I have been reading a few books in the past few months that had diaspora and its effect on people as their most prominent theme. Now, ordinarily they wouldn't leave a significant impression on me. However, my own experiences of staying away from home has changed my views on it considerably.
Indian diaspora literature is nothing new. Its roots were formed during the Partition period. In case some of the readers have trouble understanding what that word means, this term is used to refer to division of the then India after independence from British rule into two new countries - a predominantly Islamic Republic of Pakistan and a secular India with a Hindu majority. The result of this move was the displacement of more than 10 million people across the newly created borders. Millions of people being stripped of their land and other possessions, being forced to leave their country, largely on the basis of their religion wasn't a very tactful decision. Almost a million people were killed in communal riots all over the borders. The impact of this huge exodus was felt bitterly across the borders and shared by all who were even remotely affected by it. Any amount of writing is not sufficient to capture the emotional, physical and economic upheaval that was suffered by the people displaced during one of the largest migration in recorded history. Since then, numerous writers and poets have tried to capture the effects of this change in their works. The writings are of such quality and number that they have carved a niche in the infinitely vast Indian literature called Partition literature.
In more recent times we have witnessed a mass migration of a less dramatic nature. It is intriguing when contrasted with the one described above because it is completely voluntary in its origin. This obviously is the immigration of hundreds of thousands of South Asian people to developed countries such as the U.S, Canada, Western Europe and Australia-New Zealand. The numbers might never match the multitudinous waves that crossed the borders in West Punjab; the impacts of this recent migration are no less worth inspecting. That is why, South Asian diaspora literature which examines the consequences of such voluntary migrations is also a sub genre in its own right.
What connects the two? Apparently nothing. The sorrow of leaving your homeland behind is the same. However the circumstances in which these events took place or are taking place are poles apart. Being forced to leave all your possessions and leave in the middle of the night to a place where there is no guarantee of your survival beyond the first couple of days is terrifying to say the least. And there is the constant threat of communal riots breaking out with the millions of hate mongers surrounding you, preying on the feeling of injustice that is growing in everyones heart.
Against such a emotional and sweeping wave, the migration of South Asian people to foreign lands is a trickle in comparison. By experiencing this change firsthand however, I feel deeply touched and comforted simultaneously in sharing experiences with people with similar backgrounds. Reading such literature is a part of this exploration.
At the risk of "being late to the scene" I would highly recommend the following books for anyone with interest in this subject - be it the first wave or the second trickle :
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Ice Candy Man by Bapsi Sidhwa
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
Handwriting by Michael Ondaatje
