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This book studies the political integration of Indian diaspora communities into their host societies. It argues that insertion occurs on an ethnic basis which enables these groups to utilise their clout, and at the same time exert collective rights in matters like freedom of religion, organisation and lifestyle. Drawing on case studies from South Africa, America, and the Caribbean, the volume analyses different forms, levels and patterns of groupist political integration. It examines various instances of integration such as anti-Indian apartheid laws; the life and times of Dr Sudhindra Bose, one of the early Bengali intellectuals in the US; Hindutva organisations in the US/UK; as well as the introduction of the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Scheme by the Indian government.
An important intervention in the study of ethnic groups and their integration, the book will be of interest to students and researchers of diaspora studies, globalization and transnational migration, cultural studies, minority studies, sociology, political studies, international relations, and South Asian studies.
List of contents
1. Introduction: The politics of Integration in Indian Diaspora Societies Part I: National Integration 2. Durban Indians and Self-Help in South Africa’s Democracy 3. Integrated Lives? A Reading of the Popularised Image as a Phenotype for Being Indian in South Africa 4. The NRI Gupta Waterkloof Landing: Implications for Political Integration of PIOs in South Africa Part II: Dualities in Integration 5. Transnational Identity and Political Integration in Trinidad and Tobago 6. Reconciling Boundaries and Identities: The World of Dr Sudhindra Bose in Early 20th Century America Part III: Global dimensions of integration 7. From Cyber-Hindutva to Ab Ki Baar Trump Sarkar: (Trans)national Entanglements of Hindu Diaspora Political Integration 8. The Gift of Diasporic Citizenship: The Overseas Citizenship of India Scheme as a Tool for Nation-building 9. Indo-Caribbean Ethnicity and Political Integration
About the author
Ruben Gowricharn is Full Professor of Indian Diaspora Studies at the VU University in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He has published extensively on diasporas, democracy and the integration of ethnic minorities. He has edited several books including Shifting Transnational Bonding in Indian Diaspora (2020). He is also the managing director of a doctoral program for adult migrant students in the Netherlands and Suriname.
Summary
This book studies the political integration of Indian diaspora communities into their host societies. Drawing on case studies from South Africa, America, and the Caribbean, the volume analyses different forms, levels and patterns of groupist political integration.
