Diasporic Literature
Overview
Diaspora means the dispersion of the Jews beyond Israel. The dispersion or spread of any people from their original homeland.
A simple definition of diaspora literature, then, would be works that are written by authors who live outside their native land. The term identifies a work’s distinctive geographic origins. But diaspora literature may also be defined by its contents, regardless of where it was written
The chief characteristic features of the diasporic writings are the quest for identity, uprooting and re-rooting, insider and outsider syndrome, nostalgia, nagging sense of guilt etc. The diasporic writers turn to their homeland for various reasons. For eg. Naipaul who is in a perpetual quest for his roots turns to India for the same.
The writers of the Indian diaspora, through their literary contributions have greatly enriched the English literature. They have been aiming at re-inventing India through the rhythms of ancient legends, the cadences of mythology, the complexities of another civilization, cultural assimilation and nostalgia.
This literature works as a channel to strength the bonds between the different states of India and of India in relation with the other countries at large. Diasporic opinion helps to break through the past alienation and isolation which caused much injustice and abuse of human rights.Robin Cohen classifies Diaspora as: 1. Victim Diasporas 2. Labour Diasporas 3. Imperial Diasporas 4. Trade Diasporas 5. Homeland Diasporas 6. Cultural Diasporas The author finds a common element in all forms of Diaspora; these are people who live outside their 'natal (or imagined natal) territories' (ix) and recognize that their traditional homelands are reflected deeply in the languages they speak, religion they adopt, and cultures they produce. Each of the categories of Diasporas underline a particular cause of migration usually associated with particular groups of people. So for example, the Africans through their experience of slavery have been noted to be victims of extremely aggressive transmigrational policies. (