Indian Diaspora Summary

The Indian Diaspora began during the colonial period when the British Empire

had spread its tentacles round the globe and the red stain of imperialism had leaked into

diverse land masses. Indian labourers and then entrepreneurs followed the Union Jack

from the Caribbean islands to Fiji and from Canada to South Africa. Thus were

established ‘little India’s’ now inhabited by second-and third-generation persons of

Indian origins, who the Indian Government today have labeled Pravasi Bharatis (Non-

Resident Indians). Among this group are also the diasporics of more recent postcolonial

origins. There are millions of non-resident Indians scattered round the world with

considerable economic and political clout and an awareness of this has probably

This is especially true of the period that precedes British

colonization. This could have been the result of the loss of their ancient Persian literature

and culture, noted earlier.

A Fine Balance is the story of how four characters Dina Dalal, Om and Ishvar

Darji and Maneck Kohlah come together to live in the madness of Bombay. The narrative

describes their backgrounds with their loads of woes and miseries. The comic lightness of

their present day interaction is offset by the tragic depth of their past experiences. This is

one novel that allows Mistry to present the tragic beauty of the city of Bombay and

venture out into the rural horrors of India’s oppressive caste-system. “Mistry uses realism

to present the human story in a documentary narrative, alleviated by immense

compassion for his characters” (Dewnarain 30). This is the finest and most intense of

Mistry’s three novels where his concern for the poor, the destitute and the powerless

becomes a political statement. The Parsis are a distinctive minority community, who left

Iran for South Asia to avoid religious persecution. The word ‘Parsi’ is an ethnic term,

which means a native of Fars, an ancient Persian province, now in Southern Iran.

The Parsis, due to their minority status, face racial

discrimination which forced them in diverse diasporas during and after the colonial

period. During the colonial period they enjoyed special privileges and elite status and the

British employed them as their agents, mediators and diplomats. In fact, Westernization

brought about double alienation for the Parsis. Hence it led to the identity crisis. After

Partition in 1947, they had to cope up with the majority Hindu community. Some moved

to the West and a few chose to remain either in India or in Pakistan. As Narendra Kumar

observes:

The Parsees prefer the West since it offers unlimited scope for

growth and prosperity. Dislocation is part of Parsee psyche. Exiled

twelve hundred years ago, they came to India. Now they are migrating to

the West in search of greener pastures. Thus there is “double migration”

in the case of Parsees. The flight in the 8th century was forced on them by

the Arabs whereas the second is the result of a conscious and deliberate

choice