
Chapter 1: Globality in exceptional spaces: service workers in India’s transnational economy
Introduction
On exceptional spaces
Globality within exceptional spaces
Methods
Pride and subservience within India’s zones of exception
Class and the experience of globality within exceptional spaces
Notes
References
Chapter 2: Skill gap and brain drain for United States: impact of Trump executive order on H1B and India
Introduction
Migration of knowledge workers and the H1B
H1B visa system
H1B and tech companies
H1B and India
Trump executive order on H1B and its impact
Skill gap in the United States and reverse brain drain
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 3: From students to spouses: gender and labor in Indian transnationalism
Migration and gendered employment
Domestic work abroad
Nursing and caring labor
Global IT workers
Family reunification and gendered labor
Temporary worker programs
Transnational housewives
Professional volunteers
Anchors and displacements
Conclusion
References
Chapter 4: Transnationalism and return migration of scientists and engineers from the United States to India
Introduction
Literature review
Economic factors
Political factors
Social/cultural/family factors
Methodology
Findings
Post-return transnationalism
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
References
PART II: On culture and identities
Chapter 5: Translocal puja: the relevance of gift exchange and locality in transnational Guyanese Hindu communities
Introduction
Guyanese Indianness, Hinduism, and puja
Puja and transnational gift exchange
Locality and puja
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 6: Indian music and transnationalism
International connections prior to independence
The transnationalization of Indian classical music
Commercial popular music and dance
A case study: the greater New York City region
Concluding perspectives
References
Chapter 7: Transnational collaborations by selected contemporary Indian dancers
The India-Korea collaboration
The India-Bangladesh collaboration
Notes
References
Chapter 8: Revealing the messiness of transnational identities: second-generation South Asians in Canada
Introduction
Context
Literature
Methods
Findings: negotiated belonging in a transnational social field
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 9: Negotiating transnational identity among second-generation Indian residents in Oman
Introduction
Framing the transnational
Homemaking and transnationalism
The case of Oman
Acknowledgment
Notes
References
PART III: Political engagement in transnational spaces
Chapter 10: Transnationalism and Indian/American foreign policy
Introduction: the Indian diaspora in the United States
Early political activism and the Cold War years
The formation of an Indian American lobby
Current issues and the road forward
Conclusion
References
Chapter 11: Constructing Hindu identities in France and the United States: a comparative analysis
Introduction
Conceptions of nationhood and religion in France and the United States
Hindus in France and the United States: migration histories and population growth
Construction of Hinduism in the United States
Construction of Hinduism in France
Conclusion: rethinking transnationalism
References
Chapter 12: Facing strong head winds: Dalit transnational activism today
Introduction
Context: who are the Dalits?
The impact of neoliberal globalization on India
Internationalizing the Dalit movement
The Dalit diaspora and the United Nations
The transnationalization of the Dalit women’s movement
WCAR and the national campaign on Dalit human rights
Converging at the World Social Forum
Conclusion: what has been accomplished?
Note
References
PART IV: Gender and Indian transnationalism
Chapter 13: Experiences of empowerment and constraint: narratives of transnational Indian women entrepreneurs
Introduction
Methods
Framing the case: immigration from India to the US
Theory
Women transnational entrepreneurs
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 14: Indian origin women: organising against apartheid
Introduction
Indians in South Africa: a historical perspective
Enter women
Negotiating a hybrid identity
Diasporic/hybrid identity
Gendered identity
Identity work
South African Indians: Hurdles in contemporary South Africa
Notes
References
Chapter 15: Workers, families, and households: towards a gendered, raced, and classed understanding of Indian transnationalism in Canada
Introduction
A racist history of Indian labour migration to Canada
A new class of Indian hi-tech migrants
Gendered, classed, and raced negotiations in a post-migratory context
Concluding remarks and future directions
Note
References
Chapter 16: Is migration a ticket to freedom? exploring sense of freedom among Indian women in Toronto
Discussion and conclusions
Notes
References
Chapter 17: Middling Tamil migrants in Singapore and the translocal village
Part 1: Middling Musuguntha Vellalar transnational migrants
Part 2: The translocal village goes live!
Note
References
PART V: On historic and contemporary networks in transnational spaces
Chapter 18: The transnational mobility of Indians in the time of the British Empire
Notes
References
Chapter 19: Layered cities, shared histories: gold, mobility and urbanity between Dubai and Malabar
Introduction
Malayalis in Dubai: multiple regimes of mobility
Malayali, gold and the mobility complex
Liberalisation in India, brand-building in Dubai
Dubai, Malabar and cities of gold
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 20: Emergence of Singapore as a pivot for Indian diasporic and transnational networks
Positing Singapore as a ‘node’ and ‘space’ for Indian transnational networks
Transition of Indian transnational spaces in Singapore
Conclusion
Notes
References
Glossary
Index
