On the Edges of Belonging: Indian American Dalits, Queers, Guest Workers and Questions of Ethnic Belonging

Abstract

Questions of assimilation and belonging remain as important themes in the immigration and ethnicity literature. Most research focuses on ethnic groups and their sense of belonging to the societies they live in, with less attention given to processes that affect belonging among ethnic subgroups. Using primary and secondary data, we examine cases of three Indian-origin groups – Dalits, Queers and Guest Workers – in the USA to discuss the structures that shape belonging of Indian Americans, particularly those in these subgroups. Drawing on the notion of dynamic multi-layered ethnicities, we discuss the intersections of race/class/caste/sexuality/gender that structure their belonging. We argue that focus on the entire ethnic group is insufficient for analysing the factors that shape belonging; instead, we posit that examining how the social location of the main ethnic group intersects with the structural positions of subgroups is crucial to discussions of the concept of belonging.

Keywords:

• Belonging
• Dalits
• Ethnicity
• Guest workers
• Intersectionality
• Queers

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shweta Majumdar Adur

Shweta Majumdar Adur is a Ph.D. candidate at University of Connecticut. She has a BA in sociology from Lady Shri Ram College at Delhi, India, MA in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, India and an MA in International Development at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research interests are in the areas of gender, sexuality, race-ethnicity, human rights and immigration. She has authored several publications and more recently co-authored a book on Asian Americans and Aging ‘As the Leaves Turn Gold’ published by Rowman and Littlefield in August 2012

Bandana Purkayastha

Bandana Purkayastha is Professor and Head of Sociology at the University of Connecticut, USA. She has published several books, articles and chapters on race/gender/class/ethnicity especially as these structures affect highly educated, racial minority immigrants and their children; transnationalism; religion; peace and human rights. Her most recent publications include interrogating intersectionality and human rights in the USA. She holds several elected positions at the International Sociological Association and the American Sociological Association. She is the President of Sociologists for Women in Society