This book examines how members of the South Asian diaspora—one of the world's largest diasporic communities—forge complex, hybrid identities at the intersection of homeland traditions and host society influences. Against the backdrop of significant deterritorialization and cultural diversity, it explores the nuanced ways multiple generations navigate between preserving heritage and adapting to new environments.
Through rich, multidisciplinary perspectives, the volume investigates:
- The blending of traditional practices with new cultural elements
- The delicate balance between adaptation and heritage preservation
- The emergence of unique cultural spaces shaped by transnational connections
Organized into two comprehensive sections—identity formation and transnational practices—this collection offers valuable insights into the lived experiences of South Asian communities worldwide and is essential reading for scholars and students in diaspora studies, migration research, transnationalism, and South Asian cultural studies.
The chapters in this book were originally published in South Asian Diaspora.
This book examines how members of the South Asian diaspora—one of the world's largest diasporic communities—forge complex, hybrid identities at the intersection of homeland traditions and host society influences.
Introduction: Diaspora, Transnationalism and Identity
1. Stuck in the
Middle? Indians in South Africas Fading Rainbow
2. Assimilation and Symbolic
Ethnicity through the Class-Ethnicity Nexus: A Study of Second-Generation
Indian Immigrants in the U.S.A.3. Of Acculturative Stress and Integration
Distress: The Resettlement Challenges of Bhutanese Refugees in Metro Atlanta
4. Thai-Sikh Diaspora and Identity: Participation of Sikh Students in the
Extracurricular Activities at the University
5. I Know My Roots are Indian
but My Thinking is Kiwi: Hybridisation, Identity and Indians in New
Zealand
6. Transgression and Power: Special Reference to Srividya Temple at
Rush, New York
7. Intergenerational Entrainment: Old Age, Marriage, and Care
Arrangements in Danish-Pakistani Migrant Families
8. Bhadraloks on the
Move: The Bengali Diaspora in Singapore
9. Re-engaging Sri Lanka as a Site
for Reconciliation or a Perpetuation of Trauma: Roma Tearnes Brixton Beach
10. Maru Dharmaj: Gujarati Patidar Diaspora and Transnational Engagement
Ajaya K. Sahoo is Professor and Head of the Centre for Study of Indian Diaspora, University of Hyderabad. His research interests include migration, South Asian diaspora, and transnationalism. Some of his recent publications include the Routledge Handbook of South Asian Migrations (2024) and the Routledge Handbook of Asian Transnationalism (2023).
Brij Maharaj is Senior Professor of Geography at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He has received widespread international recognition for his research on urban politics, mega-events, segregation, local economic development, xenophobia and human rights, migration and diasporas, religion, philanthropy and development.
