Simulating South Asia: literature, culture and belonging in Ireland

Abstract

The South Asian diasporas living in Ireland are a growing and vibrant community. Historical and cultural connections, particularly between Ireland and India, are central in the burgeoning relationship between the two regions. Cultural exchange is also a flourishing trend, as are associations in science, technology and education. In Ireland, South Asia is increasingly represented by the diasporic population in the literature, film and other arts, but despite the variety and wealth of South Asian diasporic cultures, it is often consigned to the superficial, even the hyper-real, eliding social realism. Furthermore, the role played by both state policy and the rise and fall of the Celtic Tiger is important in the related discussion of the frequently stigmatized, differential space of the ‘non-Irish national’ and the discrimination experienced by non-national and diasporic cultures.

Keywords:

• Ireland
• diaspora
• South Asia
• multiculturalism
• simulacra
• migrant
• culture

Acknowledgment

I would like to thank Sudipta Sen for his comments on an early version of this paper.

Notes on contributor

Louise Harrington completed her PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of English and Film Studies at the University of Alberta. Her research interests include global partitions, on which she is completing a book project, South Asian and Irish literature and film, as well as migration and diaspora studies. She has contributed to the book collections, Transport(s) in the British Empire and the Commonwealth (2007), India and the Indian Diasporic Imagination (2011) and The Other India: Narratives of Terror, Communalism and Violence (2012).

Notes

1. By Ireland I refer to the Republic of Ireland.

2. It is worth noting that these thriving times also encouraged young Irish people, particularly school and university graduates, to remain in Ireland to work rather than emigrate to the UK, the USA or Australia as was previously common. It also saw the return of many Irish emigrants, approximately 240,000 between 1996 and 2006 (Ralph 2012, 446) attracted by the job opportunities, wealth and prosperity that had not existed when they left Ireland.

3. For important contributions in this regard from scholars in the humanities, see Foley and O'Connor (2006), O’Malley (2008), Silvestri (2009), Banerjee (2012).

4. It is interesting to note that following the book's publication in 2001, BBC Belfast expressed interest in dramatizing Paddy Indian in a two-part series, but this has yet to transpire.

5. The film's success has been recorded by boxofficeindia.com and widely reported in the international press, see for example Specter (2012).

6. It ought to be mentioned here that there is a process by which one can apply to become an Irish citizen through naturalization. There are of course eligibility criteria, including ‘calculating reckonable residence’ or the period of residency in the Irish State. The decision is made at the absolute discretion of the Minister for Justice and Equality and, under a new law, must be made within a time period of six months from application.