Centre for Study of Indian Diaspora

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Browsing Centre for Study of Indian Diaspora by Author "Sahoo, Ajaya K."
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    Diaspora and transnationalism: The changing contours of ethnonational identity of Indian diaspora
    ( 2020-01-01) Sahoo, Ajaya K. ; Shome, Anindita
    Diasporic communities have historically maintained - either actively or passively - their ethnonational identities, be it in the case of classical diasporas such as the Jews or Armenians or the case of more modern diasporas such as the Indians or other South Asians. However, the ethnonational identities of diasporic communities have strengthened significantly in recent times as a result of the global forces such as the Internet that created and recreated the existing and newer ways of transnationalism and ethnonationalism. The study of the Indian diaspora is inherent because of the fact that these global forces have drastically changed the ethnonational identity of Indians in the diaspora. There are a plethora of factors that played an important role in this process of transformation. This article tries to examine two of the most significant factors that strengthened the ethnonational identity, such as the dynamic changes in the Indian government policy towards diaspora and the role of the Internet that facilitates the youth to play a prominent role in this neo-diaspora.
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    Diaspora, religion, and identity: the case of Theyyam in the Indian diaspora
    ( 2022-01-01) Sahoo, Ajaya K. ; Surabhi, K.
    Globalization associated with development in information and communication technologies ushered diasporas to play an important role in marketing the homeland culture globally. Among the many traditional Indian art forms that are getting visible transnationally today is the Theyyam. Theyyam is a traditional ritual art form of worship observed in the Kannur and Kasargod districts of Northern Kerala state in India. It is the folk God for North Malabaris which is accompanied by dance and other rituals. There are approximately four hundred varieties of Theyyams and several of them are performed in the diasporas. This article argues that when the Theyyam is performed transnationally, the true essence of the ritual art form changed compared to its performance in the original settings and thereby opens up for commodification. Ethnographic data for this study derives from in-depth interviews with Theyyam artists, informal conversations with Theyyam devotees and villagers besides observation of Theyyam performances.
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    Emergence, growth and social service activities in the Sathya Sai Baba spiritual movement
    ( 2011-01-01) Sahoo, Ajaya K.
    The present paper deals with the social and welfare activities of an important spiritual movement in India, Sri Sathya Sai Baba movement, which has attracted thousands of devotees around the world cutting across class, caste, religion, region and ethnic backgrounds besides making its presence within the tradition of Hinduism in India. The spiritual movement has made several contributions to the social upliftment of the disadvantaged in the form of social welfare service activities. This paper is divided into three parts. The first part of the paper reviews briefly the emergence of Sathya Sai Baba movement, while the second part focuses on the growth of Sathya Sai organisation, which is an integral part of the Sathya Sai Baba movement, and the third and final part discusses the way in which the members of the movement engage in social service activities in order to popularise the movement.
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    From 'temporary migrants' to 'permanent residents': Indian H-1B visa holders in the United States
    ( 2010-11-01) Sahoo, Ajaya K. ; Sangha, Dave ; Kelly, Melissa
    Literature on international migration from India in the past has focused on the formation and development of 'Indian diasporas'; that is, Indians who have moved to various parts of the world and maintain socio-economic, cultural and political lives in India as well as other countries. However, little attention has been paid toward 'temporary migrants' who have migrated to different countries with a temporary visa and in the course of time extended their visas to become 'permanent residents'. Temporary migration from India has become a common trend over the last two decades, especially since the acceleration of globalisation and the developments in the fields of information and communication technologies. Although it is argued that this type of migration took place in the past - for instance, Indians migrated to British, French, Dutch and Portuguese colonies during the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth centuries as indentured labourers for a period of three to five years and later extended their stays - what is new about the current trend is the new state policies of different host countries and the socio-economic and cultural background of the immigrants. This paper is an exploratory study of this contemporary phenomena of movement from 'temporary migrant' to 'permanent resident', a phenomena which has not been given much attention by academicians and policy makers in India. The present paper outlines this trend with an illustration of Indian H-1B visa holders in the United States. © 2010 Taylor & Francis.
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    Introduction: Asian diaspora and development
    ( 2021-03-31) Sahoo, Ajaya K.
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    Negotiating identity in the diaspora: the role of South Asian youth organizations
    ( 2021-01-01) Sahoo, Ajaya K. ; Shome, Anindita
    One of the significant ways through which the youth manifest their solidarities and identities in the diaspora is the creation of youth organisations. These organisations although occupy a physical space, transcend borders and forge connections and networks with the homeland and other co-diasporics living across the world. With the example of four South Asian youth organisations and their activities in the United States, this article tries to examine how these organisations reinforce the youth identities by forming virtual networks based on single or multiple affiliations. Use of the social media by these youth organisations–whether sharing information about various socio-cultural and educational events in the Facebook or using the online hashtag in Twitter to raise awareness and mobilisation on subtle issues or creating blogs on various innovative projects and connecting them with their official webpages–is one of the important hallmarks that distinguish them from the traditional diasporic youth organisations.
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    Routledge Handbook of Asian Diaspora and Development
    ( 2021-03-31) Sahoo, Ajaya K.
    This handbook offers an analysis of Asian diaspora and development, and explores the role that immigrants living within diasporic and transnational communities play in the development of their host countries and their homeland. Bringing together an array of interdisciplinary scholars from across the world, the handbook is divided into the following sections: Development Potential of Asian Diasporas Diaspora, Homeland, and Development Gender, Generation, and Identities Soft Power, Mobilization, and Development Media, Culture, and Representations. Presenting cutting-edge research on several dimensions of diaspora and development, Routledge Handbook of Asian Diaspora and Development provides a platform for further discussion in the fields of migration studies, diaspora studies, transnational studies, race relations, ethnic studies, gender studies, globalization, Asian studies, and research methods.
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    The journey of the Komagata Maru: national, transnational, diasporic
    ( 2016-07-02) Roy, Anjali Gera ; Sahoo, Ajaya K.
    More than a hundred years ago, a Japanese ship called Komagata Maru chartered by Gurdit Singh, a prosperous entrepreneur based in Singapore, carrying 376 Punjabi passengers - largely Sikhs but also some Hindus and Muslims - from Hong Kong was not permitted to land in Vancouver on grounds of a stipulation about a continuous journey from the port of departure and forced to return to Budge Budge near Kolkata where the passengers were fired at, detained or kept under surveillance for years. The Komagata Maru has become the site for the contestation over discriminatory policies regulating South Asian migrations to Canada. While the passengers perceived it as a violent instance of the suppression of the freedom and rights of the loyal subjects of the British Empire, the colonial administration justified its action alleging that seditious activities were being carried out on the chartered ship. The resurrection of the Komagata Maru's tragic journey in Canadian and Indian national memories foregrounds a number of key contemporary debates related to memory and history; imperialism and resistance; racism, exclusion and inclusion; nation and citizenship; mobilities and immobilities; and emigration and diasporas.