The Literature of the Indian Diaspora - Theorizing the diasporic imaginary - A major study of Indian diaspora literature and diaspora theory

Sep 21, 2026

The Literature of the Indian Diaspora: Theorizing the diasporic imaginary is a major study of literary and cultural texts produced within the Indian diaspora, offering a significant contribution to diaspora theory. Vijay Mishra develops a framework around trauma, mourning and impossible mourning, spectres, identity, travel, translation, and recognition, arguing that understanding the diaspora requires attention to both old and new diasporic locations in nation-states. The analysis surveys key writers across Canada, Australia, America, and the UK and connects their works to diasporic imaginary and corresponding traumas.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages313

Reading Time8 h 2 min

AccessFree to download

Theorizing the diasporic imaginary

Key argument and diasporic imaginary

Writers and contexts across old and new diasporas

Postcolonial Literatures series

Series scope and editorial invitation

Research strand titles

The Literature of the Indian Diaspora Theorizing the diasporic imaginary The Literature of the Indian Diaspora: Theorizing the diasporic imaginary constitutes a major study of the literature and other cultural texts of the Indian diaspora. It is also an important contribution to diaspora theory in general. Examining both the ‘old’ Indian diaspora of early capitalism, following the abolition of slavery, and the ‘new’ diaspora linked to movements of late capital, Vijay Mishra argues that a full understanding of the Indian diaspora can only be achieved if attention is paid to the particular locations of both the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ in nation-states. Applying a theoretical framework based on trauma, mourning/impossible mourning, spectres, identity, travel, translation, and recognition, Mishra uses the term ‘imaginary’ to refer to any ethnic enclave in a nation-state that defines itself, consciously or unconsciously, as a group in displacement. He examines the works of key writers, many now based across the globe in Canada, Australia, America and the UK – among them V. S. Naipaul, Salman Rushdie, M. G. Vassanji, Shani Mootoo, Bharati Mukherjee, David Dabydeen, Rohinton Mistry and Hanif Kureishi – to show how they exemplify both the diasporic imaginary and the respective traumas of the ‘old’ and ‘new’ Indian diasporas. Vijay Mishra is Professor of English Literature at Murdoch University, Perth, Australia. He has published widely on postcolonial and diaspora theory, on the Gothic, and on Indian literature and cinema. Postcolonial Literatures Edited in collaboration with the Centre for Colonial and Postcolonial Studies, University of Kent at Canterbury, this series presents a wide range of research into postcolonial literatures by specialists in the field. Volumes will concentrate on writers and writing originating in previously (or presently) colonized areas, and will include material from non-Anglophone as well as Anglophone colonies and literatures. The series will also include collections of important essays from older journals, and reissues of classic texts on postcolonial subjects. Routledge is pleased to invite proposals for new books in the series. Interested authors should contact Lyn Innes or Rod Edmond at the Centre for Colonial and Postcolonial Studies, University of Kent at Canterbury, or Routledge’s Commissioning Editor for Literature. The series comprises three strands. Routledge Research in Postcolonial Literatures is a forum for innovative new research intended for a specialist readership. Published in hardback, titles include: 1. Magical Realism in West African Fiction: Seeing with a Third Eye by Brenda Cooper 2. The PostcolonialJane Austen edited by You-Me Park and Rajeswari Sunder Rajan 3. Contemporary Caribbean Women’s Poetry: Making Style by Denise deCaires Narain 4. African Literature, Animism and Politics by Caroline Rooney 5. Caribbean-English Passages: Intertextuality in a Postcolonial Tradition by Tobias Döring 6. Islands in History and Representation edited by Rod Edmond and Vanessa Smith 7. Civility and Empire: Literature and Culture in British India, 1822–1922 by Anindyo Roy 8. Women Writing the West Indies, 1804–1939: ‘A Hot Place, Belonging to Us’ by Evelyn O’Callaghan 9. Postcolonial Pacific Writing: Representations of the Body by Michelle Keown 10. Writing Woman, Writing Place: Contemporary Australian and South African Fiction by Sue Kossew 11. Literary Radicalism in India: Gender, Nation and the Transition to Independence by Priyamvada Gopal 12. Postcolonial Conrad: Paradoxes of Empire by Terry Collits 13. American Pacificism: Oceania in the U.S. Imagination by Paul Lyons 14. Decolonizing Culture in the Pacific: Reading History and Trauma in Contemporary Fiction by Susan Y. Najita 15. Writing Sri Lanka: Literature, Resistance and the Politics of Place by Minoli Salgado 16. Literature of the Indian Diaspora: Theorizing the Diasporic Imaginary by Vijay M

FAQs

What core idea does Mishra use to theorize the Indian diasporic imaginary?

He uses the term “imaginary” to refer to an ethnic enclave in a nation-state that defines itself as a displaced group, consciously or unconsciously. This concept is developed through themes such as trauma, mourning/impossible mourning, spectres, identity, travel, translation, and recognition.

How does the book distinguish between the “old” and “new” Indian diaspora?

Mishra examines the “old” diaspora linked to early capitalism after the abolition of slavery and the “new” diaspora tied to movements of late capital. He argues that a complete understanding depends on the specific locations of both diasporic forms within nation-states.

Which writers does the book highlight, and where are many of them based?

It discusses key writers including V. S. Naipaul, Salman Rushdie, M. G. Vassanji, Shani Mootoo, Bharati Mukherjee, David Dabydeen, Rohinton Mistry, and Hanif Kureishi, noting that many are now based across Canada, Australia, America, and the UK.

Sep 21, 2026

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