डॉ. बी. आर. अम्बेडकर विश्वविद्यालय दिल्ली 
| Course Type | Course Code | No. Of Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Discipline Core | SGA1FC111 | 4 |
a. Summary
In the contemporary global world, human mobility has been recognised as a crucial determinant of global conditions and connections as it has tremendously increased the interaction and integration among disparate regions of the world. Movement of people across borders and the very processes of monitoring, managing and regulating the entry and residence of immigrants has been a crucial aspect not only during the formation of nation states during the process of decolonisation in mid 19th century, but remains a critical concern even in the era of contemporary transnationalism and resurgent nationalisms.
Through a comprehensive narrative of transborder movement of Indians in the long
historical passage, and by situating these movements within the larger political- economic and social-cultural contexts of the times, this course intends to introduce the students to certain fundamental themes, questions and debates in the analysis of mobility and migration that are part of global circulation of capital, commodities, communities, cultures and ideas. This course will make an attempt to read the historical narratives of human mobility as an integral constituent of ideological affirmations of the times and ways in which human mobility facilitates the dispersal and universalization of the ideas and also in turn gets altered by these ideas.
By exploring the thematic process of insertion of local/national into the global through human mobility with specific historical narrative of Indian emigrants, this course proposes to provide the basic grounding and intends to lead the students in making the initial foray into understanding the contemporary global order from a transdisciplinary
perspective.
In addition to articles and books related to the topics to be taught, I will use a variety of visual and literary material like maps, photographs, documentaries, films, blogs, literary texts such as novels and poetry in order to make learning more engaging, encouraging and eye-catching.
b. Objectives
• To introduce students to certain fundamental themes, concepts and debates in studying transborder movement and migration
To recognise the long historical trajectory and diverse nature of human mobility
To provide a broad understanding of human mobility in larger political-economic contexts of the times as well as intertwined processes of global circulation and connectivity
• To encourage students towards critical engagement with diverse source material and learning methods and gain skills in analysis and articulation
Unit 1. Indians in the World: Postcolonial Phase (1950s onwards)
This unit will discuss the movement of Indians after the Indian independence – initially to Britain, from 1970s onwards to North America and Pacific, and to the Gulf region post oil boom period. This unit will help students understand how the transborder mobility of people influence and gets influenced by the processes and primacies of contemporary globalisation. This unit will also explore the trajectories of multiple migrants and twice displaced immigrants of Indian origin.
Unit 2. Indians in the World: Colonial Phase, 1800- 1940s
This unit will discuss the movement of Indians to work imperial endeavours like plantation, construction, military and auxiliary services. It will also discuss the movement of Indian traders, financiers (like Chettiars) and petty businessmen whose movements were supported by the colonial enterprise. This will also explore the mobility of Indians as soldiers and auxiliary servicemen in the imperial pursuits, as convicts and lascars.
Unit 3: Indians in the World: Precolonial Phase
This unit will explore the movement of Indians from the earliest historically substantiated streams like cultural-religious emissaries, itinerant populations (e.g. Roma in Central and Eastern Europe), and movement of Indian traders and businessmen in Asian and oceanic networks till 19th Century.
Unit 4: Tracing the Fundamentals
On the basis on above narrative, this unit will lead the students to identify certain essential themes and critical issues relating to study of human mobility and transborder migration from interdisciplinary perspectives. Some of the themes to be discussed would be – factors for migration; concerns relating to gender, generation, ethnicity and race; immigrants’ exclusion, discrimination etc. It will introduce students to fundamental themes, concepts, and debates in the analysis of mobility and migration in ways that do not focus only on structures but also reflect migrants’ experiences and celebrate their agency.
General Readings
Lal, Brij, V., Peter Reeves and Rajesh Rai, (eds.), The Encyclopedia of the Indian Diaspora, EDM, Singapore, 2007. (select chapters)
Vinay Lal, 2008, The Other Indians: A Political and Cultural History of South Asians in America, Harper Collins
Weiner, Myron, ‘International Migration and Development: Indians in the Persan Gulf’, Population and Development Review Vol. 8, No. 1, 1982 pp 1-36
Jain, Prakash, C (2001). Indian Diaspora in West Asia : A Reader. New Delhi : Manohar
Publications
Lal, Brij V., ‘Understanding the Indian Indenture Experience’, South Asia, Vol. 21, 1998, pp. 215- 237
Lal, Brij, V., Peter Reeves and Rajesh Rai, (eds.), The Encyclopedia of the Indian Diaspora, EDM, Singapore, 2007. (select chapters)
Oonk, Gijsbert, ‘Gujarati Business Communities in East Africa: Success and Failure Stories’, EPW, 40 (20), January 2005, 2077-2081
Scott Levi, 2015, Caravans: Indian Merchants on Silk Road, Penguin
Claude Markovits, 2000, The Global World of Indian Merchants: Traders of Sind from Bukhara to Panama, CUP
Mark Juergensmeyer and Wade Clark Roof, 2012, Encyclopedia of Global Religion, (Select
Chapter)
Assessment structure (modes and frequency of assessments) with New Assessment and Evaluation
The course will have Two assessments:
- • First Assignment: Term Paper (50%) Third week of November
- • Second assessment: in class examination (50%) At the end of the course