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Exploring Belonging and Interconnections: Narratives from the Indian Diaspora

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Understanding Psychology in the Context of Relationship, Community, Workplace and Culture

Abstract

The Indian diaspora estimated at 17.5 million is one of the largest in the world (UN Report, 2019). Skilled Indians were invited to fill gaps in the labour market in Europe and the U.S.A. from the beginning of the second millennium. A psychosocial perspective on the Indian diaspora, from Denmark and the U.S.A, is the focus of this paper. The theoretical frameworks include diasporic subjective processes of dispersal, connectedness (Dufoix, 2008) and processes of multiple inclusion/exclusion and ambivalence about belonging (Kalra, 2005), along with the life-course perspective (Levy, 2005). Transnational linkages between India (desh) and the Indian diaspora abroad (videsh) are explored. The empirical cases (Singla, 2008; Singla, 2015; Sriram, 2014) are based on qualitative in-depth interviews with families and young people and diasporic couples in exogamous marriages. Some current transformations, especially related to digital interconnections are also included. The narratives indicate changing paradigms about India, multiple belongings, differential engagement in the receiving society and India related to generational and couple formation patterns. There is a nuanced understanding of belongings and marginalities of Indian diasporics through multiple belongings involving “emotional citizenship”, ongoing negotiations at diverse levels, virtual interconnections and exclusion from various groups in the country of origin and the host country. Suggestions for promoting interconnections, communication and linkages between the Indian diaspora and India are delineated.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    NRI have been jokingly referred to as Non-Returning Indians.

  2. 2.

    Sweden Norway, Finland and Island are other Nordic countries.

  3. 3.

    Kollu is the traditional women’s festival from South India celebrated during Navratri (Nine Nights) during fall.

  4. 4.

    Janmashtami is a festival to celebrate the birth of the Hindu God Krishna.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Associate professor, Department of People and Technology, Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark

    Rashmi Singla

  2. Professor, School of Human Ecology, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India

    Sujata Sriram

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  1. Rashmi Singla
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  2. Sujata Sriram
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Correspondence to Rashmi Singla .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Psychology, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, India

    Surendra Kumar Sia

  2. Department of Psychology, Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH, USA

    Lauren S. Crane

  3. Department of Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management, Management Development Institute, Gurugram, Haryana, India

    Ajay K. Jain

  4. Department of Psychology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Shabana Bano

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Singla, R., Sriram, S. (2022). Exploring Belonging and Interconnections: Narratives from the Indian Diaspora. In: Sia, S.K., Crane, L.S., Jain, A.K., Bano, S. (eds) Understanding Psychology in the Context of Relationship, Community, Workplace and Culture. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-2693-8_2

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