Six university departments to study Indian diaspora together

Six departments of Mumbai University have come together to explore the impact of the Indian diaspora politically, socially, economically, culturally, and religiously in the backdrop of globalisation.

Called the group for research on Indian diaspora (Grid), the project is under the University with Potential for Excellence scheme of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

“We are looking at the Indian diaspora from the point of view of identity and conflict between the host and home nations. We’ll explore it through an inter-disciplinary approach. There are 20 million Indians in diaspora in over 100 countries and we need to have a comprehensive understanding of their various facets,” said Kanchana Mahadevan, faculty in the department of sociology and member of the team.

It is a three-year project that will study the issue of ‘identity’ and ‘exchange’ in terms of how the diaspora relates to India, what it gains from its new homeland and what it has contributed to it.
A key element, being studied by Mahadevan, is whether the diaspora is responsible to its home or host nation.

Nilufer Bharucha, faculty in the department of English and project coordinator, explained that the term diaspora means to be scattered or dispersed across national boundaries, and has been self-consciously used today by postcolonial theorists to describe those who got displaced from their home owing to colonial politics and post-colonial economic realities.

“In its original sense, the term Diaspora is Biblical, describing scattering of the Jews around the world after the fall of Palestine. It’s sometimes confused with the term ‘exile’. But in the Indian context, the condition of being forcibly exiled doesn’t exist. Hence, we are attempting to redefine this term,” said Bharucha. She is studying the Indian diasporic literature.

Another dimension being studied is the ‘exchange’ of ideas and capital flow between India and the diaspora.

“We will see how its development has impacted India in terms of actual economics and investments, political exchanges, migration and philosophical ideas,” said Kamala Ganesh, head of department of Sociology and team member. She is studying diaspora Hinduism and its influence back in India.

The study is expected to provide inputs and recommendations for future policies of the government.  “We’ll also create an extensive database and a library at the Mumbai University on the Indian diaspora to provide support to future researchers,” said Bharucha.