A Study In Diasporic Consciousness Nilofar Akhtar
The phenomena of Diaspora and expatriation are by all means an old one. However, its impact in the present times is larger and deeper. It has become a contemporary social trait and also, a literary genre. The growing incidence of the Diaspora has given place to dislocation, disintegration, dispossession and disbelongingness. The experience of expatriation not only gradually disconnects the individual from his roots, simultaneously it polarises his existence, which straddles between nationality and exile. Here, at the onset it will only be apt to bring into light the historical significance of the Diaspora. All serious study of diaspora traces …show more content…
The more he considered the future and his security, the more nervous he became. He hated the idea of being a parasite on society by living on welfare. The way it was handled was humiliating and disdainful. Even the man at the welfare office behaved as if he were doling out money to robbers under sheer compulsion. There seemed no mutual respect and understanding between the recipients and the office staff. 3 Reghu Nath becomes a victim of such socio-economic and political contradictions which give rise to (a) either marginalisation of cultures or, (b) cross cultural communication (which is a milder expression of submission). An immigrant is constantly in pulls and pressures and suffers a marginalized existence as he carries with himself, the 'cultural baggage ' of his ' homeland’, which exists only in the figment of his …show more content…
Thus, Reghu Nath ruminates over socio political issues of India and Canada.
The thing about India that pained him most was the mockery of democracy. But then this mockery existed in one form or another, in all countries. Reghu scrutinized different corners of the globe to find one spot where the ugly head of mockery had not risen. Soon he realized that every region and nation has been plagued by its peoples narrow mindedness and prejudices, the difference only in degree and kind. With that Reghu 's eyes grew heavy. He fell asleep, his thoughts settling on the determination to stay in Canada, the land he would adopt and love by choice, not by accident. 7 Reghu 's opting for Canada over India is a tell tale sign of diasporic consciousness which is increasing fast, today. Post independence, there has been a rampant growth in the rate of immigration in tandem with growing rate of foreign investment and advancement of information technology yielding much to the new concept of 'global trotting