The Indian Diaspora In Indo-Canadian Literature

The Indian diaspora constitutes a unique force in Canadian Culture through the writings of the Indian authors who migrated to Canada in the beginning of the twentieth century. Rohinton Mistry is the only writer among the Indo-canadian writers, whose all novels have been shortlisted for "The Man-Booker Prize". As his novels depict the social, cultural and political life in India, his short-story collection Swimming Lessons and other stories from Firozsha Baag (1987) encompasses the social exploitation of the migrants by the native people within India and outside India. The present paper focuses on the alienation of in-migrants by the Parsis in India and the alienation of the Parsi migrants by the white people in Canada as highlighted by the

Indo-Canadian literature encompasses the writings of the Canadians who trace their origins from India, migrating to Canada either directly from India or indirectly from British colonies such as East or South Africa, the Pacific Islands and the Carribean Islands. The Indo-Canadian community emerged in the beginning of the twentieth century, through the Sikh soldiers from Punjab who attended Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations in 1897. They took the way of Canada to reach India during which they were ravished by the fertile lands and other natural sceneries. They tried their fortunes in the countries they visited and got employed as cops in the police force or night watchmen in some British firms. Thus, the Indian air started to spread in the soil of Canada including, intellectual and literary

The immigration of Najamai’s daughters, Vera and Dolly to Canada, Sarosh and Kersi to Toronto, Jamshed to New York, Jehangir in the United States shows themselves as the western hemisphere’s version of Jacqueline and Francis. The superiority they harboured in India proves futile in North America. The phrase “ghati” christened by them to the in-migrants has its distorted form as “Paki” on them by white North Americans. While in-migrants in Bombay are subject to alienation and violence, the immigrants, irrespective of their communities either Parsis or Indians in general, are treated in the same manner as the Parsis mistreat the poor and disenfranchised of Bombay. They become the butt of hate crimes. The Parsis, who hail a Parsi baby born with white skin denounce a baby with dark skin as “ayah’s child”, are considered dark-skinned persons in the west. When Sarosh uses a public restroom, he is bullied for his unconventional method