A journey through places: politics of spatial location in the stories of South Asian diaspora in Australia

Abstract

In this paper, I analyse the post-colonial and post-modern experiences in the light of questions and issues concerning the spatial identities or locations that the diasporans carry. By politics of spatial location, I mean a migrant's positions within power hierarchies created through geographic, historical, political, economic and other socially stratifying factors in the new homeland. This paper is mainly concerned with the theoretical ways in which a shift is accelerated in Australia's literary landscape by the South Asian diasporic writers who produce and cover the dynamics of politics of location in different contexts. It also focuses on South Asian diaspora's widely agreed ‘ability to recreate their cultures in diverse locations’. I conclude that these stories are not just of spaces but also of a promising future for the South Asian diaspora in Australia.

Keywords:

• South Asian diaspora
• Australia
• migration
• location
• home
• cultural consciousness
• short stories

Notes

See Uma Parameswaran's article ‘Ganga in Assiniboine: prospects for Indo-Canadian literature’ where she identifies four phases of the immigrant experience to Canada (quoted in Paranjape 2001, p. 164).