Contextualizing Nationalism, Transnationalism and Indian Diaspora

Recent population estimates suggest that the Indian diaspora of about 25 million people is dispersed in about 110 countries of the world. More than half a million people of this diaspora live in 11 countries each. About 3.5 million Indians form a sizable work ‘force in many countries in West Asia and the Gulf, though they are denied citizenship in these countries. These migrations have been classified in three “waves”. The old theories of the “Old colonial diaspora” based on the trauma, agony and pain of adjustment and the “New post colonial diaspora” highlighting the struggle, industry, and racial discrimination of the romantic-idealist elements are based on the “art of the impossible mourning”. As loss/brains drain, struggle, and suffering are essential elements of both these theories, they do not fit the success story of the Global Indian who seems tomake a mark in the world with his grit, industry, and competitiveness in the knowledge economy of the Information Age. While some attempts have been made to theorize the First and Second waves of the Indian diaspora in North America and elsewhere, no serious attempt has been made to theorize this third wave of diaspora mainly because of its very recent arrival. By organizing a conference on the theme of Nationalism, Transnationalism and Indian Diaspora, the Centre for Indian Diaspora and Cultural Studies, Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University, Patan made a serious attempts to theorize even the third wave of Indian Diaspora. While attempting to further explore and understand the trauma and suffering of the girmitias in Fiji and other erstwhile British colonies, a serious attempts has been made by other researchers in this book to analyse the “Success story” of some of the recent migrations to the West as well as to far off countries like Mauritius, Madagascar and other French colonies.