Indian Diaspora: Double Consciousness, Quest for Identity & Home
Author Name
Jitendra
Author Address
Department of Migration & Diaspora Studies
Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi vishvavidyalaya, Wardha, Maharashtra
Keywords
Displacement, Homeland, Destination, Double Consciousness, Homelessness, Nostalgia.
Abstract
Migration brings many effects in the lives of people especially to those who have ever migrated. They separate from their motherland with a wish of having a new place where they can feel at home. Displacement from homeland to a new land migrant tries to identify him with the identity of that land, but, often, the natives of the land reject him to identify with that.
Double consciousness is one of the psychological effects that oftenly experienced by the migrant. Chief cause of this double consciousness is indenture labour that deals with migration or separation towards migrated from their motherland. As a result of the experience of this conflictthey suffer from a confusing state of about their identity.
Migration to a new land i.e. destination made migrants master over others or became subjects of master of their new homes. Often, they became subject of themaster of their new home. As a decent of migrants who lives in Diasporic population,they feel being trapped between two different cultures. One is Indian native culture and other is the new mixed culture of the land. In this conflict they were unable to decide which culture really they belong to.Homesickness, nostalgia, homelessness and longing for home became motivating factor in this state of conflict. These facts and their sufferings are clearly represented in all literary genres such as novel, poetry, memoire, and even their (writers) interviews.
This paper aims to capture writers’ concerns of renewing a kind of novels where their search for a sense of Cultural Identity & Home and need to establish a past on which the present can properly stand that have a special force, the impact of Double Consciousness upon the migrants and their forthcoming generations, the Indian Diaspora as expressed in literature.
Conference
International Conference on "Global Migration: Rethinking Skills, Knowledge and Culture"