Kala Pani Crossings, Gender and Diaspora: Indian Perspectives

This book explores the intersections of diaspora and gender within the diasporic and Indian imagination, investigating how race, class, caste, gender, and sexuality intersect with concepts of home, belonging, displacement, and the reinvention of the nation and self. It examines whether indentureship and diasporic locations marginalized women and men or empowered them, how negotiations or resistances have been determined by race, class, caste, or ethnicity, how traditional standards of Indianness and gender relations have been reshaped, how ideas of home, self, and the nation have been impacted in the diaspora and in India after the 19th and early 20th century indentureship migration, and what 21st century Indians stand to gain by theorizing the legacy of 19th century indenture through a gender framework.

Format: Hardback
Length: 370 pages
Publication date: 15 December 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive volume delves into the intricate intersections of diaspora and gender within the diasporic and Indian imagination. It explores the complex ways in which race, class, caste, gender, and sexuality intertwine with notions of home, belonging, displacement, and the reimagining of the nation and self. Positioned as a companion to Kala Pani Crossings: Revisiting 19th-century Migrations from India's Perspective (Routledge, 2021), this book examines whether indentureship and diasporic locations marginalized women and men or empowered them; how negotiations or resistances have been shaped by race, class, caste, or ethnicity; how traditional standards of Indianness and gender relations have been reshaped; how ideas of home, self, and the nation have been impacted in the diaspora and in India after the 19th and early 20th-century indentureship migration; and what 21st-century Indians can gain by theorizing the legacy of 19th-century indenture through a gender framework.

To understand how fiction and non-fiction writers have navigated the legacy of indentureship to create spaces where normative practices can be interrogated and challenged, the book prioritizes interviews with notable writers such as Cyril Dabydeen, Ananda Devi, Ramabai Espinet, Davina Ittoo, Brij Lal, Peggy Mohan, Shani Mootoo, and Khal Torabully. Rooted in critical analyses but also infused with subjective and creative perspectives, this volume constitutes a significant intervention in understanding Indian indenture and its enduring legacy in the diaspora and in India. It holds immense interest for scholars and researchers in literature, history, Indian Ocean studies, migration, and South Asian studies.

Weight: 870g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032389295